lighting distance question?

[clutch]

I just upgraded from 175 mh to 250 giessmann hqi mini penants.

My ? is how close to the water do I put the pendant. I have about 8" for about a month now can i bring it down. The reason i ask is that my hammer was doing very well and a GSP but the gsp has turned like a red color on its flesh and the hammer isn't expanding anymore. I have 20000 k 175 b4 and now these new bulbs are 14 500 k.

plz help me out thanks in advance

 

[thrlride]

Did you acclimate your corals to the new lighting at all? You went from a dim 20k 175 to a brigher, more intense 14.5k 250. That is quite a jump.

 

[clutch]

Ummmm I think i did the 175 mh were about a 3 inch from water. When i did get the new lighting i put all the coral the the sand about 22 inch from top of water and set the new pendant about 12 inches from water. This is what i was told to do I was just wondering how close to the water can i go. I guess i'm still accumlating the lighting to tank. The hammer i splitting like crazy maybe thats why i doesn't fully expand i dunno. Thanks for quick reply

 

[thrlride]

sounds like you did the right thing on acclimation. Some do limited photoperiods, some raise their lights, some use screens to block the light....

The glass in my pendant is about 6" from the water. It gets splashed sometimes at that height, I wouldn't want it any lower IMO.

 

[clutch]

ok thanks alot I will bring it down a little then. I was just wondering if it was getting enuf light but i'll go with this, really appreciated.

Regards...

 

[thrlride]

You're welcome. I imagine they are getting enough light. 8" to 10" is great for general light spread from bulb to water but 6" or so should be fine as well. If there wasn't a shield from the bulb I wouldn't run them any closer than 8" though.

 

[newnano]

personally i think the hammer is not expanding because its getting more light than previously. i used to have rather weak pc lights and my hammer would balloon every day which was very cool. now with the mh it doesnt balloon, I believe because its getting more of what it needs without having to stretch for it.

 

[clutch]

hmmm sounds like a plan to put the hammer in a low lighted area i'll try this. thns to all

 

[clutch]

this is a branching hammer but did yours ever have a bubble in the mouth of the hammer? could it be damaged. The only reason i ask is that my wife's nephew took a fish net to my tank without suppervision(I was out ice fishing). When i come home everything was everywhere but i don't know if it was hit with a rock.

 

[newnano]

mine had a bubble when i switched the lights and never before that. or after. its fine now just doesnt extend as much with the more powerful lights.

 

[clutch]

ok thanks the bubble is going away now tooo.