Too much light?

[Koh23]

Ok, i know that answer is - get a par meter, but, this is impossible, so, all i have is some opinions, toughts, and well educated guesses....

So, help with yours

Tank is 130x60x60, flow is 2x jebao sow8 pumps (about 17000lph total), in random mode, and return is blau 4kdc...

Lights are 2 popbloom rs90, and, recently, 4x54w, only 2 blue plus (not ati but similar) in function.

Light time is from 10am to 10pm, t5 from 12 to 8pm. Led intensity is blue 100%, white 30%.

I wondering is it too much light?

Nothing is wrong, all corals doing good, varying from ok to great, some zoas are half open, torches, euphilias, calustreas, mushrooms etc are great, fully opened.....

Some plain red mushrooms are 10-15cm in diameter, enormous size..

Only real problem is cyano on sandbed, which appear recently, and can be related to adding t5, and glass needs to be cleaned daily.

Other parameters are also spot on - 5 no3, <0.02 po4, ca 450, mg 1500, alk 11.

But, i wonder, am i blasting my tank with too much light, can i get better growth or coloration if i lower intensity..... I feel that this is too much, but....

Sorry for.long post, hoping to hear some opinions...


Thanx!

 

[jstabile316]

Get a par meter.

 

[Koh23]

Sure, thanx, will you borrow me one for a few days?

Like i said - par meter is not an option, so.... Anything else?

 

[dstockwell]

That seems like a lot of white. Looking at this light it states it can put out 500 par at the surface.

 

[LeftyReefer]

free photone app.

 

[Bpb]

Based on info provided, I would say no that’s not too much light. Increasing light levels may have encouraged cyano to take off. I would see about increasing the flow a bit. Manual removal during water changes is a good idea. I’m hesitant to recommend chemi-clean but I’ve seen plenty of people say positive things about it.

 

[slythy]

Why cant you get a par meter to borrow? I think its $50 to rent from BRS. Also you might have a local fish club or LFS that has one you can borrow. No one can tell you what par you have by looking at it. How much are the corals you plan to keep? Are they going to be happy in too high or too low of par?

 

[Koh23]

Photone i tried, great app, but for some reason, i wrote that in app topic, new version gives some very weird readings....

Like 18 par directly under the lamp? In water.of course, air readings are very close to manufacturers.


I suspect that problem may be too thick plastic in waterproof case, i have to try with zip lock bag, if i ever find one that wont leak

So, you suggest that i leave everyrhing as is, i know that t5 dont give "harmfull" par, maybe increase flow a bit, to match increased lightning?

Borrow par meter, lfs, clubs.....

Please have in mind, in whole my country there is maybe 20 people with reef tanks.... So....

 

[Uncle99]

Turn down the intensity by 10-20% for 2 months and see how they react to that.

 

[Koh23]

So u suggest blues at 80%, whites at 20%, and leave t5 as is?

 

[SPS2020]

Why cant you get a par meter to borrow? I think its $50 to rent from BRS. Also you might have a local fish club or LFS that has one you can borrow. No one can tell you what par you have by looking at it. How much are the corals you plan to keep? Are they going to be happy in too high or too low of par?

Check their location (Croatia).

 

[Koh23]

So, i tried again with photone app, but readings are uselles....

Probably due to the fact that t5 is in use, but i get readings about 25-75par 8" below fixture, in air.

Under water, anything from 1-50 par, which is impossible.

So, i kinda estimated settings, based on some internet claims that 4 bulb fixture is plenty enough for soft/lps tank, so i set leds at 40% intensity, this should give close to that 50-150 par range.

Interesting, only noticeable problem whit leds at 100% is colors, corals appear bit brighter in colors than original colors that it was at day 1 (when put in tank), but growth is great,.now i dont want super rapid colors, so i hope this light reduction will bring back some darker intensive colors.