120 starfire HOB upgrade

k well i ordered my new bulbs, i currently have

phoenix 14k's 250w Halides
geisman T5 pure actinics 420 nm

I went with

Ushio 10k's 250w Halides
Icecap T5 twighlight 460 nm

i hope to really increase growth while not losing the current color i really love so much.
 
pnavarro170 said:
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Love the landscape! Looks great!! :thumbsup:

Jay
 
tested out my water everything is great actually. i thought calcium would have been higher but it was at 400 but i guess that means i can dose the 2 part fully now. ordered some salt so i want to do a 20 gallon change when it gets here. and new bulb combo will be changed probably next week some time.
 
Pedro, when you install your new bulbs you should acclimate your corals to them. There will be more uv from the new bulbs and you can really fry your corals when you install new bulbs. I can't find it right now or I would quote from Eric Borneman on the subject. I will keep reading the book and see if I can find it. It is a really good part of a book called Aquarium Corals by Eric H. Borneman.
Just a heads up is all.
:wave:
 
strayvoltage said:
Pedro, when you install your new bulbs you should acclimate your corals to them. There will be more uv from the new bulbs and you can really fry your corals when you install new bulbs. I can't find it right now or I would quote from Eric Borneman on the subject. I will keep reading the book and see if I can find it. It is a really good part of a book called Aquarium Corals by Eric H. Borneman.
Just a heads up is all.
:wave:
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hqi bulbs or double ended bulbs do not have uv protection on the glass or bulb itself. this comes from the glass covering the bulb that is part of my fixture or if it was a pendant. please let me know for sure what you mean with this for sure. im guessing just more par from it being newer also ???
 
and thanks guys, im really excited about this new tank, and really happy with it. crazy how 40 extra gallons makes such a big difference but it does. also the dsb, more flow, and starfire glass just give it a new dimension.
 
More par yes but also I don't think the glass can block all the uv. Either way it is important to acclimate your tank to the new bulbs. Again just a heads up.
:wave:
 
Sounds good john . So I currently run 6 hours of halides. And yes this is the first time with halides and first time replacing bulbs. So is it the uv rays I need to worry about ? I'm confused please explain. ???
 
I have to find where I read it in the book and then you will understand. All I know is that you do need to start off with less time and work back up. but maybe you can get by not doing it.
:wave:
 
well a guy who has done the switch recommends to start out at 4hrs a day, and creep it up in like a week or 2. but please let me know what meant john.

also im gonna try and keep the tank colder, in the 75-76 range and see how much it creeps up at that temp during the day and halides. because i would like to bump my halides up to 7 hrs a day . the plan is to get some frags maybe by next month and really grow the crap out of my sps corals.
 
Its called light shock. Glass is only covered with certain "UV protectants" thus, it will not protect the tank/corals against all UV rays. That's why when you hear that some corals are light sensitive, they mean they are sensitive to the UV light they are exposed to. Deep water acros, zoas, carpet nems (all genus) are very sensitive to strong light, even in the 10k range. If you think about it, the light spectrum we see and plants photosynthesize is around 4-6k (this is the red/yellow spectrum of light which means its wavelength is longer. Blue wavelengths are shorter, have higher frequencies, and more powerful.). Corals like plants are no different in their photosythetic ability to capture light and produce it for food. So even going from 14k in which the corals were used to in your system to going to 10k is a difference of 4k on the light spectrum. That is a lot!!! It is a totally different light and wave length (UV).

I think this what John meant. And yes, changing the photo-period may be helpful. Another solution that I have seen hobbiest use is using window screens in layers. You aren't changing the photo-period but shading the corals. Every other day, you remove one screen until the last one is removed. This could take 2-4 weeks depending on how the corals react to the different light spectrums.

And this concludes the science class for this afternoon. Thank you kids, I expect a full analytical report on the photosythetic properties of plants and corals. As well, I want a full contrasting page as to how they differ in using light spectrums for food and why one animal adapts better to light then the other. Thank you. Some reading for your book report.
http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/Ozone/radiation.html
 
having your own ro/di unit is sweet, it easily pays for itself in less than a year with just water costs. not to mention the trips and stress and lifting. haha. the anthias i got are lyretails, asian variety. 1 male 3 females. male has yellow middle and different fins really nice. females look the same.
 
correct, since i really dont feel like messing with window screens and eggcrate and what not i will just tone down the halide time and build it up slowly. plus even the new "twighlight actinics" should bring out more growth with a great blue. and the 150 blue led's in the fixture should help keep the colors on the corals even more. just have to get it out of my system and see the growth difference. then might shift to 20k's after 9-12 months to see what kind of color i can get once im happy with growth and size and what not. just a journey.
 
sounds good guys, i definatley will ease them into the new light. even if i dont like the look fully i want the growth. im not as worried about the look of the corals but the overall look of the tank. but if i know how to get color out of them now then ill try something different or go back afterwards. but i hear ushio 10k's will provide some good growth, and depending on how they work with my ballasts might end up being a nice white and not yellow. but its a risk as is with everything. my goal is the same as the 90, to have the best 4ft hob 120g i can.
 
what do you guys think of doing a 20-25 percent water change once a week for 4 weeks to kinda flush out my system, parameters are all great i just know that the water i used during the move isnt as clean as the water i can make now (0 TDS) THAT IS. ????
 
You'll never really "flush out the system". Its next to impossible since the water you have replaced is already nutrient rich. Water changes are more for nutrient export and keeping the balance of the elements, ph, and alk.

20-25% water change in a 4 week period is a lot for a system (well the corals and fish) that hardly saw any water changes in the first place. And changing from that amount to a lesser amount down the road will not help the corals either. Remember, they always acclimate very well to a consistent environment versus inconsistency one (this is a closed system). Stick with a regimen that works for the system and stick with it. If that is 5, 10, 15, or 25 % weekly water changes is fine, as long as you stick with it.
 
Right well I want to get some of the semi dirty water out in favor of new clean clean water . And then go back to my old regimen which is not many water changes at all. Doing 20 gallons a week for 4 weeks and leaving water overnight and match temp and refill slower should lessen the stress. But yeah its not a flush out literally but a dilution of the not so great water there. So let me ask if u where to use say tap water and put it in a established tank. How long does it take for the water to get clean with natural filtration and skimmer and refugium ?? Hypothetically
 
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