SPS not looking great!

[jda]

What you are looking for is throughput of building blocks, not numbers on a test kit. This is hard to quantify without a ton of experience and also very hard to test for - my water will test at about .1N and .o1P and yet everything, including a bit of algae, thrives... this means that there is plenty available to everything. I can tell that everything is OK because I know what kind of growth of both corals and coralline algae (great litmus) to expect.

You cannot figure out where you are at until your tank settles into it's spot... this is going to take a few more months (or longer). Anything that you do to interfere will just put days on the back end. Get the lights run on the new setting and let everything else alone for a while. Change some water every few weeks. I like what skimmers have to offer beyond organic removal, like gas exchange, metal removal, etc.

This might be hard, but you might be in for a bit of an ulgy, unstable period while nature takes back over. This is one of the unintended consequences to controlling things by the human using organic carbon, GFO, LC, other chemicals and stuff. Sucks, but better to let the bacterial populations take over where they need to be.

 

[Saintnovakai]

Thank you. So you are another that has success with the one unit on an SPS reef? I remember using the David Saxbys schedule before and I’m sure there was something I didn’t like about it. Does it stay on blue all night or too blue throughout the day?

Y'know, I run two Hydra 52 HDs and found myself in almost the exact position you are a month ago and Chas stepped in. Suffice it to say, everything changed within 3 weeks, colors, PE and growth. I stopped carbon dosing and increased my light output, which seemed really bright to me originally and lowered my ALK to 8 which is close to NSW here in the Caribbean. Everything is balancing out.

Trust the guys who run the lights you do, know water quality and have a PAR meter. They've been there. I've learned that good quality water isn't necessarily like the sea. It is whatever water your corals thrive in. We can't chase numbers too much because we don't have the sea with all its bounty at home. We hack nature by having measurable po4 and No3 when the sea only has trace amounts but it feeds continuously each coral and we use fake sunlight that hacks the spectrum best for corals to both grow and look good when in nature they would more than likely be fat and brown. Lol

 

[Dan Kyle]

Haha that made me laugh! Excellent read though and very informative so thank you. I’ve already changed my lighting schedule. I believe it runs at 67W. The graph looks crazy but it’s done. No longer dosing anything outside of alk, cal or Mg. As and when needed.

 

[Dan Kyle]

I do appreciate all the input you guys have made on the thread, especially Chas. I’ve followed the advice and I will await to see what happens I can’t invest in a PAR reading at the moment but sometime in the future I hope.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Y'know, I run two Hydra 52 HDs and found myself in almost the exact position you are a month ago and Chas stepped in. Suffice it to say, everything changed within 3 weeks, colors, PE and growth. I stopped carbon dosing and increased my light output, which seemed really bright to me originally and lowered my ALK to 8 which is close to NSW here in the Caribbean. Everything is balancing out.

Trust the guys who run the lights you do, know water quality and have a PAR meter. They've been there. I've learned that good quality water isn't necessarily like the sea. It is whatever water your corals thrive in. We can't chase numbers too much because we don't have the sea with all its bounty at home. We hack nature by having measurable po4 and No3 when the sea only has trace amounts but it feeds continuously each coral and we use fake sunlight that hacks the spectrum best for corals to both grow and look good when in nature they would more than likely be fat and brown. Lol

I hope you’re keeping Jamaica warm for me brother. I can’t wait to be there July.
Blessed Love
I shot those par numbers for your friend. I sent them to your inbox.

 

[Dan Kyle]

No its actually almost too white. I actually turned down the white a little bit towards the end of the night.

Yeah I think if I remember right it was actually because it was too white for my liking I quickly removed it. Either way, I have one on there now so hopefully I'll get there

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Haha that made me laugh! Excellent read though and very informative so thank you. I’ve already changed my lighting schedule. I believe it runs at 67W. The graph looks crazy but it’s done. No longer dosing anything outside of alk, cal or Mg. As and when needed.

Uhhhh
I know that took a while to plot all of those respiration points, buuuuuut, I’m not a fan of those peeks and valleys. Usually when a user sets those up, they are unknowingly causing spectrum shifts. Did you do a ratio calculation for each point? Setting up the weather effect is a better way to mimick cloud cover. I don’t because metal halides, which are by far the best light source for acros in my opinion, don’t mimick cloud cover.
It should be fine as long as the spectrum is consistent.

 

[Dan Kyle]

Uhhhh
I know that took a while to plot all of those respiration points, buuuuuut, I’m not a fan of those peeks and valleys. Usually when a user sets those up, they are unknowingly causing spectrum shifts. Did you do a ratio calculation for each point? Setting up the weather effect is a better way to mimick cloud cover. I don’t because metal halides, which are by far the best light source for acros in my opinion, don’t mimick cloud cover.
It should be fine as long as the spectrum is consistent.

I did look at the BRS video you posted but I didn’t see any link for me to download it to my API. Do you have a link?

 

[Saintnovakai]

I hope you’re keeping Jamaica warm for me brother. I can’t wait to be there July.
Blessed Love
I shot those par numbers for your friend. I sent them to your inbox.

I thank you kind sir. He is most pleased. Jamaica is a nice temp right now but summer is my reefing fear. I'm usually not here in summer and I had a slight bleaching event. This year I'm throwing the dang fridge at the tank....well.....a couple fans. Lol

 

[Saintnovakai]

Why doesn't OP try AB+? It's tried and tested and you only need to set your max intensity period at its settings.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I do appreciate all the input you guys have made on the thread, especially Chas. I’ve followed the advice and I will await to see what happens I can’t invest in a PAR reading at the moment but sometime in the future I hope.

I’m happy to estimate par numbers for you anytime. While it won’t be exact, it will be pretty close. I just shot some for another reefer that uses a single 52 HD fixture. I did one with both of my fixtures at 50% intensity and then I used his exact settings with one of mine off and the par number were very similar. Just not nearly as much spread.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I did look at the BRS video you posted but I didn’t see any link for me to download it to my API. Do you have a link?

I just paused the video at the 52 settings and did 3 hour ramps 6 hour peak time in the easy set up feature. Those settings produce more par for my acros than I felt comfortable with so decreased the intensity by placing 2 fingers on the top and bottom of the program and squeezed my fingers inward. This reduces the intensity while keeping the desired spectrum the same.

 

[Dan Kyle]

I just paused the video at the 52 settings and did 3 hour ramps 6 hour peak time in the easy set up feature. Those settings produce more par for my acros than I felt comfortable with so decreased the intensity by placing 2 fingers on the top and bottom of the program and squeezed my fingers inward. This reduces the intensity while keeping the desired spectrum the same.

Alright so I’ve watched again and paused it. I’ll do it the same way. I’ll go by the 26 HD settings not the 52. I’m not quite sure on how to reduce the intensity, by how much I mean. I’ll do the 3 hour ramp up time too.

 

[Dan Kyle]

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I would do their exact settings. That should produce 90 watts. Set the acclimation to 30% for 3-4 weeks. 90 watts on that isn’t too much light. I promise. Now once your tank/corals and your addiction settles in we’ll need to discuss more light. A second 26 or a T/5 hybrid would be ideal. But for now,,,
Baby steps

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Wow
I just watched the 26 info and it looks like that only produces 55 watts. Can you spread the program to max it out

 

[Dan Kyle]

Wow
I just watched the 26 info and it looks like that only produces 55 watts. Can you spread the program to max it out

How do you mean by spread it out?

 

[Dan Kyle]

It's already spread from 8am to 11pm :/ I don't know how I can spread it any further?

 

[Dan Kyle]

I increased the intensity?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

It's already spread from 8am to 11pm :/ I don't know how I can spread it any further?

I apologize for the delay and assuming the 26’s were more similar to the 52’s. 54 watts of light is not much more than what you have. In fact these settings are going to lower your par, even when the acclimation is over. See what maxing out uv, v, b, rb and g and r at 10 and white at 22 looks like.
How many watts is that?