New Corals adjusting to lighitng

[jamal-188]

I know there was a good post on this but I cannot find it. How do you guys go about acclimating your new corals to your lighting? The LFS I got my recent brain coral from was under VHO bulbs at a depth of about 18-20 inches. I have 2x250w MH and put the coral on the bottom for now(31" deep) What I did so far was have both lights on for about 2.5-3 hours and then turn the light directly above it off and leave the other bulb on for another 2.5-3 hours so it would still be getting some light but now an extreme amount. Any suggestions or recommendation on how to do this and for how long?

 

[steve-s]

That will work fine but if you have an outcropping in the rock (or can create one) were the coral can be placed so it is shaded, it will do much the same. As time passes, slowly move the coral outward into the light every few days which will allow it to slowly adjust. It will not be all that practical to keep adjusting the lights every time you add a new coral. Not to mention annoying

I a higher light demanding coral, it can then be moved upward an inch or so every few days until the right placement is achieved. At 31" to the substraate, you have a decent depth so you should not need to adjust the lighting this way....

Cheers
Steve

 

[jamal-188]

Thanks for the advice about the shade, sounds much easier than messing with turning the lights on and off all the time, that would be annoying everytime a new coral is purchased