AI Hydra 26 settings

Sonic: Do you play with your light settings frequently or not really? I have mine running at what you recommended and things seem to be doing great. Do you just let them be while all is sound in the tank?

oohnoo said:
Those are actually snails. Bought a clean-up crew package online and it came with a boat load of them.
Click to expand...

Lol must have been reefcleaners.. Great guy to work with, definitely sends you more than you order just in case some die in transit. I bought a handful of nerites from him that I got rid of, they were so annoying.. Would hang out on the waterline and then I would constantly be taking them from the wrong side of the tank and putting them back in!
 
i haven't made major adjustments in at least 6 months, i do adjust by 1-2% increments if i see corals growing upwards or outwards. i actually have a pink sps which is about 8 inches AWL under a standard Hydra and it is actually growing downwards away from the light.
 
^ Gotcha, thanks.

What are the hours you run your lights? Right now I have sunrise @ 10:30 with a 2 hour ramp time, and then they go down at 8:30 with a 2 hour ramp. Is that a bit long or OK?
 
well i have 3 standard hydras and one Hydra 26 in the middle of my tank next to a standard hydra, so my setup looks like this;

[Overflow] [Hydra] [Overflow]
[Hydra] | [Hydra 26] | [Hydra].

i am using the director so i let it automatically adjust the sunrise and sunset, i think it's now sunrise at 7:30 am and sunset around 5:30 pm with 2 hour ramp times. It may not be too long depending on your intensities and how your corals are looking.
 
AI hydra 26 on a shallow

AI hydra 26 on a shallow

Hi guys, currently running 1 hydra 26 on my shallow tank. It's the jbj frag tank 24x20x9. The llights are 12" above the water line and these are my settings. Any thoughts?? Mainly sps, but the reds have faded a bit on some of my acros. Looks dull.

Deep Red
11:20am - 8:30pm - 11:30pm
0% - 10% - 0%

Green
09:50am - 12:20pm - 2:40pm - 8:00pm - 11:50pm
0% - 27% - 35% - 35% - 0%

Royal Blue
9:40am - 12:20pm - 2:40pm - 8:00pm - 9:10pm - 12:00pm
0% - 52% - 72% - 69% - 57% - 0%

Deep Blue
10:00am - 12:20pm - 2:40pm - 8:00pm - 9:10pm - 11:40pm
6% - 55% - 75% - 72% - 60% - 6%

Violet
10:00am - 12:20pm - 2:40pm - 8:00pm - 9:10pm - 11:40pm
6% - 41% - 60% - 62% - 52% - 6%

UV
11:20am - 2:40pm - 8:00pm - 11:30pm
0% - 25% - 25% - 0%

Cool White
09:50am - 12:20pm - 2:40pm - 8:00pm - 11:50pm
0% - 23% - 30% - 30% - 0%
 
Hi Sonic, just followed your link from the Hydra forum which I have been following up to page 95 :)

I have a Red Sea Max S650. I have had several lights over this tank, first starting out with the stock 10 x 80w T5 fixture that came with the tank to an 8 x 80w ATI T5 fixture, two Zetlight Qmaven ZT6600 LED fixtures and now, AI Hydras.

After having a chat with AI support I was told that two Hydra 52's hung up high would cover my five foot tank. As I voiced my concerns on wanting to be able to grow sps corals at the bottom of my tank right up to the far left and right of the tank, it was suggested to me that I should go with three hydra 26's suspended 12 inches over the tank, this according to AI would ensure that the light would go right down to the bottom and cover the whole tank.

Well I tried this out and I felt that three Hydra 26's didnt cover the tank as I had hoped so I added a fourth unit. So I now have four Hydra 26's hanging at 12 inches from the water.

I have seen some shots of your tank on the Hydra forum and really like the look of the corals. I have copied your settings however find that especially my pink birds nest, is nearly purple rather than pink. I would be interested to hear from you on a) what you think of four hydra 26's sitting on a five foot tank (enough power etc?) and whether you also tend to see your pink corals go purple under your current settings?

Everyone else is of course also more than welcome to chip in with ideas and suggestions.
 
Hi Mzm, thanks for following and I'll help where I can! I have had excellent growth with all of the AI line, I am now between upgrades and am replacing my standards with 52's. I have had many many corals change color, some have developed purple tips, some blue tints, and some stay the same. I have found that moving the coral to another location under the lights will cause it to adjust, this could be higher or lower or directly under or off to the side. I have a pink setosa which stays pinkish orangish and has always been under a standard hydra. 4 hydra 26 should be plenty, when I had an extra hydra between upgrades, I actually rigged one to hang at an angle from the front. It was by no means permanent but I loved how the tank looked.
 
I put a 26 over my 20 long frag tank. I use the same program I use on the 52 that is over my 60 cube. I will put another once I make a few bucks.
 
I have kept everything the same, just increased intensity about 5%
Capture.JPG
 
Hey guys, I've been running a single A350W over my 40 breeder for a year and now switched to 2 Hydra 26s with the controller.

Lights are mounted 9" AWL and 8.5" apart, so spread is awesome on the 36". For now I have 4hr ramping and all very minimal numbers . I have a mixed reef and need your opinion on setting the % for the end state so I can do the coral acclimation for 6-8 weeks.

This is what I have right now:

White 8%
Violet: 20%
Red/Green: 2%
DB: 25%
RB: 25%
UV: 15%
 
3drockz said:
Hey guys, I've been running a single A350W over my 40 breeder for a year and now switched to 2 Hydra 26s with the controller.

Lights are mounted 9" AWL and 8.5" apart, so spread is awesome on the 36". For now I have 4hr ramping and all very minimal numbers . I have a mixed reef and need your opinion on setting the % for the end state so I can do the coral acclimation for 6-8 weeks.

This is what I have right now:

White 8%
Violet: 20%
Red/Green: 2%
DB: 25%
RB: 25%
UV: 15%
Click to expand...

Shoot for my settings above for end state with a 3 Hr ramp time, i am getting excellent coloration.
 
Here is my system using hydra 26s. It's a custom 120 (48x24x24). Currently I am running 5 of them about 32" total distance from the bottom. I just got the hanging kit for the rails so I don't remember the exact total height, but I am happy with the lights and the mounting. I did mount them a bit differently, I am using the rails, but with the wider spacer for the larger lights and have them parallel to the rail.

IMG_2255_zps45wl9ltw.jpg


Capture_zpsabykdwpk.jpg
 
Mzm said:
Hi Sonic, just followed your link from the Hydra forum which I have been following up to page 95 :)

I have a Red Sea Max S650. I have had several lights over this tank, first starting out with the stock 10 x 80w T5 fixture that came with the tank to an 8 x 80w ATI T5 fixture, two Zetlight Qmaven ZT6600 LED fixtures and now, AI Hydras.

After having a chat with AI support I was told that two Hydra 52's hung up high would cover my five foot tank. As I voiced my concerns on wanting to be able to grow sps corals at the bottom of my tank right up to the far left and right of the tank, it was suggested to me that I should go with three hydra 26's suspended 12 inches over the tank, this according to AI would ensure that the light would go right down to the bottom and cover the whole tank.

Well I tried this out and I felt that three Hydra 26's didnt cover the tank as I had hoped so I added a fourth unit. So I now have four Hydra 26's hanging at 12 inches from the water.

I have seen some shots of your tank on the Hydra forum and really like the look of the corals. I have copied your settings however find that especially my pink birds nest, is nearly purple rather than pink. I would be interested to hear from you on a) what you think of four hydra 26's sitting on a five foot tank (enough power etc?) and whether you also tend to see your pink corals go purple under your current settings?

Everyone else is of course also more than welcome to chip in with ideas and suggestions.
Click to expand...

Can you tell me your why you changed your ZT6600? Any negative efects on SPS?

thanks
 
Just an update, I added a second hydra 52 and now am running
[Hydra 52] [Hydra] [hydra 52]
[Hydra26]

I am greeting excellent polyp growth and coloration as well as frags growing on the sand bed.
 
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