New MH acclimation

[cotter4601]

How should I adjust my corals to the new MH light? It's a 250 watt MH upgrade from regular NO.

 

[bertoni]

I get some screening or get the bulb far up off the tank. That's a bit lighting change.

 

[JR719]

Add a few layers of window screen between the lights and the tank. Every 3 or 4 days, pull off a screen.
With that big of a change, I'd guess maybe 4 layers?

 

[cotter4601]

Here is my plan sinse I don't have any screen. The bulb is 13" off the water and the corals are all on the bottom now. I put two layers of egg crate staggard on the tank. The lights come on for 2 hours then off for 4, then back on for 2. Think this will be ok? Should I increase the light weekly?

 

[GSMguy]

leave them on for 6 hours to start dont do two daylight schedules

 

[cotter4601]

I'm at work now so i'll have to wait until I get home to change it. Should I maybe do less than 6 hours to start? How long should I keep it at 6?

 

[u418936]

Make sure to move your corals, clams, etc to the bottom of the tank during the acclimation period. You'll be less likely to fry them. When I switched from VHOs to MHs, I fried a lot of the soft corals that were near the top of my tank.

Edit: I started at 5 hours and worked my way up to 10 hours over a couple of months. If I had kept all my corals near the bottom of the tank, I wouldn't have lost any of them.

 

[J. Montgomery]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9060483#post9060483 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cotter4601
Here is my plan sinse I don't have any screen. The bulb is 13" off the water and the corals are all on the bottom now. I put two layers of egg crate staggard on the tank. The lights come on for 2 hours then off for 4, then back on for 2. Think this will be ok? Should I increase the light weekly?

The best method is to go buy some window screen and use it in layers. The length of time that the bulb is on doesn't change the intensity of the bulb. The intensity is what will fry your corals.