Acclimating corals to new light please help

IansAquatics · 07/03/2013, 07:05 PM

so currently i have an oceanic 125 with 4 25watt t8's 2 10,000 k 2 actinic and i have a condy anemone, purple tip torch, GSP, and some xenia and my tanks been running with these current lights for about 6 months. no problems and actually some could growth, my torch actually just grew a new head. that being said i dont need somebody lecturing me about how my lighting is inadequate. i know this. ive been saving up for kessils

however 2 days ago i ran into a guy at my LFS who had brought in abunch of stuff because he was moving and mentioned he had a light for sale. anyways to make a long story short. he has a 6 ft nova pro extreme 12x39 that im buying for 150. to good od a deal to pass up considering my current lighting situation plus 150 is what you pay on tax with 3 a350w's.

from what ive heard it seems to be a pretty good fixture, especially if you replace the bulbs with ati's.

my question is how should i go about acclimating my corals to these new lights considering i would be going from 100 watts to close to 500 watts??

also how much do you think it would cost to run these lights for roughly 8 hours a day, per month. or how much should i expect my power bill to go up, and can i keep sps with these lights. the wattage would tell me yes but there not halides or high par leds and i never kept any sps before.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pet Detective · 07/03/2013, 07:20 PM

I wouldn't sweat it if your goal is SPS, the corals you currently have are typically hardy & will adjust accordingly, I run 2, 250W 20,000k Radiums with 2 Super Actinic supplements T-12's on a 90G & I have an SPS dominant reef with a few LPS as well.

IansAquatics · 07/03/2013, 08:08 PM

How much do you think that lighting setup costs you a month?

crsswift70 · 07/03/2013, 08:14 PM

Here you go. http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm Keep in mind this is just the cost of the light. There will be a lot more heat, so AC will probably run more, chiller, fans, etc...

greech · 07/03/2013, 08:15 PM

I would run a shorter cycle than you have now for a couple of weeks and then increase it over time. Ask how old the bulbs are. If all need to be replaced don't change than all at once. One bulb per side every couple of weeks should be ok with a normal 8 to 10 hour light cycle. Regardless of how many need to be replaced, I wouldn't exceed 1 per side and let the corals acclimate before adding more. Use timers to cut back the time the bank that houses the new bulbs if you need to as well.

IansAquatics · 07/03/2013, 08:20 PM

According to that calculator it says that it should cost around 34 cents per day to run the fixture 8 hours a day. Does this sound right to anyone else that has high power fixtures. I'm just hoping this thing doesn't cost me like 50 bucks a month just to run

crsswift70 · 07/03/2013, 10:43 PM

Did you put in your own Killowatt Hour rate?

07/03/2013, 07:05 PM	#1
IansAquatics Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 151	Acclimating corals to new light please help so currently i have an oceanic 125 with 4 25watt t8's 2 10,000 k 2 actinic and i have a condy anemone, purple tip torch, GSP, and some xenia and my tanks been running with these current lights for about 6 months. no problems and actually some could growth, my torch actually just grew a new head. that being said i dont need somebody lecturing me about how my lighting is inadequate. i know this. ive been saving up for kessils however 2 days ago i ran into a guy at my LFS who had brought in abunch of stuff because he was moving and mentioned he had a light for sale. anyways to make a long story short. he has a 6 ft nova pro extreme 12x39 that im buying for 150. to good od a deal to pass up considering my current lighting situation plus 150 is what you pay on tax with 3 a350w's. from what ive heard it seems to be a pretty good fixture, especially if you replace the bulbs with ati's. my question is how should i go about acclimating my corals to these new lights considering i would be going from 100 watts to close to 500 watts?? also how much do you think it would cost to run these lights for roughly 8 hours a day, per month. or how much should i expect my power bill to go up, and can i keep sps with these lights. the wattage would tell me yes but there not halides or high par leds and i never kept any sps before. any help would be greatly appreciated.

07/03/2013, 08:15 PM	#5
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	I would run a shorter cycle than you have now for a couple of weeks and then increase it over time. Ask how old the bulbs are. If all need to be replaced don't change than all at once. One bulb per side every couple of weeks should be ok with a normal 8 to 10 hour light cycle. Regardless of how many need to be replaced, I wouldn't exceed 1 per side and let the corals acclimate before adding more. Use timers to cut back the time the bank that houses the new bulbs if you need to as well. __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

07/03/2013, 07:20 PM	#2
Pet Detective Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 328	I wouldn't sweat it if your goal is SPS, the corals you currently have are typically hardy & will adjust accordingly, I run 2, 250W 20,000k Radiums with 2 Super Actinic supplements T-12's on a 90G & I have an SPS dominant reef with a few LPS as well.

07/03/2013, 08:08 PM	#3
IansAquatics Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 151	How much do you think that lighting setup costs you a month?

07/03/2013, 08:14 PM	#4
crsswift70 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Spanish Fort, AL Posts: 1,032	Here you go. http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm Keep in mind this is just the cost of the light. There will be a lot more heat, so AC will probably run more, chiller, fans, etc...

07/03/2013, 08:20 PM	#6
IansAquatics Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 151	According to that calculator it says that it should cost around 34 cents per day to run the fixture 8 hours a day. Does this sound right to anyone else that has high power fixtures. I'm just hoping this thing doesn't cost me like 50 bucks a month just to run

07/03/2013, 10:43 PM	#7
crsswift70 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Spanish Fort, AL Posts: 1,032	Did you put in your own Killowatt Hour rate?