Considerations when adding some LED to T5 lit tank

[Patrick Cox]

I have a 100G SPS dominant tank that is approaching one year old and I am finally starting to get some good growth and color to my SPS corals. My light fixture is an ATI 8 bulb T5 fixture but I am currently only running 6 bulbs during the day and I have been running 2 actinic bulbs in the other two slots for dawn/dusk. However I have been missing some LED look for nighttime viewing so I have purchased a ReefBrite Blue Actinic strip to simply run for dawn dusk and then I am considering increasing from 6 - 8 bulbs for daytime use.

My question is two fold...

1. How careful do I need to be when switching over from 2 T5 actinic bulbs for Dawn/Dusk to 1 LED strip? I am not really sure of the light intensity difference and also just the impact of LED vs T5 on coral health. And maybe for this amount of light it is not meaningful but I don't want to risk losing any corals at this point.

2. And then really same question on increasing light intensity. How slowly should I make the change from 6-8 bulbs?

Thanks!

Here is a recent picture...

 

[Hentz]

Well considering you're running 8 bulbs total (6 normal, 2 actinic), you'll be completely fine adding two more bulbs. Actinic are still quite powerful, therefore your corals are already still used to it. Even if you ran 6 bulbs total and just now added 2 more bulbs, your corals will be fine.

As for the Reefbrite Actinic Blue strip, while it is somewhat powerful, its also more supplement than anything. Running it as you please right off the bat is completely fine. You can even run it all day if you'd like and have it run 1-2 hours before/after your T5's come on. See if it makes your corals pop a little during the day when all 8 bulbs are on; but only expect a smallish pop since 8 T5 bulbs will be overpowering the LED's.

That being said, I wouldn't worry much about acclimating your corals to 2 more bulbs and an LED supplement bar.
Though, it is always safe to watch your corals just in-case. I always do so whenever I add anything new whether it be a small or big add-on.

If you were adding Kessil 350/360's or something of that nature to supplement, THEN should you be worried about acclimating the corals to the new total intensity.

Hope this helps.

 

[Magem]

I opine like Hentz


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[Jim Z.]

I added a single T5 fixture to my LED setup and experienced no issues. Adding one strip of actinic leds should not be a drastic change. You will get some additional color pop with the leds. Your reef is coming along nicely........................Jim