changing light output

crankbait09 · 10/18/2018, 04:06 PM

I currently have (3) hydra HD's on top of my 130 gallon tank. The lights and all have been running for 2-3 years and the tank is doing very well. I have a mixed reef, fish, as well as a BTA

My current light settings are as follows:

uv - 35
violet - 35
royal blue - 88
blue - 88
green - 0
deep red - 0
cool white - 20

If I wanted to add more white, and maybe less blues, or change up the overall appearance, how can I do that without harming any of my coral? I'm cautious about messing with any of the settings since all things are doing well. Certainly don't want to upset everything, including that nem. Don't want him moving around. He's been stationary for a good 6 months now.

slief · 10/18/2018, 06:57 PM

Just increase the white channel a bit. I’d increase it no more than 2% a week until you are happy. 2% is a minimal increase so you can back off 2% or more if the corals respond adversely without doing damage to them.

crankbait09 · 10/18/2018, 07:03 PM

alright, I will give that a shot. thank you

crankbait09 · 11/03/2018, 02:36 PM

so I finally adjusted the light out put.
I dropped the blues to 85 (from 88), and the whites went up to 25 (from 20).

Does raising one, mean drop the other, or should the blues still remain at 88?

mcgyvr · 11/03/2018, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crankbait09

so I finally adjusted the light out put.
I dropped the blues to 85 (from 88), and the whites went up to 25 (from 20).

Does raising one, mean drop the other, or should the blues still remain at 88?

Its all personal preference... There is nothing saying you must maintain some specific ratio...Its all personal preference to achieve a color/look you enjoy..

crankbait09 · 11/03/2018, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Its all personal preference... There is nothing saying you must maintain some specific ratio...Its all personal preference to achieve a color/look you enjoy..

Ya but at what point should levels be this or that due to coral and nems?

I dont know if this is total coincidence or not. But I adjusted the levels at 3:00. I came back at 6:00 to find green algae on the glass at the back of the tank

I never noticed it before. Would the white light have caused that? I've never seen any green algae in this tank till now

mrg02d · 11/04/2018, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crankbait09

Ya but at what point should levels be this or that due to coral and nems?

I dont know if this is total coincidence or not. But I adjusted the levels at 3:00. I came back at 6:00 to find green algae on the glass at the back of the tank

I never noticed it before. Would the white light have caused that? I've never seen any green algae in this tank till now

White light contains a lot of red, which I believe algea favor, so definitely could be why. I know algea grows on the side of my glass where sunlight comes in.

crankbait09 · 11/04/2018, 01:00 PM

Hmmm. So maybe if I leave the whites lower, and just decrease the blues, that'll give me the visual effect I'm after. Certainly not raising the whites after that happened.

10/18/2018, 04:06 PM	#1
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	changing light output I currently have (3) hydra HD's on top of my 130 gallon tank. The lights and all have been running for 2-3 years and the tank is doing very well. I have a mixed reef, fish, as well as a BTA My current light settings are as follows: uv - 35 violet - 35 royal blue - 88 blue - 88 green - 0 deep red - 0 cool white - 20 If I wanted to add more white, and maybe less blues, or change up the overall appearance, how can I do that without harming any of my coral? I'm cautious about messing with any of the settings since all things are doing well. Certainly don't want to upset everything, including that nem. Don't want him moving around. He's been stationary for a good 6 months now.

10/18/2018, 06:57 PM	#2
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	Just increase the white channel a bit. I’d increase it no more than 2% a week until you are happy. 2% is a minimal increase so you can back off 2% or more if the corals respond adversely without doing damage to them. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

10/18/2018, 07:03 PM	#3
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	alright, I will give that a shot. thank you

11/03/2018, 02:36 PM	#4
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	so I finally adjusted the light out put. I dropped the blues to 85 (from 88), and the whites went up to 25 (from 20). Does raising one, mean drop the other, or should the blues still remain at 88?

11/04/2018, 01:00 PM	#8
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	Hmmm. So maybe if I leave the whites lower, and just decrease the blues, that'll give me the visual effect I'm after. Certainly not raising the whites after that happened.