How long do you guys have your lights programmed on for and what percentage?
- Thread starter Drewy1988
- Start date
Ron Reefman
Active member
Corals need 5 to 8 hours of good intense light for the photosynthetic process to run it's cycle. The zooxanthellae need roughly an hour to get the chemistry ready and started. Then for the next 4 to 6+ hours they will do photosynthesis and then shut down. Even if there is still intense light the process stops due to the genetics of the zooxanthellae. They have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to a world on the reef where light is good and strong for 5 to 8 hours.
Yes sun up to sunset is 10 to 14 hours on a tropical reef. But the first 2 or 3 hours and the last 2 or 3 hours the sun is at such a steep angle to the water that really very little 'intense' light gets to any depth in the water.
So you can do a short or long sunrise, a good 4 to 8 hour midday and a short or long sunset.
As for fixture power settings, I can't help as I don't know what fixture you have, how deep your tank is, or what kind of corals you have. Start with lower power and work your way up. Or find a PAR meter so you can get real readings. Or get help from somebody with the same fixture you have.
***soapbox mode on***
Telling us the Reefer 250 may have a specific fixture and a specific tank depth, but leaving it for us to look up is foolish. You know what they are, so save us the effort and tell us. It would help you get better response from others here, IMHO.
***soapbox mode off***
Yes sun up to sunset is 10 to 14 hours on a tropical reef. But the first 2 or 3 hours and the last 2 or 3 hours the sun is at such a steep angle to the water that really very little 'intense' light gets to any depth in the water.
So you can do a short or long sunrise, a good 4 to 8 hour midday and a short or long sunset.
As for fixture power settings, I can't help as I don't know what fixture you have, how deep your tank is, or what kind of corals you have. Start with lower power and work your way up. Or find a PAR meter so you can get real readings. Or get help from somebody with the same fixture you have.
***soapbox mode on***
Telling us the Reefer 250 may have a specific fixture and a specific tank depth, but leaving it for us to look up is foolish. You know what they are, so save us the effort and tell us. It would help you get better response from others here, IMHO.
***soapbox mode off***
GimpyFin
Active member
I agree with Ron. I do 1.5 hour ramps up and down and about 7 hours peak intensity in between. As for intensity, if your reefer 250 is LED and came with the AI Hydra 26 HDs, you can start them off a little low (Maybe 40-50% overall power usage during the time in between ramp up/down) and adjust as you see how the corals respond. Keep in mind, the type of corals and placement height within the tank will play a factor as well.
Drewy1988
New member
Ok thanks for the advice guys
im going to buy 2 x radion XR15 G4 because the radion 30 G4 with have enough spread [emoji106] I'm selling my cheap nemo light I had been using from when I just started my tank up with live rock..
Nah my reefer 250 did not come with the Al hydras gimpyfin but I have seen lots of tanks with them.
My tank has been running for nearly two months..and my levels have settled down now..so I think it's time for a light upgrade and some beginner Corals nothing to crazy [emoji106]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
im going to buy 2 x radion XR15 G4 because the radion 30 G4 with have enough spread [emoji106] I'm selling my cheap nemo light I had been using from when I just started my tank up with live rock..
Nah my reefer 250 did not come with the Al hydras gimpyfin but I have seen lots of tanks with them.
My tank has been running for nearly two months..and my levels have settled down now..so I think it's time for a light upgrade and some beginner Corals nothing to crazy [emoji106]
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ron Reefman
Active member
Take your time with the corals, nothing expensive at first. Your tank is cycled and starting to stabilize, but even the new lights will change things in the tank. And a mature tank takes 6 moths at best and maybe a year, so don't rush it. % years from now you'll have a tank full of fish and coral. The RS Reefer 250 is a nice system, good luck.
