These LED's just aren't cutting it. Or - are they?

[neoh]

This will be long and drawn out, but I'll give you the skinny on pretty well what I'm looking at.

I've currently owned a Vertex Illumina 260 48" fixture over my tank for about 6 months now, and I haven't had the kind of growth or coral health from what would be expected to be a high performing fixture.

I have a nano tank beside it that I need to transfer any corals that are starting to bite the dust into to regain their health back, and they are over a simple Par38 bulb. I am going to attribute most of my problems to the lighting, and have considered switching back to T5's, but maybe as a last ditch effort - I'll try something different.

Here's what I'm looking at:

My tank is 60" long, 18" wide, and 16" tall.

The light is currently 9" from the top of the tank.

I have it set as 6W 54RB 52B for 6 hours at peak during the day.

My tank parameters:

0 Ammonia
0 No2
10-20 No3
Phos 0.5
8 Alk
8.1 PH
78 F
1350 Mg
450 Ca
Sg 1.025

I've got a wave maker (WP40) a MP40, with another 1200gph and two input flares at 800GPH. Lots of turn over.

Dose amino's, coral snow, Ca, Mg and trace elements.

Everything is fully automated, and I use RODI water, and I currently house a scooter dragonet, hippo tang, dotty back, fumanchu lionfish, lime wrasse, and a bicolor angel. I feed mysis and krill every other day with nori for the tang (after washing it clean) and spot feed with reef roids and phytoplankton.

Water changes every two weeks.

I don't think I can be any more thorough! Should I keep my lights peaked longer? Shorter? Should they be lower to the tank? Higher? Should they be less bright? More bright?

I'm at a loss! Anyone have any ideas?

[apexifd]

Phosphate and nitrate are too high.

Nitrate should at at 0.
Phosphate at 0.02 or less.

[neoh]

ah come on - too easy. My nano tank has higher amounts of both. I run both gfo and carbon, with a fuge crammed full of chaeto and macro algae.

[asylumdown]

I was never that impressed with the Vertex fixture. When you say corals are declining, what do you mean? Are they bleaching or browning?

[neoh]

hammers bleached, but are coming back - slowly. No growth, nothing fully extending, zoas are melting over time.

[sphelps]

sounds like too much light

[daniella3d]

My nitrates are at 20 ppm and phosphates at .26 and everything grow like weeds. My SPS grow much faster than some people who have low nutrient system. I do feed my corals quite a bit, zeovit amino acid, coral vitalizer and sponge power each day, fauna marin ultraclam, ultra zoa and ultra min 3 to 4 times per week.


Colors are great too. I am trying to lower this a bit but was told if it's not broken don't fix it, so I put some bio-cube to lower the nitrates slowly and it seem to be working, nitrates are at 5ppm.

At some point my nitrates were at 50ppm and more, phosphates at .36, no problem with that either.

Originally Posted by neoh

ah come on - too easy. My nano tank has higher amounts of both. I run both gfo and carbon, with a fuge crammed full of chaeto and macro algae.

[neoh]

daniella3d, thank you for your input.

The corals seem to be acclimating a lot better to turning up the whites. I took a picture this evening: