How long to acclimate corals to light?

[PrettyFishies]

I added four frags after dipping on Sunday and placed them in/on the sand. How long do I need to acclimate them and when can I start moving the ones I want higher, higher?

I have LED's BTW, standard 125 so 23.5" I think.

Goniopora
Favia
Duncan
Zooanthid

I will probably leave the Goniopora on the sand, the Zooanthid would be placed on a rock but near bottom to let it do it's thing. The Duncan I'd want middle and the Favia as well.

 

[Grizz]

Give them a week then move them up Just keep an eye on them after moving them if they show signs of stress drop them back down

 

[PrettyFishies]

Thanks!

 

[mr_X]

BTW, none of those corals are super light needy. They are all going to be in the lower 3rd of the tank if you have the lights up at 100%.

 

[PrettyFishies]

Where do hammers do best?

 

[mr_X]

They can be acclimated to strong light if you like. I have had pieces on top of the rock and pieces in the lower 3rd, both did fine. I noticed the ones way up top weren't as brilliant as the lower ones, but held steady and did not bleach.

 

[PrettyFishies]

Ok. Thanks. I have had good results with mid and lower tank.

 

[mrvincent]

It depends of the kind of corals... I never acclimated my zoas/frogspawn/mush, and all is fine.

But my birdsnest SPS bleached, so this one had to be acclimated. It's case to case.

 

[mr_X]

It depends of the kind of corals... I never acclimated my zoas/frogspawn/mush, and all is fine.

But my birdsnest SPS bleached, so this one had to be acclimated. It's case to case.

...and the kind of light. I found that I can bleach pretty much anything under LED lighting.

 

[mrvincent]

Yeah, that's what I realised, I had to dim my light from 80% to 60%, can't run it stronger or it bleach everything and make huge algae.

 

[PrettyFishies]

...and the kind of light. I found that I can bleach pretty much anything under LED lighting.

Since we have the same LED fixture, have you had problems with bleaching?

Should I have some rock that goes up to the top of the tank for acros?

 

[mr_X]

Yes I have. At 100%, I can grow sps 30" below the fixture. Placement will depend on how high you have the lights, how much they are turned up, and what type of coral it is. All these factors considered, you'll have to make that decision for yourself.
Just watch your corals. If acros start to brown, they are not getting enough, and if they start to bleach, too much. This is considering you have ideal parameters of course.

 

[PrettyFishies]

They are

 

[PrettyFishies]

They are about 8/9" above the tank.

I guess I can't glue acros in until I'm sure. How do deal with species like birdsnest frags?

 

[mr_X]

Glue them to a small piece of rubble. This you can move as needed, and the frag won't blow away.

 

[mrvincent]

They are about 8/9" above the tank.

I guess I can't glue acros in until I'm sure. How do deal with species like birdsnest frags?

I recently bought a birdsnest frag that bleached. You must put it in a corner of your tank for the first few days, then bring it back slowly to the middle, I bleached a birdsnest by not doing that.

At least it seems to revive

 

[PrettyFishies]

The new additions

Galexia, Duncan, Favia, Zoos, Goniopora and Hammer

 

[PrettyFishies]

The hammer

 

[PrettyFishies]

So this is what I got from the light manufacturer:

measured at center point

1ft 444 par
2ft 196 par
3ft 102 par

The bottom of My fixture is 5" above the top of the tank so that's 7" into the tank is above 400 and probably another 2" or so is at 400.

So can I think of corals light req's in terms of par?

 

[TheTodd]

That's a nice set of corals. I've got two deliveries coming tomorrow. What are the Zoas?