Light question

L

Lyghtning

New member
Hello Reefer's,
I'm new to the site, so i may ask dumb questions but i've tried to cruise through the forums and make sure i got my stupid questions answered elsewhere.. i'm preparing to start a 300gallon tank, i've done tons of fresh water tanks and they are quiet successful so i'm not new to the chemistry of water. I am looking to start my large tank sometime in march~ish, if my saving goes correct will give me about 9,000 to get the tank together. Tank cost is 2100, and i'm custom building everything else, stand/canopy so i can fit a 100 gallon refug. with the overflow at each end, with a double refug to the center compartment for return. so a 5 stage refug. but to prepare i started a small tank i could start on and replicate up, and make sure i understand everything before i go large scale.

So since everyone is going to ask 3 months ago i started a 20gallon standard tank with overflow to 10gallon sump/refug.
A = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0
PH = 8.3
Hardware
2x 205 gph powerheads
1x 405 gph powerhead
1x sump/return 405gph pump

Deep sandbed, 20lbs live rock, no deadspots on flow, except second chamber in refug.

Now the questions, Lighting
i purchased
Wave point clamp lights.
I got the large 12'' 16 watt High Output 50/50 light AND
i got the 6'' 8 watt, high output micro sun, pure white.
http://www.wave-point.com/Lighting_folder/LEDHOClampLight.html

I just got a sebae anemone, and started looking great, but wont seem to put it self and stick, so i've read a ton, and just let it do what it's going to do, but with so much water pressure within the tank it floats around alot and hits rocks, so when i notice it, i turn down the pumps till it gets settled again. Next thing i know i look over a day or two later and swirling it goes...

question is do i have enough light for this tank or overkill or not enough? i'm considering another 12'' 16 water 50/50 but man the tank is so bright to look at it actually look away with blind spots when i blink....
i will post youtube links soon as they are done uploading.
hints tips anyone, i got my two oc. clowns and clean up crew.. nas snails, herm crabs, trocus snails, holding off on a tuxedo urchin till i get the anemone straight.
 
I am not a fan of any LED light that does not have a dimmer. LEDs are a piercing onslaught of light. You can destroy a tank with an LED fixture simply by it being too powerful. I am not as familiar with the Wave Point Technology, so I cannot comment.

I run Ecoxotics on my 90 and I absolutely fried a few corals due to the intensity of the lighting.

Be careful...
 
Anyone else any advise? am i frying my anemone? i can back off some of the light, but then again being that the anemone is photosynthetic i dont want to remove to much light. being that i do not currently have any corals, is it to much, eventually i do want to get some lps, but the light thing i'm having a hard time calculating, i understand the waterflow, chemistry it's the lights that are giving me a headache.
 
Guessing not many have had experience with HO LEDs not much feedback, well my sebae when i came home today has flipped over on it's face, and i dont know if i should up right it or leave it, if it continues to move and flips on it's face can it get up on it's own? if they move so much.
 
seabae is a difficult nem to have in a 3 month old tank. They will do what they do til it finds a place to be happy. I had one once that walked all over the tank to find a place. Took two weeks. So hope that helps.
 
Well, i removed the 6" 8 watt light, and it hasnt moved, but now i'm wondering if the 12" 18 watt LED will be able to support LPS i still want to add, figured i'd get the anemone setup first before i went for LPS/Softies, i'd really like some SPS but i'm going to scale up slowly before i throw it out of whack. So i guess next step is a softie or two, and one LPS see if the light is strong enough. if those can handle it, maybe in a few months i'll do a SPS.

Still need to know about the lighting system, these LED's are really bright, but i dont know what they will support or wont in the 20. I possibly have a 110gallon tank coming this weekend. specifically designing it for a porcupine puffer...
 
18 watts of LED is more than likely to bright at full power for a tank your size. I don't know the type of led's it has but that seems a bit much.
 
Guys - 19 watts is too much on my 90g. Think about it. 18 watts is probably causing the corals to reach for a bottle of sun screen. LEDs are bright, piercing light. My high hats in my den have basically created light spots on the couch. It's incredible. Imagine what this translates into a tank!

Be very careful of your dimmerless LEDs.
 
they are 1 watt LED's I went to the site to check them out. I am not sure at this point if they are over powering or not.
 
Okie dokie Useless or not nanoreefer1000, they advertise they are completely acceptable for nano reefs. I'm here to get clarifying facts. Budget for lights, sure i can do that, but i thought in purchasing these lights that's what i did.

So i'm here for clarification, not banter :)
So no pointy fingers, unless i was a newb and not asking the questions :)


So 18Watt, 50/50, the anemone is staying put.
When i add the additional 8Watt direct white, it either shrivels up into a ball or gets on the move.

So far i'm on day 11 i think with the anemone, it's eating, staying put, however not getting any darker and i believe it was bleached to begin with, so i'm trying to get it on the road to recovery.

But nuts and bolts go back to anyone else have LED's at all, if so what wattage, i'm running 16 1Wat, 6 White, 10 Royal blue.

i have an extra 8 watt, 1wat 8 white sitting on the refug, instead of my refug light and can move it back to main display if these are not enough.
 
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I run LED's over all of my tanks. All are 3 watt cree LED's on a dimable controller. The question about the 1 watt is not that they put out enough light it is if they can penetrate to the bottom of your tank. With out a par meter that can't be determined.
 
Okay a few things. @chrisfont23... While I agree with the first post "19 watts is too much on my 90g." 19w of LED's... regardless of spectrum... is no way near enough light for a 90g for any reef application. I have 280watts high power LED run @ 65% max + an 18w magenta LED strip.

@funkejj... from what I've gathered PAR meters do not provide accurate representation of LED intensity. could be wrong though.

@Lyghtning... While both LED's might very well be too much light. I think you went wrong by getting a pure white. Dual 50/50's or a 50/50 and all blue would have been much better and yielded a more appropriate, higher spectrum.
Also FWIW, as mentioned the tank is likely too young. If it was a huge tank like the 300g you mentioned it might not be an issue, but likely is with this small of a tank. I've always thought anemones seemed to have a very keen sense of there surroundings. Maybe it's not comfortable in such a small tank... just a thought. Good luck.
 
chrisfont23 said:
Guys - 19 watts is too much on my 90g. Think about it. 18 watts is probably causing the corals to reach for a bottle of sun screen. LEDs are bright, piercing light. My high hats in my den have basically created light spots on the couch. It's incredible. Imagine what this translates into a tank!

Be very careful of your dimmerless LEDs.
Click to expand...

I'm running 72 watts of DIY LED on my 10g and haven't had any bleaching.

it's best not to make blanket statements. LED intensity is not only a function of drive current, but also of optics and distance.

There are other factors that affect a coral's tolerance to light, including spectrum and water movement. Not properly activating the xanthophyll cycle will decrease a coral's ability to self-regulate, leading to lower light tolerance. Improper flow will also lead to lower light tolerance.


The difficult part when discussing minutia of individuals tanks is that every tank is different. What works for one may not always work for another. The only way one will succeed in this hobby is with sound scientific methods. Being able to make changes, observe reactions, and then change some more until everything is balanced is critical. No one can do this for you, we can only help you try to make sense of results.
 
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