Upgrading from MH to LED

[Jmar101786]

Hey All -

So I am taking the leap into the LED world and I guess I'm just looking for advice. I figure plenty of reefers have already made the switch and i'm hoping that maybe I can learn from any mistakes made previously so that I don't make them myself.

Currently I have a 220 Gal mixed reef that tends to be heavier on the sps side. The corals in this tank have always been under (2) 400 Watt 20K Radium Metal Halides. I don't have any other supplemental lighting, just the metal halides.

The dimensions on the tank are 72" Long, 24"High and 30" Deep.

I picked up 3 Radion Pro's and have them all set up on the hanging kit, however I have yet to put them physically over my tank.

Currently I am in the process of trying to figure out how to program them and i'm getting a little caught up so if anyone can offer advice there i'd appreciate it.

Secondly in regards to the actual switch - can anyone offer advice on how to go about doing it so that I don't do any damage to my coral; I've read some horror stories where people burnt their pieces because they were too close to the water or because they didn't acclimate them slowly enough to the new type of lighting.

Any and all information would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Joe



P.S. - I originally posted this in a more generalized area - it was suggested that I might want to narrow down to this particular section to help boost my responses. Below you will find the link to the original thread. Sorry for the clutter

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2346296

 

[mfinn]

Like I said in the other thread.
The acclimation program is a must when converting to the Radions.
Starting at 35% to 40% and ending somewhere around 70%.
With a 4 week acclimation program.
On both my tanks I went with the radiant color program.


Have you decided how you are going to mount them?

 

[Jmar101786]

I was able to get the mounting rail system so i'll be drilling my ceiling above the tank and hanging them from there - based on the book and my dimensions of the tank I will be shooting for 9" above the water to give myself a 30X30 spread

Is 4 weeks enough or should I maybe go longer to play it safe?

LED tech is pretty new to me when it comes to reefing...I know T-5 and MH so I was safe when I thought things out as I had a better handle on the tech.

would you mind sharing your program with me? - J.Marino1017@yahoo.com that way I can see it on the graph on ecosmartlive site.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[mfinn]

I don't know how to share a program.

It's just the radiant program that starts at 9am and ends at 8:30 pm.

I think that 4 weeks is enough depending on the starting and ending intensity.
If you decide to use a higher ending intensity than 70%, you may want to go a little longer.

 

[Jmar101786]

I really only anticipated going at the very highest 60%.

With that being said I will take your advice to go over 4 weeks.....you think 35% is a good starting intensity without starving the corals of their Photosynthetic light?

I've been doing a lot of reading but I still can't get a handle on how to compare intensity of my 400 watt MHs to LED Par Ratings. With the MH I followed a very simple rule - Watts per Gal... X watts per gal grow _____ type of coral - with LED its all about the par ratings and I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around it.

Thanks for the info !

Joe

 

[Jmar101786]

off topic/ontopic question - at the top of the ecosmartlive platform it shows a time, however the time is never correct. What does that time correspond to?

 

[Alex Y EcoTech]

Jmar,

The time at the top of EcoSmart Live should reflect your local time. If the time is incorrect, I would recommend following these steps:


1. Disconnect via USB and power down all lights for at least 30 seconds
2. Log in to EcoSmart Live using Google Chrome or Safari
3. Select the “Settings” then “New Profile” and “Yes”
4. Log out of EcoSmart Live
5. Start the Connection Manager and connect via USB to one Radion
6. Right click the connection manager icon select “USB Radion” then “Factory Reset” and “Yes”
7. Repeat step 6 for each light
8. Log in to EcoSmart Live and program your lights using the Aquarium Setup
9. Select the “Program All” button to save all changes

If you continue to experience issues, Please give us a call 1-800-785-0338 Ext. 2.

 

[mfinn]

Jmar,

The time at the top of EcoSmart Live should reflect your local time. If the time is incorrect, I would recommend following these steps:


1. Disconnect via USB and power down all lights for at least 30 seconds
2. Log in to EcoSmart Live using Google Chrome or Safari
3. Select the "œSettings" then "œNew Profile" and "œYes"
4. Log out of EcoSmart Live
5. Start the Connection Manager and connect via USB to one Radion
6. Right click the connection manager icon select "œUSB Radion" then "œFactory Reset" and "œYes"
7. Repeat step 6 for each light
8. Log in to EcoSmart Live and program your lights using the Aquarium Setup
9. Select the "œProgram All" button to save all changes

If you continue to experience issues, Please give us a call 1-800-785-0338 Ext. 2.

Would that be the same procedure to get the lights to recognize the change in daylight savings time that happened this weekend?

 

[Alex Y EcoTech]

Mfinn,

In your case, I would recommend signing into EcoSmart Live. Once logged in, select "Program All" after the page refreshes you should have the correct time in ESL.

 

[mfinn]

1. Disconnect via USB and power down all lights for at least 30 seconds
2. Log in to EcoSmart Live using Google Chrome or Safari
3. Select the "œSettings" then "œNew Profile" and "œYes"
4. Log out of EcoSmart Live
5. Start the Connection Manager and connect via USB to one Radion
6. Right click the connection manager icon select "œUSB Radion" then "œFactory Reset" and "œYes"
7. Repeat step 6 for each light
8. Log in to EcoSmart Live and program your lights using the Aquarium Setup
9. Select the "œProgram All" button to save all changes

If you continue to experience issues, Please give us a call 1-800-785-0338 Ext. 2.

I was able to get my gen 1 unit to recognize local daylight savings time yesterday just fine.

However, I decided to adjust some other parts of the program to get the lights to come on a 1/2 hour earlier than previous setting.
It didn't work.
I tried doing a completely new program starting over and it still didn't work.
This was all done 20 minutes before the normal start time, so I would be able to tell if it worked immediately after hitting program.

I made the mistake of hitting program all and it changed up my other tank that has 3 gen 1 Radions over, which is at the other end of the house.
But not the one I was connected to via a usb cable.

To get the unresponsive one to follow the new settings I want, do I have to follow the steps you mentioned above?

 

[Jmar101786]

Jmar,

The time at the top of EcoSmart Live should reflect your local time. If the time is incorrect, I would recommend following these steps:


1. Disconnect via USB and power down all lights for at least 30 seconds
2. Log in to EcoSmart Live using Google Chrome or Safari
3. Select the "œSettings" then "œNew Profile" and "œYes"
4. Log out of EcoSmart Live
5. Start the Connection Manager and connect via USB to one Radion
6. Right click the connection manager icon select "œUSB Radion" then "œFactory Reset" and "œYes"
7. Repeat step 6 for each light
8. Log in to EcoSmart Live and program your lights using the Aquarium Setup
9. Select the "œProgram All" button to save all changes

If you continue to experience issues, Please give us a call 1-800-785-0338 Ext. 2.

This worked perfectly thanks

 

[Jmar101786]

Okay - So here we are - 14 Day into the LED upgrade and I am concerned at the moment.

I have some corals that have stayed the same - such as a Bubble Gum Monster chalice and a Miami Hurricane chalice which both sit on my sand bed and have not changed one bit.

While I have other corals such as my Pagoda cup and my Cyphastrea which hardly open up and look like garbage...

Then I have my bonsai and my red planet which have dulled out a lot.

I am fearful and brave at the same time, part of me wants to push forward and just see if this is a low point that I need to get passed before the BIG improvement and the other part wants to run to my garage, wipe down my metal halides and put them back up.

So... there we are - 14 days in and conflicted on what to do :/

 

[erndog1001]

I'm assuming you're running one of the preset schedules from the website? And if you started at 35% then you're only up to like 45-50% after 14 days. IMHO Give it more time

 

[Jmar101786]

Yes I am running the radiant preset