Matt,
Not sure if you've seen my layout but here is an old pic for reference.![]()
The 4 pucks are thin coverage for sure. But the way they are positioned there is no fixture in the center of the tank. So, you think 2 8 bulb fixtures will do it?
Corey
Just ordered an 8x24" dimmable sunpower... going to run 6 blue+ 1 coral+ 1 purple plus. So I should hang the light 10" awl to start? Have a 24 tall tank with a shallow rockscape.... highest point is 12" lowest being around 4 to 6" what par should I be seeing at the bare bottom of my tank, I say bare bottom obviously be a use there's no sand.
Awesome thank you sirStart off at 100%, don't dim the bulbs til they burn in for a while. On my 22" tall tank at 8" above the water line here were some of my numbers for comparison(bulbs about 6 months old):
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The Sunpower fixtures are 17 1/2" wide, so two of them side by side are 35" You will have an almost perfect square of light 36" X 35" with a six inches uncovered around the perimeter.Matt, so I was reviewing some of your recommendations and I forgot to mention something that might or might not matter. My tank is 48/48/24 acrylic. There is a eurobrace on top and the overflow box is internal. The opening is 30/36 or so. Does that matter?
Corey
I'm planning to grab ATI sun power 8x39W fixture for my 36x21x11 tank. Is it worthed buying the dimmable version compare to non dimmable?
I'm switching from a 250w radium to a 24" t5 6 bulb fixture with reefbrite blue led supplements what bulbs should I use?
I've been running 4 b+ and 4 c+ since November. Although the fixture is dimmable I ran both channels for 8 hours. My corals were growing but I lost color. Some turning somewhat pale, a purple bonsai for example lost the vibrant purple and turned a drab tan.
I have around 50 acropora in the tank and my colors really had me stumped. Some turned pale others were turning darker. Assuming the darker colors were high nutrients and not enough light I held the same bulbs and photoperiod but reduced nutrients. The pale corals became paler. Being a rookie I was stumped! Talking with another reefer, we went through my set up in great detail. He narrowed it down to too much light. If too much light then how come several acros are brown!?!
Three weeks ago I raised my fixture 3" and replaced 2 c+ with actinic, also reduced the photoperiod and started using the dimmer to hold intensity in two hour increments with peak power At 85% for 2 hours long, and low and behold The pales acros and returning to normal and the corals that darkened are now lightening. NO WONDER new reef keepers have issues sometimes!
I thought darker colors meant not enough light and/or excess nutrients. Yet again, some corals were paling. Not the case here as nutrients were not the issue. I'm assuming the corals that got darker went into some sort of photo inhibition mode. Heck I don't know. I just know that running too much light came at the expense of lost Acros and me chasing water issues that didn't exist.
I hope this rant helps someone else.