SPS and LEDs

Waters · May 2, 2016

I have been running my SPS tank at 19-20K on Radion G3 Pros for almost a year. I want to switch to a whiter spectrum (somewhere between 16-18K except morning and night which will still be closer to 20K) I know intensity changes need to be done slowly....is that true for spectrum changes also? I ask because I tried this about 6 months ago and bleached a couple of acros...ended up going back to 20K which brought them back. At that time I didn't reduce intensity when making the change which might have been my issue since whites are more intense than blues? I am currently only running the lights at about 60 overall intensity. My plan was to leave the three blue channels at 100, and only bring the whites/greens/reds up about 5 points every couple of weeks. Currently they all sit under 20.

dvbrien · May 2, 2016

I've not have any issues changing spectrum... many many times with several setups.

saltyfilmfolks · May 2, 2016

Waters said:
..is that true for spectrum changes also?

Yes. :) And no.:confused:
But I would.
several folks I know in person and here on R2R have had issues. But t5 and mh(like me) dont have that option. and have mixed results.
I went from 20k radium to 14k mh bulb and one of my monti completely changed color, for the better:D, but my frogspawn is not happy, and im def not positive thats the issue yet.
FWIW those were the only 2 corals affected at all.

Waters · May 2, 2016

Ok thanks guys. Saltyfilmfolks, so do you think the bleaching I experienced could have been caused by the changing of the spectrum (doesn't sound like it) or more because of the increase in par from switching from 20K to 16K?

saltyfilmfolks · May 2, 2016

Waters said:
Ok thanks guys. Saltyfilmfolks, so do you think the bleaching I experienced could have been caused by the changing of the spectrum (doesn't sound like it) or more because of the increase in par from switching from 20K to 16K?

oy. Million dollar question. Changes in lighting can mess with <basically< the metabolism of the animal. I soo often say use a lux meter as it also checks the INTENSITY. you may have changed that without knowing. Intensity changes metabolism too.
sunlight to sugars, uptake of minerals,sensitivity to new spectrums, etc, all metabolism concerns. thus the slow acclimation so many recommend.

If I take you from Maine and bring you to san diego, your going to get a sunburn and indigestion. and likely a cold in the first week if you eat everything and go every where as your immune system is now compromised by a dozen other environmental factors.
If you drink bottled water mostly, wear a hat, and stay for a month, youll be fine. Its what I did in Atlanta Recently. LA guys got sick.