#1
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These LED's just aren't cutting it. Or - are they?
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? |
#2
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Phosphate and nitrate are too high.
Nitrate should at at 0. Phosphate at 0.02 or less.
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150DD mix reef with 90 gal sump and 40gal frag tank purple tang, sohal tang, yellow eye kole tang, fairy wrasse. cleaner wrasse, leopard wrasse, and misc fish. GHL Mitras 6200HV X 2, MP40 X 2, MP60 X 1, tunze 6095 X 2, Vertex RX6 calcium reactor, Bubble King SM250, Aquamaxx bio pellets reactor, Profilux 3 |
#3
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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.
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#4
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I was never that impressed with the Vertex fixture. When you say corals are declining, what do you mean? Are they bleaching or browning?
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#5
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hammers bleached, but are coming back - slowly. No growth, nothing fully extending, zoas are melting over time.
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#6
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sounds like too much light
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#7
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Id agree. My corals have never been happier since switching to led
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#8
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i have the sunbrite led and it is amazing i dont know my light is about 5 inches fron water top and everything is great i got a goni that is about the size of a basketball and polyps extend like 7 inches it loves my led
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#9
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I'll try taking it down by 10 across the blues and see if it makes a difference!
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#10
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In my experience with LED's (designed and built a full spectrum light for my BC29), if the corals bleach, then its too much light too fast. If they brown out, then probably want more light (or nitrates/phosphates are too high -- or a combo of the two factors).
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