Looking for insight on run times & intensity for this T5 fixture.

cracker · Oct 3, 2017

Hello, I have 75 mixed reef.I use an ATI 6 bulb fixture. Well " some " of my corals are just there. Neither dying or growing either . the colors are waaa . Others like the hammer & anchor are just fine and slowly growing. I consider the water chemistry is good & want to try a different intensity & on time to see if this perks them up a bit. This fixture has 2 channels that are dimable .
As of this morning,
Channel 1, 2 bulbs run at 100% this channel turns on at 10 am turn off at 10 pm.
Channel 2, 4 bulbs run at 75% this channel turns on at 1 pm turns off at 8 pm .
The fixture was hanging about 11 inches from the water surface. par reading were,
at the bottom, "average" 150 to 160 .
middle 170 to 180 .
top 270 to 280 .
So today I moved the fixture up 6 inches so as not to scorch anybody and turned channel 2 to 100%. I left the times alone.
I will take par reading again tomorrow This is another experiment to see if I can improve the lot of my corals. Any opinions would be appreciated !

TonapahNorth · Oct 3, 2017

What specific bulbs are you using?

jsker · Oct 3, 2017

TonapahNorth said:
What specific bulbs are you using?

+1

cracker · Oct 4, 2017

I got the ATO mid range Kelvin bulbs suggested by the chart. Wasn't real crazy about going really blue. However after more reading ,I'm led to think that blue light encourages growth ?
Dog it , I knew I forgot to add a detail ! LOL

TonapahNorth · Oct 4, 2017

cracker said:
I got the ATO mid range Kelvin bulbs suggested by the chart. Wasn't real crazy about going really blue. However after more reading ,I'm led to think that blue light encourages growth ?
Dog it , I knew I forgot to add a detail ! LOL

No biggie. I’m assuming that was an auto correct and you meant ATI mid range kelvin bulbs?

The reality is that light spectrum is more for the corals than for us to see. We like pleasant bright light but the corals can’t tell much other than they are probably getting more yellows, greens, and reds than maybe they need. I’m no pro, so I’ll say this with some reservation, blues are ok. ATI makes great bulbs so thats a good start. You probably aren’t going wrong with any of these combos.

So, assuming all things equal and no other problems in the tank (i.e, solid calcium, Alk, and mag levels), I think it would be ok to drop your period to something like 8 hours.

I run my T5 LED hybrid from 8 am to 6pm but I ramp up for 1.5 hours and down for 1.5 hours. On one channel, I run 2 actinics and 2 B+ (Blues). On the other channel I run 2B+ and 2coral+ (Daylights). So what I like to do is ramp the Blues channel first starting at around 745 and maxing it around 945 am. Then I run the Daylights channel from around 845 and maxing it around 1030. I then ramp down the Daylights first around 1600. Then I slowly ramp the Blues down around 1630 - 1800. My LEDs are maxed at around 40-45% and ramp blue to more daylight then back down. I keep the LEDs on a low 10% moonlight blue then the rest of the night.

So, that’s just my preference. Like you, the Blues are just a little too blue. But I know the corals like it. And I like the coral plus bulbs with more crisp bright visible color (for me). I don’t mind the short blue period because it gives me time to inspect corals and see how they are doing. Clients love it too.

So, just as a consideration, I think you may have too long of a photoperiod. But that’s just my preference. I would pick your usual viewing times and be maxed in there somewhere. My tank is at my office where I am there for normal work hours (and lots of extra time). So that dictates my photo period. I want clients looking at it too.

Your PAR readings sounded fine. I have a 26” deep tank and my light is 11” above waterline as well. Seems fine to me. Do you test PAR with lid on and with water flowing? It can effect PAR too. I had to lower my light a bit to compensate for my Artfully Acrylic cover and for my four return lines that give a nice riffle on the surface - gives a nice shimmer.

Just some thoughts.

TonapahNorth · Oct 4, 2017

Oh, I would consider those suggestions before doing something like adding LEDs. Not a bad long term consideration, but too many people for too many years have success with just what you have to make changes without fine tuning what you’ve got.

Also, have you figured out which corals themselves are not quite where you expect their growth? What kinds are they? Some corals are just slow growers. Truly. It may be flow is too low, or too high. So many variables. Fact is that if many of your corals are ok, you probably were ok with your light. But fine tuning is always good but you can’t do a lot of changes and expect to see quick results from lighting. It will take weeks if not months of watching it to decide if the change is something that’s worked for the better. Personally, I think shortening the photo period will help. But I’m sure others could chime in too.

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 4, 2017

280 is all the bulbs on at the top of the water? Or the corals?

How high is the light over the water?

What corals do you have. Low light or mid and high.

The bottom sounds perfect. That's zoa par right there. And easy clams.
And the times sound correct as well.
IMO.

The names of the bulbs will help a bit.
Fwiw. They all actually contain quite a bit of blue.

A. grandis · Oct 4, 2017

taking in consideration only the light...
Please post the names of the bulbs and order they are in the fixture.
How old are those bulbs?
Grandis.

cracker · Oct 4, 2017

Man You guys are working me hard !

They are ATI bulbs. from front to back, blue plus, coral plus ,purple, blue plus, blue plus coral plus . I think this order was suggested to me from the guys at ATI. They were very helpful. The bulbs & fixture are 5 months old. Not planning any led's . I'm looking for simplicity as I'm getting old & lazy !
The 280 reading was right under the water surface. return & cover off . As of now I don't know what pars I have. I did move the light up & increased channel 2 from 75 to 100% .I will test again today . I have around 16 corals most on the bottom several at mid level. On the bottom I have lps,frogspawn,anchor. these look fine. A Lobo, Bubble, leather . at mid level I have 2 large flat rocks one has a type of encrusting SPS. This has spread very slowly. On the other table rock I have 2 Zoa's who look sad & a couple of Favia barely hanging in there. These 2 favia's have a few polyps that are isolated .
I'm trying to do one change at a time to see what works . when I get the lighting squared away I can try other things. As for stability it's pretty good I do have to dose a little 2 part to bring Alk up just a little. I have 2 mid sized koralia's at each end & around 500gph return . These points are for another forum though. I'm trying to improve my skills in this 75 reef experimental tank.
I'd like to thank You Guys and all the other fine Folks here at R2R. I have learned so much in the 2 years I v'e been hanging out here!

Bouncingsoul39 · Oct 4, 2017

I think the only thing you needed to do is move the light fixture closer to the water surface. From what I've read, you have done that and moved it from 11" to 6" now. That should make a decent difference. I'd leave it be now for at least a few weeks to see how things respond.

cracker · Oct 4, 2017

actually I moved it up from 11 inches to 16 above the water after I increased intensity I'm about to take par readings now well in a short while due to procrastination on my part ! When I do I will adjust the light acording ly & post the readings.

saltyfilmfolks · Oct 4, 2017

Glad it hear it's all goood.

IMO , over time if you want, You can keep the same settings and lower it pretty salfely.
Slowly. Lol

TonapahNorth · Oct 4, 2017

I think you are doing fine. I'm not seeing anything wrong. any corals not growing are probably other things like flow or inherently slow growth. good work to bring it up. We all learn through discussion.

cracker · Oct 4, 2017

Good Eve ! So as of today, after raising the fixture to 15 inches off the water, I got par readings at the .
Bottom 180 to 200
middle (where some corals are. Zoa's & sps & favia's ) around 220
very top 300 th 325.
I do have a hot spot on the right middle that is a little higher. Do I need to put some window screens over the tank for a while? Is a 20 point rise in par a lot? Is this par too much? I don't really need to lower it. However I don't have to turn on the kitchen light if I want a make myself a sandwich ! LOL

A. grandis · Oct 4, 2017

No need anything to cover the light. You can basically forget PAR and everything else in regards to problems with your lights with those bulbs you've got. You are more than safe, specially if they are in the system for 6 months!! You can drop the fixture to 11 inches, no problem. I had fixtures sitting on top of the tank and that is totally fine. Polyps touching the surface everywhere a almost kissing the bulbs. They love it!!!
There must be something off with the chemistry.
Or maybe they are fighting for space?

Your light is all good!!
Grandis.

cracker · Oct 4, 2017

Thanks Grandis, so the par isn't too high the tank can take more over time of course. I would like to drop it some. Also I just did a 2 day manual maintenance on this mangy ha scourge .. Vacuumed the sand ,scrubbed etc.Then a big fat water change. Anyway that's for another query. As long as I have the lighting in a good place I can move on to other issues. In the mean time I'll keep an eye on my corals & see how they do!

A. grandis · Oct 4, 2017

Your bulbs are good to lit a tank up to 22" to 24" tall.
It's the best you can offer to them IMO.
You can rest, trust and enjoy your fixture! No need to worry!
Change bulbs every 8, 10 or 12 months. I change every 12 months.
Change 2 bulbs at a time every week when you change them.
No worries at all.
ATI is great!
Hope you find out what's going on there..
Aloha,
Grandis.