Need Advice please....SPS corals losing color and turning brown

bubblewood · 08/08/2014, 10:43 PM

So my 240 full SPS reef is going thru a major change. I have switched my lighting from Radion G3 pros to...... (2) 250watt MH 20k Ushio bulbs. I have Hamilton Cabo 20x20 pendants. My MH are 14" above the water. Lights have been up for a week. They are running at 3.5 hrs a day. Since some of my corals are losing color and some going brown I'm thinking I need to lower my MH down a little and increase my running time.
I'm I thinking along the right path? I also have (2) 4' T5 fixtures with Blue+ and coral +
Thanks in advance!

hypnoj · 08/09/2014, 05:57 AM

I doubt you need to lower your lights, but it won't hurt to increase your run time on them. I think most people will run MH's around 6 hours (some a lot more).

PaleHorse · 08/09/2014, 06:35 AM

Bubble wood...... you just switched your lights. Let them get used to real lights now. Give it some time.

You also didn't give enough info one your tank...... sps height, depth.....

bubblewood · 08/09/2014, 07:53 AM

Sorry tank dim is 60.36.24. Most SPS are sitting about 5"-6". Some only inches.

d2mini · 08/09/2014, 08:19 AM

I made the same switch except i went to the Cebu Sun fixture with 250w Radiums and 4 T5 bulbs. 10" off the water, about the same as my LEDs.
I started with 4 hours a day with the MH and bumped it up a half hour every week till I was in the 6-7 hour range with the MH. The T5's I ran a good 10-12 hours from the start but first the blues for a couple hours, then the other two and the opposite at night. My coral never turned brown and after a few weeks were coloring up better than ever.

bubblewood · 08/09/2014, 08:23 AM

How has the change been for you d2mini? Loose anything? Did u experience any color loss? Regain color? How high are ur lights above the water? PAR?
Thanks!!

d2mini · 08/09/2014, 09:57 AM

Look through my build thread from around May of this year. I think that's when i started posting pics of the progress from the change i did in February. Up until this past month when I had a major sps upset from Cyano and probably a couple other things non-light related, it was doing great. I saw nothing but positive changes especially with SPS. Color and growth exploded. Approx 10" off the water and I don't have a PAR meter.

bubblewood · 08/09/2014, 10:07 AM

Can u send me the link.... Haven't found it yet. :-)

d2mini · 08/09/2014, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubblewood

Can u send me the link.... Haven't found it yet. :-)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...2#post22678372

08/08/2014, 10:43 PM	#1
bubblewood Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Madison,WI Posts: 307	Need Advice please....SPS corals losing color and turning brown So my 240 full SPS reef is going thru a major change. I have switched my lighting from Radion G3 pros to...... (2) 250watt MH 20k Ushio bulbs. I have Hamilton Cabo 20x20 pendants. My MH are 14" above the water. Lights have been up for a week. They are running at 3.5 hrs a day. Since some of my corals are losing color and some going brown I'm thinking I need to lower my MH down a little and increase my running time. I'm I thinking along the right path? I also have (2) 4' T5 fixtures with Blue+ and coral + Thanks in advance!

08/09/2014, 08:19 AM	#5
d2mini Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 10,344	I made the same switch except i went to the Cebu Sun fixture with 250w Radiums and 4 T5 bulbs. 10" off the water, about the same as my LEDs. I started with 4 hours a day with the MH and bumped it up a half hour every week till I was in the 6-7 hour range with the MH. The T5's I ran a good 10-12 hours from the start but first the blues for a couple hours, then the other two and the opposite at night. My coral never turned brown and after a few weeks were coloring up better than ever. __________________ -dennis Elos Diamond 120xl \| Elos Stand \| Radion G4 Pros \| GHL Profilux Controller \| LifeReef Skimmer \| LifeReef Sump Photos taken with a Nikon D750 or Leica M.

08/09/2014, 09:57 AM	#7
d2mini Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 10,344	Look through my build thread from around May of this year. I think that's when i started posting pics of the progress from the change i did in February. Up until this past month when I had a major sps upset from Cyano and probably a couple other things non-light related, it was doing great. I saw nothing but positive changes especially with SPS. Color and growth exploded. Approx 10" off the water and I don't have a PAR meter. __________________ -dennis Elos Diamond 120xl \| Elos Stand \| Radion G4 Pros \| GHL Profilux Controller \| LifeReef Skimmer \| LifeReef Sump Photos taken with a Nikon D750 or Leica M.

08/09/2014, 05:57 AM	#2
hypnoj Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North Carolina Posts: 952	I doubt you need to lower your lights, but it won't hurt to increase your run time on them. I think most people will run MH's around 6 hours (some a lot more).

08/09/2014, 06:35 AM	#3
PaleHorse Moved On Join Date: Jan 2014 Posts: 421	Bubble wood...... you just switched your lights. Let them get used to real lights now. Give it some time. You also didn't give enough info one your tank...... sps height, depth.....

08/09/2014, 07:53 AM	#4
bubblewood Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Madison,WI Posts: 307	Sorry tank dim is 60.36.24. Most SPS are sitting about 5"-6". Some only inches.

08/09/2014, 08:23 AM	#6
bubblewood Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Madison,WI Posts: 307	How has the change been for you d2mini? Loose anything? Did u experience any color loss? Regain color? How high are ur lights above the water? PAR? Thanks!!

08/09/2014, 10:07 AM	#8
bubblewood Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Madison,WI Posts: 307	Can u send me the link.... Haven't found it yet. :-)