SPS polyp withdrawal

[Snookster]

I'm pretty sure I was cooking my SPS with my LEDs. I've since turned them off and am going back to straight T5s. Been starting to see the milli's return some polyp extension, but none of the other SPS.

I'm running 3 bulbs (t5s) over my 75 at the moment, and the zoas are starting to stretch for light. It's going on 2 weeks, and I'm wondering how long it might take for them (SPS) to recover.

Has anyone experienced anything like this and how long did it take to see a recovery?

BTW - I have a 36" blue/white XHO reefbrite and a 48" Rapid LED actinic kit (done) with dimmers for sale...(pm me)

 

[nitr8]

IMO, this was not the way too go. First off, I love LEDs and have way better growth, color and PE than I did with T5s. Second, 3 bulbs, again IMO, is not enough light for SPS. Especially if you see your soft corals reaching for light. I'm in no way saying that LEDs are not their own kind of beast or bashing T5s. Believe me, I lost a lot of coral/frags before I got them dialed in. It takes a lot of trail and error and waiting with your fingers crossed. T5s are more set and forget but hey wheres the fun in that. I'd also like to see your parameters before we rule LEDs to be the cause. Here's a good example to PE in my tank with (4) AI SOLs taken a few days ago.

 

[nitr8]

I also seen a dramatic increase in PE and Z&P growth when I took my carbon reactor offline. I only run in it for about a week every month now.

 

[Snookster]

My #s are Alk: 9.5, Ca: 420, Ph: 8.4, Mag: 1200, No3 & PO4 don't register.

I went back to T5s since previously I ran all T5 and everything was happy. My SPS kicked ***. Over time after I added the LEDs, my SPS started very slowly getting unhappy. New ones within weeks started hiding polyps.

I should add I have a canopy and the lights are 5-6" off the water too. Noticing your comment on taking the carbon offline, there may be a chance my PO is too low. I have a wad of chaeto that's really healthy. I also dose about 3 tspn of vinegar with my auto top-off (along with 2 tspn of kalk). I suppose it might be low nutrients.

 

[aguila88psi]

What optics were you using on your LEDs? I would remove them and just use the 120° speed the diy led has and try again.

 

[Snookster]

What optics were you using on your LEDs? I would remove them and just use the 120° speed the diy led has and try again.

They don't have any optics, just the 3 watt pucks.

 

[aguila88psi]

What % were the whites and blues?

 

[Snookster]

All I've been running for the last month where blues