Torch Coral Lighting

[JimCali75]

Hi all,

How will a torch react to too much or too little light? I read that too strong and it will shrink back. What about not enough light? Thanks for your time ;)

 

[jtucker022187]

I have mine under a tek 6 bulb in a 40b on the sand and it loves it, started with 2 heads and now has 8 within a couple months. If that tells you anything

 

[GHill762]

IME, euphyllia may lose a little vibrance under too little lighting (not look as bright/colorful), however if you have reef capable lighting too much light is more likely. too much light they start to bleach out (you can easily see through their tentacles) and sometimes they'll stay a bit more retracted, but that's not always true. I started to bleach my frogspawn once, but it stayed puffed up the whole time..

 

[JimCali75]

Thanks for the input.. I have a Kessil A360W about 8" over a 60 cube. So 24x24.. only thing in the tank is the torch a couple zoanthids and a shroom. Everything is at the bottom except the torch is about half way up. The Kessil is around 35-40% output. So far the torch is looking irritated. (Not even close to fully open) Been in there less than 24 hours though. Should I move it to the sand bed? And at what intensity should I start? Thx all :)

 

[eliramos]

move him to the sandbed for a few days and over a few weeks move him up i would say mid way is best with decent amount of flow!

 

[GHill762]

just don't move it too much, the more you move it the more PO'd they get..

how much flow is it getting?

they can be pretty tempermental for a couple days after a drastic move.. I'd honestly just turn the light down rather than move the frog.. slowly ramp it back up.. that's my .02...

 

[jtucker022187]

Don't forget to, it's new to the tank and still getting adjusted.

 

[JimCali75]

Thx guys.. yeah I figured its still adjusting. Just wanna stay ahead of it in case there's a proplem. Flow is a gentle back and forth motion. I turned one power head off until I get a controller. I can move it to the bottom without too much irritation. It's still on a plug. It was under halides b4. So still turn the 360 all the way down?

 

[JimCali75]

I'll post a pic tonight..

 

[GHill762]

So still turn the 360 all the way down?

I would do one or the other, not both.. also, I wouldn't turn them all the way down, but probably start somewhere around 30-40%.. I don't know how powerful 360's are, that's just a generally good starting point for LED photo acclimation..

 

[JimCali75]

Thx.. so 30-40% on the sand bed? Because right now I'm at about 40% half way up the tank.

 

[GHill762]

At 40% halfway up the tank you shouldn't be bleaching the torch.. Those are like 90w right? Like I said Idk much about kessils, maybe look and see what others are doing with the same light.. Generally speaking though, the dimming ability should mean you don't have to move corals to the bottom and move them up to acclimate. Less moving of corals means less stress to the corals.

 

[JimCali75]

About 36 hours in.. still not looking very happy. Light is pretty much at the lowest intensity. Numbers were all good when I put it in. Double checked by the lfs. I'll test again tonight.

 

[eliramos]

it looks like your pump is right on it

maybe you should place him on the sand first and just leave him for a while

 

[JimCali75]

Yeah.. the pump is behind it. I would say it has moderate flow. Not very violent at all but yeah I think I'll move it to the sand bed tonight. Just not sure about how high I sure turn up the light. It was under halides at the lfs. I can't imagine the kessil at it's lowest intensity would come close especially at the bottom. Thx

 

[GHill762]

well, it's definitely not light shock IMO.. it's either flow, or it's PO'd about some parameter, or a pest, or just from being moved.. they really don't like being moved.. it can take a few days to perk back up after being moved, moving it again can further stress it..

 

[jtucker022187]

Yea when you mess with them, they get ******. Mine will but he bounces back. I have mine near the sand under a tek 6 bulb in a 40b, the light is hanging 8"? Above the tank and mine is happy

This is the whole view

 

[GHill762]

Yea when you mess with them, they get ******. Mine will but he bounces back. I have mine near the sand under a tek 6 bulb in a 40b, the light is hanging 8"? Above the tank and mine is happy

This is the whole view

That's a nice piece..

my euphyllia is all on the sand bed as well.. makes it easier to move them if I have to, since they have long tentacles and grow relatively quick I don't really want them permanently attached anywhere..

I really need a toxic hammer and a bright green torch.. I have gold torch and a froggie that's getting huge....

 

[jtucker022187]

Thank you, same as mine I have a lot of space between them lol

This is the same torch when I bought it in February I believe now it has about 8 heads

 

[GHill762]

wow.. that's pretty quick growth..

my frog went from 1 head about a year and a half ago, and is now probably about 8 heads.. my torch keeps trying to split but hasn't happened yet, it's a gold torch and I think it's probably a bit of a slow grower..

sorry for thread hijack.. lol..