halides coming should i move corals down?

[TKByrnes]

I have a 250 watt mh retro kit on the way. I have been running 390 watts of powercompact lights for about 6 months now. shoud i move the coral all to the bottom and move them up slow? also i have some zoa's that i really dont want to burn up should i shade them? they are on the bottom of the reef right now. my tank is 24" tall.

 

[Finland]

IMO, yes you should move them lower and acclimate them to the "much " brighter light. Also you should only start by running the halides for a few hours a day and then gradually increase the photo-period. I am assuming you will be keeping the PC's also?

 

[TKByrnes]

no i switched to a 37 cube instead of my 75. the pc lighting is going to be sold. just 1x250 watt evc 14k mh maybe a no actinic just for sun up sun down.

 

[ERICinFL]

You can also put some eggcrate over your tank and about 4-5 pieces of screen over that. Every 3-4 days, remove one piece of screen, then finally the eggcrate. This way, you shouldn't need to move all your corals.

 

[Lunchbucket]

no don't move the corals. just as ERICinFL (nice name ) says. but i might wait every 5days to remove a layer just to be safe

Lunchbucket

 

[vogs82]

halides

halides

for what its worth, I was fine from going from pc to mh without moving anything. just don't run the same duration...work your corals up to the same time of exposure to your current time...

 

[Lunchbucket]

vogs - i've done the shorter duration and increased it every couple days...what i think you are suggesting. and the window screen idea works better, is easier, and safer for the corals. Eric Borneman and some of us had a discussion on it a year or more ago. the window screen seemed to be the best choice

Lunchbucket

 

[stevedola]

what about hanging the MH fixture higher and just lower that a couple of inches over a length of time.

 

[TKByrnes]

ok so the mh wont melt the eggcrate or the screen or should I use the metal screen?

 

[UGA XI]

I just put three layers of screen over the top of the tank, and removed a layer each week. So far I haven't seen any ill effects.

 

[chrismunn]

i would try not to take the approach of moving everything in the tank. rather place layres of window screen material over the tank, (5 or 6) and simply removing one layre each day. or any other method that doesnt require moving the corals. IMO you should try never to move a coral once it has been placed, for a number of reasons. anyways, that would just be a PITA!

 

[TKByrnes]

yea i know it woudl be a pita. I didnt know that i could put the screen on the top.

 

[Lunchbucket]

use vinyl window screen. my 2x400watt halides were right over top of the window scree maybe 6" from it and never melted a thing

Lunchbucket

 

[TKByrnes]

ok.. that is the screen i have in my basement. used it on another project. I have almost the whole roll left. thanks for the tips!!