Light acclimation
- Thread starter Jwheld
- Start date
billdogg
Well-known member
either will work out the same. I would set the time to where you want it and then ramp up the intensity from there if you need to. I am not familiar with that light, and it would also be dependent on what size your tank is. For my 120DT, I use 2 x AI Sol Blues set to 45W/65B/65RB on for 12 hours a day with a very short ramp up and a 30 minute ramp down at night
Ron Reefman
Active member
Well....
Your 4 hour run time is a bit short of best practice. Corals zooxanthellae do photosynthesis for about 5 to 7 hours. So it's best for the coral to give it at least 6 to 8 hours of good light. More than 8 hours is just for your viewing pleasure as the coral can't use it. Photosynthesis stops at 6 to 8 hours.
Intensity is really what you are acclimating your corals too. You should consider increasing the blue channel and not the white one. The zooxanthellae use mostly blue spectrum light for photosynthesis (and a tiny bit of red). They use small amounts of other spectrum to produce proteins and pigments that also help the coral, but they get all that from a small amount of white light. Bump up your blue channel by 5% points every week or two for a few bumps and then space the next couple at least 2 weeks or more apart.
How high you go depends on a huge variety of factors. How much light your fixture actually puts out (Maxspect makes good fixtures) and how deep your tank is. Take your time and you don't need to push the limits for the corals you mentioned. It's branching sps corals that are the really high demand for light.
Your 4 hour run time is a bit short of best practice. Corals zooxanthellae do photosynthesis for about 5 to 7 hours. So it's best for the coral to give it at least 6 to 8 hours of good light. More than 8 hours is just for your viewing pleasure as the coral can't use it. Photosynthesis stops at 6 to 8 hours.
Intensity is really what you are acclimating your corals too. You should consider increasing the blue channel and not the white one. The zooxanthellae use mostly blue spectrum light for photosynthesis (and a tiny bit of red). They use small amounts of other spectrum to produce proteins and pigments that also help the coral, but they get all that from a small amount of white light. Bump up your blue channel by 5% points every week or two for a few bumps and then space the next couple at least 2 weeks or more apart.
How high you go depends on a huge variety of factors. How much light your fixture actually puts out (Maxspect makes good fixtures) and how deep your tank is. Take your time and you don't need to push the limits for the corals you mentioned. It's branching sps corals that are the really high demand for light.
