Sonicboom
Addicted to salt
Thanks!, seems like I got the lights, vodka and ato fridge dialed in and there is a major growth spurt going on.
AI Hydra Settings Thread
- Thread starter hilgert
- Start date
Thanks!, seems like I got the lights, vodka and ato fridge dialed in and there is a major growth spurt going on.
McGee10
Ex FMAS board member
they make some the color of corraline algae to.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
So far I have been very pleased with these lights. I seem to be having the opposite issues that most are having with LPS. A few months ago I was having an issue with a gold torch that I thought was lighting related but turned out to be a water issue.
40B tank & lights are hung 14" above the water line
Current Settings:
CW 37
V 33
DR 12
G 12
DB 53
RY 53
UV 33
I find that my acan which is 1/2 up the tank gets extremely upset with lower lighting during acclimation settings along with my goni that's at the bottom of the tank.
My hammers & frogspawn are all 1/2 way up & doing very well. My gold torch is at the bottom & is slowly bleaching. Started with one small branch in the middle & now 2 more are bleached & the remaining 2 branches are showing random bleach spots in the middle of the tentacles. I'm thinking this is a not enough light issue & will move the torch 1/2 way up & see how things go. I feed heavy & no other corals are bleaching. At this point I don't believe the bleaching to be an issue with water quality.
I also purchased a scoly about 2 weeks ago, started it in a low light area to adjust & gradually moved it to 1/2 way up the tank & it looks better but dull in color.
I'm trying to go slow with the lights but I really think I need to go higher in the settings. Any recommendations for LPS with the lights 14" off the water?
I have duncans, button, pectinia, candy cane, goni, & alveopora on the bottom of the tank without issues.
40B tank & lights are hung 14" above the water line
Current Settings:
CW 37
V 33
DR 12
G 12
DB 53
RY 53
UV 33
I find that my acan which is 1/2 up the tank gets extremely upset with lower lighting during acclimation settings along with my goni that's at the bottom of the tank.
My hammers & frogspawn are all 1/2 way up & doing very well. My gold torch is at the bottom & is slowly bleaching. Started with one small branch in the middle & now 2 more are bleached & the remaining 2 branches are showing random bleach spots in the middle of the tentacles. I'm thinking this is a not enough light issue & will move the torch 1/2 way up & see how things go. I feed heavy & no other corals are bleaching. At this point I don't believe the bleaching to be an issue with water quality.
I also purchased a scoly about 2 weeks ago, started it in a low light area to adjust & gradually moved it to 1/2 way up the tank & it looks better but dull in color.
I'm trying to go slow with the lights but I really think I need to go higher in the settings. Any recommendations for LPS with the lights 14" off the water?
I have duncans, button, pectinia, candy cane, goni, & alveopora on the bottom of the tank without issues.
Last edited:
McGee10
Ex FMAS board member
If you read back you will find that LPS corals for what ever reasons don't like the hydra's White if you cut way back on the whites and UV it should stop the bleaching the Hydra's have more power than one might think. What light's did you have before?
Andyf30
Member
Hi guys, I was wondering if you think that 2 AI Hydras would be sufficient enough light for my sps and clam tank. Its 36x18x18, and I've been looking at the Hydras and the Hydra52's, but the 52's are just too far out of my budget for two. I have sps all the way down to about 3 or 4 inches off the bottom. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Andy
Thanks,
Andy
Fish Biscuit
Active member
This tank was set up in Sep 2013. The only corals under PC lighting in the old tank were a candy cane, hammer, & frogspawn. They were acclimated slowly & all are fine & higher up in the tank than the torch.
I've knocked the CW to 35 & the UV to 30. Blues were actually at 50, not 53. Approximately what numbers are people having success with LPS at. Other than the torch bleaching, I'm finding that most of my corals are happier with more light, especially the acan & goniopora.
AudiSportB5S4
New member
On a 60 gallon cube, would you definitely go with the 52 over the 26? The max wattage of the 52 isn't double that of 26, so just wondering if the 52s are overkill.. I also notice that a lot of these percentages people are running are fairly low which is telling me they're cranked way down?
AudiSportB5S4
New member
Awesome, thanks man. :thumbsup:
Fish Biscuit
Active member
Torch is on the sand bed about 1 foot from the end of the tank & has been there since I got it in the middle of April. I had some issues previously keeping Alk steady & that seems to upset it. Alk is now at 10 & I keep it there. Torch gets upset even with Alk at 9.
Looking back at my notes, the first small branch of the torch didn't bleach until after being in the tank for 6 weeks at the end of June & the 2 others slowly followed. Prior to the end of June my lighting was set much higher with White & UV set at 48 & Blues were higher at 58.
With the lights being 14" above the water & the torch on the sandbed I wonder if it's bleaching due to too much light & maybe not getting enough since the acan should be on the bottom of the tank & is happier 1/2 way up the tank a good 6" higher than the torch.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
Opps. lighting was much higher until May 5th. No bleaching of the torch occurred until lighting was greatly reduced.
MellowReefer
New member
Some people on this thread said their LPS didn't react well to whites or uv over about 20-30. But I can't remember if they mentioned torches specifically. Maybe your torch came from a brighter location than the other corals in your tank. I always thought bleaching was from too much light, but I guess it can be both. I had a torch do really well in my tank for about a year and then just started shrinking. I thought maybe it needed more light so I moved it higher and that seemed to hasten its demise.
I just set up hydras on my tank a few days ago and I have mostly LPS. So I'm being really careful starting whites and uv at 12 based on others in this thread. So hopefully if they don't look good then at least I'll know it's not too much light and I should increase it.
I just set up hydras on my tank a few days ago and I have mostly LPS. So I'm being really careful starting whites and uv at 12 based on others in this thread. So hopefully if they don't look good then at least I'll know it's not too much light and I should increase it.
MellowReefer
New member
Here's my tank with the new lights (crappy phone pic, sorry). This is 3 hydras over a 6' tank at 12" above the water line. Coverage is very good even at the low setting I'm using. Ignore the vertical lines on the right side, that's from my window shades. Yes I realize I need to raise the right a little, and I am going to try to hide the wires better with some electrical tape.
Fish Biscuit
Active member
I always thought bleaching was caused by too much light also. In my quest for more information I have seen people say that corals can bleach from not enough light. This has me quite confused. The torch is Aussie & most of my euphyllias are except for one hammer. The torch is fully inflated & not retracting or showing skeleton. I'm not running a low nutrient tank either so it's not being starved.
I find it odd that the branches with the most bleaching are shaded by the other branches that aren't shaded. As I look at one of the unshaded branches, it appears to be splitting. I'll start target feeding it specifically & see if that helps.
I guess I just need to wait & see what the tank looks like tomorrow after lowering the White & UV & go from there.
I started slow when I switched over my corals under the PC in the cube to this. Even at 12 they should look good. Good luck! I enjoy this light, the torch just seems to be making this tricky for me
MellowReefer
New member
I always thought bleaching was caused by too much light also. In my quest for more information I have seen people say that corals can bleach from not enough light. This has me quite confused. The torch is Aussie & most of my euphyllias are except for one hammer. The torch is fully inflated & not retracting or showing skeleton. I'm not running a low nutrient tank either so it's not being starved.
I find it odd that the branches with the most bleaching are shaded by the other branches that aren't shaded. As I look at one of the unshaded branches, it appears to be splitting. I'll start target feeding it specifically & see if that helps.
I guess I just need to wait & see what the tank looks like tomorrow after lowering the White & UV & go from there.
I started slow when I switched over my corals under the PC in the cube to this. Even at 12 they should look good. Good luck! I enjoy this light, the torch just seems to be making this tricky for me
The only coral I ever had bleach was my mushroom when I first switched to LED. My corals that died just slowly shrunk (branch by branch) until there was nothing left. I hope these lights help...before I had the cheap blue/white LEDs. I have very stable params exactly where they should be. If only corals could talk, tell us what's wrong.
I love how these lights look. Some say T5s are the tried and true, and I almost back to those, but I just love the shimmer and the color adjustability of LEDs. And I'm in CA so the savings in electricity is big $ for me.
oseymour
Euphyllia Addict
I have one Hydra mounted about 9 inches over a 37 gallon tank. Currently I'm only keeping soft corals in the tank. This is my first saltwater tank so I have nothing else to compare growth of my corals to but I think my corals are growing slow. I haven't seen much growth from my zoas.
I have a couple of questions
Do i need another light?
Are the lights too close or far from the tank?
Are my settings below correct?
I have it set on Miami weather with a 2.5 hrs ramp time. No particular reason why I did this. I live in NY and would like some light on when I get home by 7:30 ish.
I have a couple of questions
Do i need another light?
Are the lights too close or far from the tank?
Are my settings below correct?
I have it set on Miami weather with a 2.5 hrs ramp time. No particular reason why I did this. I live in NY and would like some light on when I get home by 7:30 ish.
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