More of a lighting question but DIY as well.

[zum14]

Sorry if I put this in the wrong spot. I think im still having issues with light intensity on my tank. Im finding that some of the softies and lps are just not as happy as they should be. Sps seems to be doing great on the other hand. The tank is a 24" deep 90gal tank. I have two 400W pendants with reflectors that are mounted 24" above the tank now. What im thinking of doing is making a new fixture. I have access to 4'X8' sheets of aluminum in thicknesses from 1/16" to 5/16". I was thinking of getting a fab shop to bend it to a 48"X18" and reinstall the sockets into the fixture on each end. Fans and such of course. Now the metal isnt completly dull but isnt a reflector either. Also this gives me room for a couple of T5's I want to play with for color. My question is does anyone think that moving the 400W bulbs from a reflective pendant to the metal fixture is going to reduce the intensity enough to make it worth all the work and building? If its going to be negligible I may as well start looking for 250W pendants.

[StirCrazy]

what bulbs are you running?

in a 24" deep tank with the light 24" above the tank there is no way you should be having problems with to much light for softies..

befor spending a bunch of money I would look at a other things and make sure your problem isn't something else first.

Steve

[zum14]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

what bulbs are you running?

in a 24" deep tank with the light 24" above the tank there is no way you should be having problems with to much light for softies..

befor spending a bunch of money I would look at a other things and make sure your problem isn't something else first.

Steve

There ushio 13K I belive is what the box says. They dont seem as crisp as other bulbs around 14K ive seen so ive been pondering a change. Sorry I forgot to mention the metals free but if I can avoid the work cool.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by zum14

There ushio 13K I belive is what the box says. They dont seem as crisp as other bulbs around 14K ive seen so ive been pondering a change. Sorry I forgot to mention the metals free but if I can avoid the work cool.

are you sure its to much light instead of not enough. most MH setups are only 6 to 8" above the water. I know when I had mine going the bulbs were 5" above the water and the LPS/softies had no problem to adjusting to the light.

now with lots of light some of the softies won't expand as much, as well as LPS. for instance my open brain was 12" accross with my PC/175 watt MH set up but with the 250 HQI set up it was only 6" across, so it wasn't having to expand to colect more light.

Steve

[reefwars]

i agree i dont think you have too much light if your 24" above your tank most people will have them around 6-8 inches above.

if your unsure of your problem give us some more info on what coral you have and what the problem is.also include some tank info and any changes you made lately and try to post pics. how is your brain doing now??

[Lance]

I have 3x400W 13000K Geisemann MH and 6x39W T5 actinic and 2x39W T5 10000K on a 24" deep tank. The light is 18" above the water.
The tank had way less light before the new fixture and after acclimating the softies and LPS to the new light they are all doing fine; in fact, most of them are growing faster and have better colour than under the old fixture. Hopefully this helps. Good Luck.

[zum14]

Originally Posted by reefwars

i agree i dont think you have too much light if your 24" above your tank most people will have them around 6-8 inches above.

if your unsure of your problem give us some more info on what coral you have and what the problem is.also include some tank info and any changes you made lately and try to post pics. how is your brain doing now??

Thanks everyone for the input! Well I found something interesting tonight. I more thought it was a tank issue as I ended up with another brain from my LFS and it doesnt seem to want to fully inflate and eat. Its still looking much better then the one posted in "brain problems". I think if you read my latest post in that thread it might explain all the issues im having as the only ones seeming to have a problem are the corals within a radius of this rock. Other then my green cap, its not super green.... Might be a flow issue though as i think im a little on the low side of turnover. Also could be because my halides are 24" above my tank now.. haha. I dunno.