Prime HD settings for a IM Nuvo Abyss Drop-off

[esloan88]

I have a Prime HD being delivered tomorrow. It is my first Prime HD. I will be using it on a Nuvo Concept Abyss, which is 20 gallon. It is 20 inches long, 15 inches wide and about 21 inches on the deepest end.

I'm wondering if anyone has this light on this tank and what settings they are using? Or can anyone suggest settings?

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

[Flippers4pups]

Bump

 

[ph123uk]

Hello,

What coral do you have, SPS, LPS, a mix? Given it is a drop off tank You would more than likely want any SPS at the upper part of the drop off, softies and the bottom and LPS anywhere in between.

A lot of factors come into play to be honest.

Where are your rocks, do you have a current light on there and if so what is it?.

Basic rule of thumb is to start with it low, acclimatise the tank to it and increase intensity to the stock in your tank, once the stck is used to it, you can keep blipping it up - always look for signs the corals aren't happy - e.g. Change of colour, polyp retraction etc.

 

[esloan88]

We're mostly going to have softies and LPS. Hammer coral, zoas etc.. Might have an elegance or Duncan and acans.

 

[esloan88]

The tank is not setup yet. It arrives next week. I'll post dinner pics of the rocks when we get it up.

 

[ph123uk]

OK, so you are good to keep them low to start with.

There is no "correct" answer I can give as the scape and coral placement is a massive factor

As a recommendation, which I tend to follow, I look at the type of lighting my local store, where I get most of my coral from, has, and what sort of intensity, you can tell if their settings are working by simply looking at the corals reaction. Try to copy this by eye to start with and simply monitor the livestocks reaction.

That's the best I can give you so far without getting all technical with a par meter!

 

[esloan88]

Thanks for all your assistance. We intend to get the tank set-up and "map" it. Our local reef group has a par meter we can borrow and then we will use that to map par readings for each area of the tank. I was mostly looking for advice for initial set-up and then fine tune it from there with the par meter. One question I do have that you might can assist with; I am really uncertain about colors. With the Prime HD, I know you can set each color to a certain percentage but I have no idea where to start. I have read some people use no white or very little white as it assists in the growth of algae but I have also read the opposite and that some people do use white during the day and at a relatively high percentage. Where should I set the color percentages for day, dusk, night and dawn? Any suggestions?

 

[ph123uk]

I think the answer to the ultimate question is you are trying to mimic the natural habitat of the reef.

I personally run a max of 5% "white" (has red, green, warm white, cool white) - 12pm - 4pm

And 30% blues / royal / blue / violet 10am - 9pm

You will need minimal red and green, plenty of blue and some white (remember white contains mainly colours) , you are trying ultimately to hit the peaks that the corals crave.



My tank is also very new, a month old.

It's a toss up between what your eyes like and what the corals like, personally find a balance of colours between the channels that both appeals to your eye and is good for the coral, then start low, you can increase gradually. (I started at 1% white and 5% blue

I'm trying to avoid giving you exact numbers, as every tank is different and what is good for my coral, might not be good for yours