lighting acclimation

nemo79 · 01-18-2007, 05:31 PM

Yippy, I just received my new lights...nova extreme t5ho 4 x 54 watt. What is the best way for me to acclimate my tank to the new lighting. I cannot lower my xenia as they have attached themselves to the rocks but they are the only coral I have near the top besides some rics.

I was thinking of running 2 bulbs all day (not sure which ones daylight or actnitic) and then running the other for only a few hours when I get home. Does anyone have any better methods, I don't want to shock what's in my tank.

Also I'm not sure why but the fan on these lights runs on it's own plug so should I only run the fan when the lights are on or all the time?

thanks, I'm so excited. These lights are super bright.

coral reefer · 01-18-2007, 06:44 PM

Congrats...A big thrill, I know, as It was for me as well.
For the acclimation process, you really have a couple choices. You could lower your Frogspawn as I don't think the others will have much of a problem with the increased lighting, but watch them closely to be certain.
The other thing you could do is lessen the duration that your lights are on to say 5 hours for a week or so, then increase it to say 7 hours. You can monitor this to see if it working well or not!
That is my opinion to start the lights off for a shorter duration and slowly increase it!

Jason McKenzie · 01-18-2007, 07:04 PM

I agree with CR I have had great success with acclimation by decreasing the photo-period then gradually increasing it.

J

coral reefer · 01-18-2007, 08:03 PM

If you notice that your corals are showing signs of bleaching, you need to make drastic changes to eliminate that problem!
Bleaching is cause by a coral(s) receiving too much light for the zooxanthellae to keep up with. Too much light causes oxygen toxicity from oversaturation of coral tissue with photosynthesis. Zooxanthellae produce more o2 than can be consumed, that is bleaching>A carbon addition and extreme filtration/skimming, new light, prolonged intensity, sudden placement in corals into new places without addequate acclimation will also affect this.
An iodine supplement will help to heal the corals and stop the bleaching if caught soon enough.
Another neat point to make is that many times our tank water has a yellowish tint to it. That is called GELBSTOFF which is plankton and algae that once decomposed, releases a yellow substance which effects the intensity and quality of the light reaching your corals. Refractory compounds aslo play the part of decreasing the amount of light hitting your corals, due to compound like organic acids which these can be removed with carbon and efficient skimming!
Think about upwelling light as well for the health of your corals. That is light that bounces off the light substrate or rock to give the undersides of your coral beneficial light.

Birchell · 01-18-2007, 08:18 PM

um... what he said, lol. You hit it right one CR!!

nemo79 · 01-19-2007, 07:05 AM

so going from say 10 hrs of light to 5 hours won't affect the livestock in the tank?
Should I run all 4 bulbs for 5hrs and then shut them off? Is 5 hrs to little? What time should I start them and end them?

thanks everyone. God I hope I don't bleach the corals...what are the beginning signes to bleaching?

Jason McKenzie · 01-19-2007, 07:15 AM

I actually took the increase of light as a % and then cut my time by that % and kept the ratio between actinics and daylight the same

so if you went from 100W of total lights to 500W so that is an increase of 80% if my total lighting time was 10hr I would then start 2hrs. then increase slowly from there

J

coral reefer · 01-19-2007, 12:34 PM

You will have to keep an eye on your corals as they will let you know if conditions are optimal. I have had numerous corals start to bleach. By changing the placement of them, I was able to stop the bleaching and the corals have since grown back. Unfortunately this may not be the case all the time however.
Beginning signs of bleachign will be often times the release of zooxanthellae which will be a brownish stringy filament at times. Also you will see no polyp extension and of course the dying white skeleton in stonies and a cheesy whitish color in softies.
5-7 hours or so I think should be sufficient to start and slowly increase the time. Again you could also try different placements of corals as well.
An iodine supplement will help with your corals recovery!!!!