Switching to larger tank and from T5 to LED

oldpaddy · 09/09/2015, 06:07 AM

Hi all, I'll be moving up to a 220gal from a 90gal soon. I'll be switching the lighting to 2 32" 300w black box LEDs. My 90 gal is 21 or 24" tall and is under 6x T5 light. I have a mixture of mostly LPS and soft corals. The new tank is 30" deep and I'm planning on keeping the leds 14" above the tank.
What's the best way to acclimate the corals to the new lights? What percentage should I start the lights at?

Thanks

Ron Reefman · 09/09/2015, 07:52 AM

My best guess is to start at roughly 50% of the total power available. Something like 40 white and 60 blue, or 30 white and 70 blue. Then bump the total up by 10 every week. Given a 30" deep tank you will end up a bit higher than I run over my 24" deep tank.

I use a very similar fixture over a 24" deep sps & lps tank and I do 40% white and 90% blue for 3 hours at midday. I do a 5 hour sunrise and a 6 hour sunset as well.

BTW, you do realize that although this fixture has 100 each 3 watt leds, that the drivers only produce 240 watts total power. So each led is max at 2.4 watts. Just a point of info. Mine is the same but with 99 leds instead of 100.

oldpaddy · 09/09/2015, 09:05 AM

Thanks Ron, I know the real wattage is lower than 300w, but they're sold as 300w and I didn't want to confuse anyone. Do you think 14" is too high? I want to say they're 90deg optics.

Ron Reefman · 09/09/2015, 02:56 PM

Odds are that they are 90 degree lenses and at 14" off the water you may spill some of the light out of the tank front and/or back. Having them a bit lower would help. Mine are just 8" off the water. It might help if you can move the fixture forward over the tank and then tip is so the light doesn't spill out the front glass. That also helps reduce shadows under rock and coral overhangs and ledges. I did that with mine and it made a pretty big difference in how the tank looks.

09/09/2015, 06:07 AM	#1
oldpaddy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cape Cod, Mass Posts: 326	Switching to larger tank and from T5 to LED Hi all, I'll be moving up to a 220gal from a 90gal soon. I'll be switching the lighting to 2 32" 300w black box LEDs. My 90 gal is 21 or 24" tall and is under 6x T5 light. I have a mixture of mostly LPS and soft corals. The new tank is 30" deep and I'm planning on keeping the leds 14" above the tank. What's the best way to acclimate the corals to the new lights? What percentage should I start the lights at? Thanks

09/09/2015, 07:52 AM	#2
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	My best guess is to start at roughly 50% of the total power available. Something like 40 white and 60 blue, or 30 white and 70 blue. Then bump the total up by 10 every week. Given a 30" deep tank you will end up a bit higher than I run over my 24" deep tank. I use a very similar fixture over a 24" deep sps & lps tank and I do 40% white and 90% blue for 3 hours at midday. I do a 5 hour sunrise and a 6 hour sunset as well. BTW, you do realize that although this fixture has 100 each 3 watt leds, that the drivers only produce 240 watts total power. So each led is max at 2.4 watts. Just a point of info. Mine is the same but with 99 leds instead of 100. __________________ 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 Last edited by Ron Reefman; 09/09/2015 at 08:00 AM.

09/09/2015, 02:56 PM	#4
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Odds are that they are 90 degree lenses and at 14" off the water you may spill some of the light out of the tank front and/or back. Having them a bit lower would help. Mine are just 8" off the water. It might help if you can move the fixture forward over the tank and then tip is so the light doesn't spill out the front glass. That also helps reduce shadows under rock and coral overhangs and ledges. I did that with mine and it made a pretty big difference in how the tank looks. __________________ 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

09/09/2015, 09:05 AM	#3
oldpaddy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cape Cod, Mass Posts: 326	Thanks Ron, I know the real wattage is lower than 300w, but they're sold as 300w and I didn't want to confuse anyone. Do you think 14" is too high? I want to say they're 90deg optics.