Ocean Revive Arctic T-247

[Ron Reefman]

Running an led fixture at that level for that long shouldn't be a problem for the coral. However, after about 6 to 8 hours the zooxanthellae (algae) inside the coral polyps is NOT doing photosynthesis anymore. It may still be using some of that light energy to build pigments but not making food. Your corals really don't care about sunrise or sunset at all, that's just something we do because it makes us feel good, however it is possible your fish may appreciate it to some very small degree.

 

[Angie Sewnauth]

Should I have both channels running at the same time?

Trying to figure out the best way to use these lights.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Should I have both channels running at the same time?

Trying to figure out the best way to use these lights.

It's fine to have them both on. Just know that the photosynthesis the zooxanthellae do is done using mostly blue spectrum (unlike most terrestrial plants). So that's very important for food production. The white light, being a mix of red, green and blue (RGB) is good for pigment production. Most reefers tend to set their leds to a cooler white with more blue and less white (as it's less important).

I ran my OR fixture over a frag tank and I started with 80% blue and 40% white. But I kept going more blue and less white over time. I kept getting better coral growth and less algae issues. For the last few years I was running 100% blue and 10% white. Just remember, this was a frag tank and not my DT, so I wasn't always looking at such a blue tank. My DT runs more like 80% blue and 30% white and with Reef Breeders Photons V2 leds rather than OR's.

 

[Angie Sewnauth]

Okay thank you - I’ve had these lights for almost a year and I don’t see much growth

 

[Ron Reefman]

Okay thank you - I’ve had these lights for almost a year and I don’t see much growth

If you are using the proper settings, don't blame the light. There are a lot of other factors that go into having a tank where corals will grow. Light is just one of many.

 

[b4tn]

@Ron Reefman I have been searching all morning and have seen several posts by you regarding successful ORt247 settings. I really wish I had a par meter but unfortunately its not in the budget and it seems finding one to rent can be a challenge so I am trying to eyeball the best settings for my lights. I have a pair of ORt247's above a 24" deep tank that have run for several years with a lighting period of 10 hours of blue at 65 and and 7 hours of whites at 45. My SPS all seemed to grow but I feel like color was pale and lacking which could be other issues as well.

The kicker is I can ramp my OR lights now. I am banging my head against the wall trying to figure out the best schedule and intensity to run them now that I can ramp them. I cant go below 10% so right now I have 10% ramping to 65% blue and down for 12 hours and 10% white ramping to 45% and down for 11 hours. The below is very close to how it actually is. The dotted lines represent the the new ramping solid lines where what it was. I would love to get some input, I feel like I want to get my intensity numbers up and maybe run a 90/40 mix but feel like maybe the schedule is spread out to far. Some of my corals started bleaching so I turned my intensity down to 60/40 and they started coloring back up. I am thinking to slowly start ramping the blue only up but what would the recommendation be for the actual lighting period and ramping?

 

[Ron Reefman]

@Ron Reefman I have been searching all morning and have seen several posts by you regarding successful ORt247 settings. I really wish I had a par meter but unfortunately its not in the budget and it seems finding one to rent can be a challenge so I am trying to eyeball the best settings for my lights. I have a pair of ORt247's above a 24" deep tank that have run for several years with a lighting period of 10 hours of blue at 65 and and 7 hours of whites at 45. My SPS all seemed to grow but I feel like color was pale and lacking which could be other issues as well.

The kicker is I can ramp my OR lights now. I am banging my head against the wall trying to figure out the best schedule and intensity to run them now that I can ramp them. I cant go below 10% so right now I have 10% ramping to 65% blue and down for 12 hours and 10% white ramping to 45% and down for 11 hours. The below is very close to how it actually is. The dotted lines represent the the new ramping solid lines where what it was. I would love to get some input, I feel like I want to get my intensity numbers up and maybe run a 90/40 mix but feel like maybe the schedule is spread out to far. Some of my corals started bleaching so I turned my intensity down to 60/40 and they started coloring back up. I am thinking to slowly start ramping the blue only up but what would the recommendation be for the actual lighting period and ramping?

I think the 65% blue and 45% white is OK, but I ran mine higher, like 90 and 40 since the zooxanthellae use mostly blue to do photosynthesis. But other spectrum help with production of chemistries that may help with pigments for the coral.

As for the ramp up and down, you want to run at the peak settings for at least 6 hours. I spend 3 or 4 hours ramping up, 6 hours at peak (midday) and 3 or 4 hours of ramping down. I'm guessing the last hour of sunrise and the first hour of sunset are also intense enough to still allow for photosynthesis. My first couple of hours and the last 3 hours are all blue. But that's because I love the way the tank looks since 95% of my corals and anemones fluoresce and look good. Corals that don't fluoresce, and there are a lot of them, don't 'pop' under all blue light and don't look as good. In that case I'd ramp the whites up with the blues so they look better.

I hope that helps some?

BTW, how did you arrange to make your T247's ramp?

 

[b4tn]

I think the 65% blue and 45% white is OK, but I ran mine higher, like 90 and 40 since the zooxanthellae use mostly blue to do photosynthesis. But other spectrum help with production of chemistries that may help with pigments for the coral.

As for the ramp up and down, you want to run at the peak settings for at least 6 hours. I spend 3 or 4 hours ramping up, 6 hours at peak (midday) and 3 or 4 hours of ramping down. I'm guessing the last hour of sunrise and the first hour of sunset are also intense enough to still allow for photosynthesis. My first couple of hours and the last 3 hours are all blue. But that's because I love the way the tank looks since 95% of my corals and anemones fluoresce and look good. Corals that don't fluoresce, and there are a lot of them, don't 'pop' under all blue light and don't look as good. In that case I'd ramp the whites up with the blues so they look better.

I hope that helps some?

BTW, how did you arrange to make your T247's ramp?

I appreciate the input. So my peak blue time is 8 hours and peak white time is 6 hours. I may try to start by shortening the peak time and once that is done start increasing blue intensity.

I highjacked the wire that the built in timer uses to dim the ballasts and use my own controller to control brightness. Only issue is they dont dim below 10% but the built in knob did not take them below 10% either. I use a reefpi but the same thing works with a blufish controller.

 

[Erick375]

I appreciate the input. So my peak blue time is 8 hours and peak white time is 6 hours. I may try to start by shortening the peak time and once that is done start increasing blue intensity.

I highjacked the wire that the built in timer uses to dim the ballasts and use my own controller to control brightness. Only issue is they dont dim below 10% but the built in knob did not take them below 10% either. I use a reefpi but the same thing works with a blufish controller.

Can you elaborate on "highjacked the wire"? I like the lights but wish I could ramp them instead of "instant on" and "instant off". Otherwise appreciate everyone thoughts here, I had worked my way up to 50/50 on both, never considering increasing the blue some and pulling back on the white.