Photo Acclimation

[tripper]

I am upgrading from PC lighting to MH. I have read the article on here about photo acclimation but want to confirm with some members whether my plan is safe for my corals.

The new light is the Coralife 2X150W MH with 2X96W Actinic. My plan would be to keep the Actinic on more of a full day photoperiod (currently I run my lights from 12pm to 11pm and then turn on the MH for only 3 hours the first week and step up an hour per week until I have the MH photoperiod at 7 hours. Will that be acceptable for the corals? All I have right now are a couple types of mushrooms, orange ricordia, candy cane, gonipora, and a RBTA.

Please let me know what you think.

tripper

 

[MT79]

I would start off w/ a little less time on the halides. IMO, go for 1.5-2 hrs to start, see how things react to it, and up it in half hour increments every 5-7 days. 1.5 hours is a bit on the cautious side but it's worth it. I just went through this myself. I had one anemone(Sebae) move about 3-4 inches into the shade after being attached to the same rock for over a year and get stung pretty good by some GSP's, a colt that looked like sh** for about 2 weeks, but everything else(Rics, BTA, zoos) is "coloring up" and loving the new MH light. FWIW, I'm at 9 hrs a day now. HTH

 

[steve-s]

YMMV utilizing a shorter photoperiod. It works very well when increasing intensities from NO to a high output fluorescent but you'll have far less issues (bleaching primarily) if you run the MH the same time frame as now. Instead of altering the photoperiod, shade the light with several layers of screen door material. It's cheap enough and 3-4 layers (mabye less) placed over the top of the tank should match a similar intensity of the PC's. After a week or so, remove a single layer slowly increasing the intensity over a month or so.

The animals you have now are not really high light lovers so if nothing else, be sure the ones you can are moved closer to the substrate. Once the full intensity of the MH is reached, they won't be happy higher up.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MT79]

FWIW, I continued to run my VHO, a 50/50 and an actinic, on their regular 12 hour schedule, that may have helped in my case.?

 

[tripper]

Thanks for the advice Steve. The only coral that will be difficult to move is the candy cane. Right now it is just about in the middle of the tank. Will it be ok there? From what i've read they are a medium light coral anyway. i would have to tear down a few things to get it much lower.

 

[steve-s]

Candy canes are fairly accepting of a wide variety of light intensities but I think you might find MH a bit too much for it. It really depend on the depth from the light. Play it by ear and see how it goes. If it continuously "hugs" the skelaton or starts to lose color it needs to be moved. Otherwise let it stay.

Also be sure you let the BTA go where it wants. Just be sure you can move any stranded corals it may park near.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

FWIW, I continued to run my VHO, a 50/50 and an actinic, on their regular 12 hour schedule, that may have helped in my case.?

As I said sometimes it will work but better safe than sorry, each tanks set up is different of course.

Generally speaking, burnt for an hour or 8 hrs the result is usually the same. Slowly acclimating the intensity while maintaining the same photoperiod works the best and usually prevents bleaching.

I am curious though about your zoo's and ric's. Even though they've colored up better, are you seeing a slow down in reproduction/budding?

Cheers
Steve

 

[MT79]

I am curious though about your zoo's and ric's. Even though they've colored up better, are you seeing a slow down in reproduction/budding?

Honestly I was surprised by how fast they both colored up(I'm hoping for more...of course lol). The zoos really surprised me w/ their growth also. They are on a single tonga branch so it is easy to see them spread. They seem to just be in love w/ the MH. The rics open more and , coincidentally, today I noticed a new polyp about quarter of an inch wide popping through. I'll need alittle more time to watch the rics, their growth has always been slow since I bought them.

 

[ellisz]

I used the reduced photo period method as described in articles section. I had a lot of softies and all went well. I did not lose anything. I went from a 4x55 PC set up to a 2x250MH/T5 setup. My mushrooms really shrunk up but I have since moved them to the back corners of mt 75 and they seem to like it alot more.

The screen method would be easier but I got in a hurry. I bought a digital timer and just added .5 hr twice a week until I got it up to a full day. My actinics come on at 10am and go off at 11 pm. The MH's come on at 11 and go off at 10.

I have SPS's, leathers and zoos that are growing like crazy