Ai hydra users, please read

[Twostepper4041]

Here are the stats

65 tall
36 wide 24 deep

Right now I have 2 hydras...

I have browning tips on all my sps
Softies are good as always

Lets also assume that all water parameters are spot on

I'm running my lights at the following

White 40
Violet 30
Red 10
Green 10
Both blues 95
Uv 30

Why am I browning my sps?
Is it too much or too little light?

Again, I've had some nitrate issues with beig at .10... Been working that down and cut feelings in half

I'm also using elos pro skimmer drops and amino drops... Thinking about cutting those out completely

Let me know especially about the lights

All sps are mid to high in the tank

 

[Twostepper4041]

1 pic

 

[Twostepper4041]

2 pic

 

[Twostepper4041]

Pic 3

 

[AJReefs]

if your having problems with nutrients I would discontinue the drops and increase my light output slightly. See what happens after two weeks and if you feel like your on the right track; take it from there.

 

[terrypercula]

Two reasons I would think there is Browning. Depending in the tank they came from or a recent light switch they were not properly light acclimated or high nitrates in the tank.

 

[asid61]

I can't see much browning myself. It's pretty blue.
I would turn down the whites to around 20% and up the red and green to create white. That might help a bit. And turn up the violets, and lower all the other channels accordingly.

 

[Twostepper4041]

Nitrates are there, I just cut feedings, buts its hard not to feed the deep water anthius multiple times a day... Phosphates have also popped up... .14
So I just put rowaphos in my reactor and changed carbon... I've never had any issues in the past, but I also did not have the Hanna test kits... Dead accurate I think

So as far as lights go.... Running the whites at 40 or so is too low?
What about the uv lights?

Also, you are correct about not acclimating to LEDs.... Took right from Lfs which just had gotten them in... Out them directly in tank... Again, they were all great for about 3 days, then started receding

I just bought some Redsea phosphate nitrate reducer as well

 

[asid61]

40% whites is too high.
In fact, lower all settings to 50% of what they were. Then, adjust the whites to be much lower and make up the difference by upping the green and red until the color you want is reached. Also, raise the power of the violet and uv channels by 1.5x.
Then, acclimate everything to twice what the power is after making the above changes over a period of a month.

 

[Twostepper4041]

Interesting.... So the red and greens will make white huh? Ok... So I'll lower white,

Run red and green about 20...

Heard uv is a strong light that human eyes can't pick up... Any issues with fish? Heard they don't like high uv

Blues are cool at 90?

 

[Twostepper4041]

Current settings have ramp at 9am for 4 hours back down starting at 7pm

White 24
Violet 60
Red and green 30
Blues 90
Uv 40

 

[thegrun]

You really need a PAR meter to get your initial lighting intensity dialed in. When I switched from MH to LEDs a few years back I went through the same thing with corals browning out. I finally took readings with a PAR meter and my lighting was low. I pumped up the intensity over a few weeks and the color all came back. If I had to guess i would say your lighting is too low (how high above the waterline are your fixtures?) as browning is more often a lack of light rather than too much light, but it is simply a guess! Borrow a PAR meter if possible and be sure.

 

[Twostepper4041]

I have the lights at about 6" above water line.... Got home today, and with turning the lights down last night, I do have more browning tips...and some algea on them.... Help!

 

[shlap]

What thegrun said, browning usually means not enough light. If it was too much light they'd be bleaching. Assuming all other parameters are good and lighting is the only thing that changed, crank up the light.

 

[Twostepper4041]

Ok, going to crank it up..... But the browning on tips look algea bases.... Not clean brown tips.... But stringy.... I've tested water, pretty low as far as nitrate goes, and I'm running a phosban reactor...

 

[terrypercula]

I think your sps is getting stung looking at that picture.

 

[Twostepper4041]

No stinging. Softies far enough away.... Sometimes the Kenya tree brushes up against one, but nothing crazy.... It's defiantly lighting issue

 

[terrypercula]

Then the tips were probably burnt by the lighting died off and algae grew over it. That's my other guess. You might have to trim back the dead tips.

 

[carmexx]

I have a 46 bowfront with 2 hydras....8" off the water and I slowly cranked up the % over a period of 2 months. My settings are now on "easy" with a ramp time of 3 hrs sunrise at 9am and sunset at 7 pm.
white 75%
violet 80%
red 30%
green 20%
D Blue 78%
Royal 80%
uv 70%

I started out around 40 % range 2 months ago. My sps is doing well. I did have a newly aquired millie bleach in the 60% ranges.



Pic is with current values. I don't like the washed out blue look even though I have the settings to favor blues at sunset and sunrise.

 

[sig_1959]

Can not say about Hydra, but SOL is terrible light for SPS growing. JIMO