Let there be light!

[AlexFishFriends]

Hi! I previously posted asking about light in my setup, and here I am again! So, basically, I have a reefcasa flat tank with a hydra 32 hd suspended about 15 inches to the water line, and 17 inches to the first coral. I have it set to the saxby schedule, but with the intensity brought way down per the recommendation of many of you, since I previously bleached a bunch of corals when it was at default intensity. So, I’m considering buying a squamosa clam from RAP tomorrow, so I’m wondering how high I can raise the intensity without damaging the corals. (I’ve finally got the chemistry side of things nailed down with daily water changes). I’ve attached a picture of my setup, as well as the schedule it’s currently at! Oh, also I have a BTA that hangs out as high in the water as it can get, and I can never tell if it’s healthy or not. Maybe more light would be good for it too? Well, thank you for any advice!! You guys are the best and I hope I see some of y’all at RAP tomorrow!!

 

[AlexFishFriends]

Sorry, here’s the schedule!

 

[AlexFishFriends]

Not sure why this posted sideways before lol

 

[AlexFishFriends]

And here’s Chat GPT’s recommendation!

 

[Boehmtown]

Everything in there can take tons of light. It's just not quickly, they need to be acclimated up or they bleach. You can use a cell phone light app to get an approximation of your intensity for the clam. And put sheets of diffuser covering the area with your old corals and every week or two, remove a layer of diffuser to acclimate them up to the new light intensity

 

[AlexFishFriends]

Everything in there can take tons of light. It's just not quickly, they need to be acclimated up or they bleach. You can use a cell phone light app to get an approximation of your intensity for the clam. And put sheets of diffuser covering the area with your old corals and every week or two, remove a layer of diffuser to acclimate them up to the new light intensity

Oh okay! Yeah it’s all LPS in there, aside from a pavona. So a torch, some duncans, candy cane, etc. If I use the defusor method, what max intensity do you recommend I set the hydra to? And thanks so much for the advice!

 

[EricR]

Not sure why this posted sideways before lol

I was wondering how you got the water to stay in -- thought maybe you lived in a centrifuge.

That little tank looks cool -- how many gallons?

 

[AlexFishFriends]

Not sure why this posted sideways before lol

I was wondering how you got the water to stay in -- thought maybe you lived in a centrifuge.

That little tank looks cool -- how many gallons?

Thanks so much! It’s six gallons. I run carbon and perform daily 1 cup water changes to keep everything happy! Here’s a better look at it!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The toadstools in your tank look like are stretching. I would take this as a sign to turn up the intensity a bit to the point where they are not stretching anymore. But renting a par meter would be the best way to know for sure.

 

[AlexFishFriends]

The toadstools in your tank are stretching. I would take this as a sign to turn up the intensity a bit to the point where they are not stretching anymore. But renting a par meter would be the best way to know for sure.

Thank you! I’m going to! I just turned up the intensity to about a 5% max increase from where it was before, and I’ll keep ramping it up. I just measured the par at the start of the water level for where it’s at now in the schedule, using the app photone with a diffuser, and it’s at 40 at about half the maximum daily intensity.