Where to start with with new lights

rjpotts · 12/16/2017, 11:19 AM

I'm upgrading my 36 corner bow to a 5' 125 in a few weeks.
The 36 is under a single AI Prime. For the 125 I'll be running a reefbreeders photon 50-v2.
I need an idea of how to set up the photon to replicate the par that my corals are experiencing under the prime, so as not to melt anything.

All that's in there now is a hammer (30 heads), Duncan (6 heads), and a rock flower anemone between 15-18" below the prime (10" off the water surface).
And a frogspawn, pipe organ, and some zoas on or about the sand bed. 20" deep tank now. The 125 is 24" deep.

Any guesses or advice?
Thanks.

outy · 12/16/2017, 01:23 PM

I started around 35% and slowly bumped up, after 6 weeks I'm at 50% B and 25-30 W

rjpotts · 12/16/2017, 01:28 PM

I suppose it won't really hurt anything to start really low and slowly work my way up. I was hoping to get really close right off the bat. I'll probably need a par meter to do that though.

outy · 12/16/2017, 02:20 PM

the problem is these lights have hotspots that do not reflect outside hotspot corals.

Much also depends on what lighting you had before, and what the corals are used to.

biggest mistake I see being made is to much to soon with LEDs

JTL · 12/17/2017, 11:30 AM

I have the Photon v2 48" which is the same fixture with the groupings of leds spread out a little further. I have tried a number of settings but I am finding it difficult to satisfy the requirements of a mixed tank, including sps, lps, zoas and a duncan and hammer. The sps are the major problem. A few days ago I took the PAR data from the Reefbreeders site and did my best to extrapolate the readings to my tank which is 20" deep with the light is 10" off the waterline.

My goal was to have approximately 250 PAR at 8" below the waterline. For example I am running my RB@65%, White@30%, Blue@60% and Violet@40 during 4 peak hours and step it down before and after. It is too soon to tell if this is going to improve my sps, of course there may be other factors at work on the coral as well.

Ron Reefman · 12/18/2017, 07:15 AM

OP, I have the same fixture, RB Photon V2 over a 125g tank (5'x2'x20"). My tank was a mixed reef with more sps, but some lps and quite a few zoas and both rock flower and RBT anemones.

I run this light schedule:

It is my belief that I get enough PAR during the midday segment of my schedule (5 hours at 80 & 90% blue) and for the hour before and after the midday segment (at 60% blue). Corals need 5 to 8 hours of high enough PAR to get full photosynthesis. After that, photosynthesis shuts down whether there is bright light or not. It's a genetics issue with zooxanthellae and millions of years in tropical reefs where they got 5 to 8 hours of high PAR sunlight. Morning and afternoon sunlight comes in at such steep angles that the PAR falls off below the level needed to do photosynthesis.

Mine ran for a year before a chiller control failure super cooled my tank down to 55F (a complete night cycle) and killed 95% of my sps, 100% of my leathers and 95% of my fish. I had a big puddle of condensation on the floor that was dripping off the glass of the tank when I discovered it in the morning. But in that year I bought a lot of higher end acros and other sps frags (I had over 100 different corals in the tank). By the end of the year I was just starting to frag some sps because they were growing into each other.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this was due entirely to my lighting schedule. The 125g tank was a re-set of a 180g tank that broke. So 1/2 to 2/3rds of everything in the new tank was from an 8 year old mature reef. I think water quality, flow, filtration, food, feeding techniques and other issues play important roles as well.

BTW, the 125g is now a zoa and anemone garden. The few sps that survived and the few I had in another tank are now in a 55g on the same system with the 125g. But from here on I'm concentrating on zoas. I've been in the hobby for almost 15 years and never paid much attention to them as I always chased lps and sps corals (and I had a dwarf angel that ate zoas). I also like that zoas do a much better job of fluorescing colors under the blue light of sunrise and sunset. The tank looks like Pandora at night (From the movie Avatar).

rjpotts · 12/18/2017, 07:46 AM

That is exactly what I needed to see.
I'll take those numbers and dial them back to start with, then fine tune channels to get the look I'm after.
I don't really plan on having any sps, unless I see something that I can't live without.
It's funny that you reference pandora. A friend of mine that isn't into the hobby, and has never seen my tank before said exactly that two nights ago.
He showed up just after dark, before everything retracted and just as the blues/violets were on by themselves.
I'm intending on various "gardens" of the things I like. Which are things that visibly sway and move in the current, and fluorescence brilliantly.
Basically a euphillia garden, a lot of zoas of various colors, the biggest rock flower garden I can afford, maybe a ricordea garden somewhere..
I'm open to suggestions on others.
Greens seem to fluoresce the most, but my rock flower is my favorite. It has very jagged electric orange tentacles, with an iridescent blue center, and red veins radiating out from the mouth. It is wacky looking under actinic/moon lights, and I'd like to replicate that every chance I get.

12/16/2017, 11:19 AM	#1
rjpotts Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 45	Where to start with with new lights I'm upgrading my 36 corner bow to a 5' 125 in a few weeks. The 36 is under a single AI Prime. For the 125 I'll be running a reefbreeders photon 50-v2. I need an idea of how to set up the photon to replicate the par that my corals are experiencing under the prime, so as not to melt anything. All that's in there now is a hammer (30 heads), Duncan (6 heads), and a rock flower anemone between 15-18" below the prime (10" off the water surface). And a frogspawn, pipe organ, and some zoas on or about the sand bed. 20" deep tank now. The 125 is 24" deep. Any guesses or advice? Thanks.

12/17/2017, 11:30 AM	#5
JTL Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Venice Island, FL Posts: 2,532	I have the Photon v2 48" which is the same fixture with the groupings of leds spread out a little further. I have tried a number of settings but I am finding it difficult to satisfy the requirements of a mixed tank, including sps, lps, zoas and a duncan and hammer. The sps are the major problem. A few days ago I took the PAR data from the Reefbreeders site and did my best to extrapolate the readings to my tank which is 20" deep with the light is 10" off the waterline. My goal was to have approximately 250 PAR at 8" below the waterline. For example I am running my RB@65%, White@30%, Blue@60% and Violet@40 during 4 peak hours and step it down before and after. It is too soon to tell if this is going to improve my sps, of course there may be other factors at work on the coral as well. __________________ John 100 gallon DT and 50 gallon sump with refugium. Reefbreeders Photon V2+.

12/18/2017, 07:15 AM	#6
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	OP, I have the same fixture, RB Photon V2 over a 125g tank (5'x2'x20"). My tank was a mixed reef with more sps, but some lps and quite a few zoas and both rock flower and RBT anemones. I run this light schedule: It is my belief that I get enough PAR during the midday segment of my schedule (5 hours at 80 & 90% blue) and for the hour before and after the midday segment (at 60% blue). Corals need 5 to 8 hours of high enough PAR to get full photosynthesis. After that, photosynthesis shuts down whether there is bright light or not. It's a genetics issue with zooxanthellae and millions of years in tropical reefs where they got 5 to 8 hours of high PAR sunlight. Morning and afternoon sunlight comes in at such steep angles that the PAR falls off below the level needed to do photosynthesis. Mine ran for a year before a chiller control failure super cooled my tank down to 55F (a complete night cycle) and killed 95% of my sps, 100% of my leathers and 95% of my fish. I had a big puddle of condensation on the floor that was dripping off the glass of the tank when I discovered it in the morning. But in that year I bought a lot of higher end acros and other sps frags (I had over 100 different corals in the tank). By the end of the year I was just starting to frag some sps because they were growing into each other. And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this was due entirely to my lighting schedule. The 125g tank was a re-set of a 180g tank that broke. So 1/2 to 2/3rds of everything in the new tank was from an 8 year old mature reef. I think water quality, flow, filtration, food, feeding techniques and other issues play important roles as well. BTW, the 125g is now a zoa and anemone garden. The few sps that survived and the few I had in another tank are now in a 55g on the same system with the 125g. But from here on I'm concentrating on zoas. I've been in the hobby for almost 15 years and never paid much attention to them as I always chased lps and sps corals (and I had a dwarf angel that ate zoas). I also like that zoas do a much better job of fluorescing colors under the blue light of sunrise and sunset. The tank looks like Pandora at night (From the movie Avatar). __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

12/16/2017, 01:23 PM	#2
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	I started around 35% and slowly bumped up, after 6 weeks I'm at 50% B and 25-30 W

12/16/2017, 01:28 PM	#3
rjpotts Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 45	I suppose it won't really hurt anything to start really low and slowly work my way up. I was hoping to get really close right off the bat. I'll probably need a par meter to do that though.

12/16/2017, 02:20 PM	#4
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	the problem is these lights have hotspots that do not reflect outside hotspot corals. Much also depends on what lighting you had before, and what the corals are used to. biggest mistake I see being made is to much to soon with LEDs

12/18/2017, 07:46 AM	#7
rjpotts Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 45	That is exactly what I needed to see. I'll take those numbers and dial them back to start with, then fine tune channels to get the look I'm after. I don't really plan on having any sps, unless I see something that I can't live without. It's funny that you reference pandora. A friend of mine that isn't into the hobby, and has never seen my tank before said exactly that two nights ago. He showed up just after dark, before everything retracted and just as the blues/violets were on by themselves. I'm intending on various "gardens" of the things I like. Which are things that visibly sway and move in the current, and fluorescence brilliantly. Basically a euphillia garden, a lot of zoas of various colors, the biggest rock flower garden I can afford, maybe a ricordea garden somewhere.. I'm open to suggestions on others. Greens seem to fluoresce the most, but my rock flower is my favorite. It has very jagged electric orange tentacles, with an iridescent blue center, and red veins radiating out from the mouth. It is wacky looking under actinic/moon lights, and I'd like to replicate that every chance I get.