Halide Upgrade and coral question?

[jwb0126]

I just upgraded my lighting system to a dual 250w 14k pfo halide system with 2x65x pc actinics. I was running a 4x65w Coralife Power Compact setup. A buddy told me that I should use some mesh screen to shade the tank a little the first few days to give the corals time to adjust to the new lighting. Is this true or a wast of time?

Thanks,
J

[black_majik]

Not a bad idea or you can lay them on the bottom of the tank for a week

[Aquarist007]

I would go with putting them on the bottom of the tank and cut down the photoperiod for a week or so

[tmz]

That's a big jump. I don't know what kind of corals you have but many lps will likely become photo inhibitted and wane with that big of a change,. New halide bulbs also need a period of time to "burn in" and settle their spectrum and can in some cases spawn filamentous alge outbreaks. Shorten the photo period substantially. Start with 3-4 hours and increase by one hour a week untill you get to about 7.5 for the halides. You can run your actinic supplements longer. Screening can work. Ussually several sheets of screening material are used, removing one per week. You can also set your new lights high off the water and gradually lower them . watch your corals closely for signs of gaping(wide open mouths) bleaching or tight closing.

[demonsp]

Its best to start with an hour or 2 and increase slowly over a few weeks. Helps coral get used to new higher light and reduce any algea outbreak.I think the screen may help but i wouldnt remove it and use them full time.

[tmz]

To clarify this a bit. The zooxanthelae in your corals will photosynthesize more with higher light. In doing so they produce more oxygen than the coral can accomodate leading to the expulsion of zooxanthelae(bleaching) or photo inhibition/burning ( the coral closes and remains closed. sometimes the coral rips its flesh as it pulls back tightly on it's skeleton). Many corals can adapt to different lighting but require time to do so. Often a month or so. Some are low light animals and will always need to be shaded in a halide tank.

[rrcg50]

i went from 4 coralife 96w to a 250 w dual hallide setup and i used the screen method and all in habitants are doing great. 6 layers of screen. removed first layer after 24 hours then the second layer after 24 hours. the 3rd thru 6th i have been removing every third full day of light. this is what wet web media recommends
good luck

[demonsp]

I think they release carbonmanoxcide.The main O2 source is from surface exchange from water flow.

[tmz]

Originally posted by demonsp
I think they release carbonmanoxcide.The main O2 source is from surface exchange from water flow.

Corals do not release carbon monoxide. In photosynthesis the zooxanthelae(the algae in the coral) use light ,the hydrogen in the water(H2O) and carbon dioxide(CO2) to produce the sugar they need. In this process the O or oxygen in H2O is released. At night when photsyntesis stops; they stop producing oxygen and respire CO2( carbon dioxide). Both carbon dioxide and oxygen are replenished with surface exchange since the water in the tank equilibriates with the air around it. The better the ripple at the surface the faster the equilibriation.
Carbon monoxide comes from auto exhaust among other things. So unless the corals are driving around they won't produce carbon monoxide.
The zooxanthelae respond to light and photosynthesize as much as they can. Excess oxygen released when ther is too much light for a particular coral harms the coral and causes bleaching or photoinhibition.