Need some advice with viparspectra

[Jonathan Troutt]

hey guys. So I have had my 40 breeder set up for almost a year not. It started off with one of the viparspectra 165w over it. I have always planned to move up to a 75 gal and about 3 months ago I purchased another one.

The one unit didn’t quite reach the edges of the tank so I figured while I wait for the rest of the equipment for the 75 and the stand for it. So I hung the second unit and fired it up. I lowered intensity on both units for a while and slowly increased until I was at previous levels of the single unit.

Now the few pieces of coral I have and my rbta have stopped growing. I never the the big fat polyp extension I had anymore on my hammer. My zoanthids have actually lost heads. My bubble polyps don’t get as big. My acan is receding. I’ve almost lost a chalice it’s barely hanging on. And my RBTA seems all shrunk back as well.

Coraline is growing something crazy. It seems like I scrape it all off and in a few weeks it’s almost covered the glass again. Parameters are stable and always within normal ranges. I do monthly water changes. Have 5 small fish a crab a shrimp and they are doing fantastic.

I’ve recently started having a problem with cyano so I dosed with chemiclean tonight. We will see how that goes.


I’m totally frustrated right now. Everything was growing so well. I was getting new heads on my Duncan and my hammer. Those new heads have not increased in size for 2 months at least. Everything but my coral and recently the cyano showed my tank was healthy. My crabs and shrimp molt regularly. My snails reproduce. Etc

I don’t have a par meter I am seriously thinking about renting one soon from BRS to check. Am I giving too much light here? I have been waiting to add more coral sps specifically because I want some because of this issue my tank looks sad and boring.

Would love some opinions. Thank you

 

[Auto-pilot]

hmmm use vipraspectra lights as well. I have a 90 gallon. Maybe you dropped the intensity too much?? Are they bleaching out before they die?? I would say the alge is a symptom of too much white and a higher amount of nitrates and Phosphate. Have you done anything else to the tank?

 

[DMG Reef]

At the risk of being Captain Obvious, why not remove the 2nd light and go back to the way it was when the corals were growing? It sounds like 2 lights are definitely too much light for a 40B. I have just one OR T247 over my 40B and I fried several SPS in the beginning. Even the corals on the sides get sufficient light from the one unit.

 

[Auto-pilot]

At the risk of being Captain Obvious, why not remove the 2nd light and go back to the way it was when the corals were growing? It sounds like 2 lights are definitely too much light for a 40B. I have just one OR T247 over my 40B and I fried several SPS in the beginning. Even the corals on the sides get sufficient light from the one unit.

It does make sense

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

At the risk of being Captain Obvious, why not remove the 2nd light and go back to the way it was when the corals were growing? It sounds like 2 lights are definitely too much light for a 40B. I have just one OR T247 over my 40B and I fried several SPS in the beginning. Even the corals on the sides get sufficient light from the one unit.

So it’s your opinion that there is too much light. To answer your question though I couldn’t stand how the edges of the tank looked. I want even light distribution fro. Edge to edge in any tank.

 

[Auto-pilot]

So it’s your opinion that there is too much light. To answer your question though I couldn’t stand how the edges of the tank looked. I want even light distribution fro. Edge to edge in any tank.

You can allways raise the light a higher to get better distrobution

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

hmmm use vipraspectra lights as well. I have a 90 gallon. Maybe you dropped the intensity too much?? Are they bleaching out before they die?? I would say the alge is a symptom of too much white and a higher amount of nitrates and Phosphate. Have you done anything else to the tank?

Nitrates are stable right at 50ppm. While not where I want them I have been told that level is not detrimental. Phosphates always read a close to zero as I can tell. I had to remove my chaeto ball a couple months ago due to my fuge light taking a crap. But no parameters changed after that event.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

You can allways raise the light a higher to get better distrobution

I thought about that but would also have to drive the channels higher. I figured since I was moving to a 75 anyway. Might as well go ahead and get the second until not drive one unit full bore.

 

[Auto-pilot]

If you ask me 50ppm is getting on the high side of things. If they were to get that high in my tank my SPS would start dying

 

[Auto-pilot]

I run two units on my 90.they run at 70 blue 25 white

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

I run two units on my 90.they run at 70 blue 25 white

I know that’s why I haven’t put sps in yet. Trying to lower it. I will turn my whites way down and see if things improve

 

[Auto-pilot]

I know that’s why I haven’t put sps in yet. Trying to lower it. I will turn my whites way down and see if things improve

The best way to keep it low in my opinion is a refugium with chato and a grow light .
Be careful with the cheap Phosphate tests, they are hard to read.
If there is too much light usually they bleach out before they die.
Sounds to me like you have a nutrient problem to me but that's just my opinion.

 

[Auto-pilot]

And you can do it!!! Coral is super rewarding to grow

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

And you can do it!!! Coral is super rewarding to grow

This is my second time reefing. Was years ago I was successful then. All my test kits are salifert. Hanahs are on my list for a couple of the parameters at least.

Regardless 6 months ago when everything was growing well and polyp extension was amazing. Nitrates were just as high of not a tad bit higher.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

You doubled the light over the tank. To much light. Remove 1 and raise the other to get better spread over the tank.

 

[Jonathan Troutt]

You doubled the light over the tank. To much light. Remove 1 and raise the other to get better spread over the tank.

Even doing that it is noticeable the sides are not a lot as with two lights. That is what irritates me. The tank needs to appear to be the same brightness from front to back and side to side.

I have lowered blues to 60 and whites to 35. I am going to wait a week and see what happens. I will say my anemone appeared to be more spread out this morning than it has been in months.