razorskiss
Active Member
I've seen some threads discussing lighting schedules for Kessil's A360x but I was hoping to get some advice specific to a new tank. I've had a pioneer ricordea in my 18 inch cube on the substrate for a bit over a week and it seems to be doing well with my A360x running it's default schedule with the peak intensity set to 30%. I have the light equipped with a narrow angle reflector to give me a spotlight on an upper region of the tank where I hope to introduce "beginner" sps at some point in the distant-ish future and also because it attenuates light reaching the rest of the tank where I plan to raise mostly low light corals like Blastos, mushrooms, and zoas. It also drastically cuts down on light spillover to the rest of the room.
My question is, as I introduce more softies and LPS, should I keep the max intensity at 30% for the medium term or will I likely need to go higher? I've read extensively that it's better to be low than high, so what signs should I watch out for that I need to increase light? Is going up a few % a week a good way to test higher light levels? I've ordered some more shrooms and zoas that will arrive in 2 weeks so I'm trying to figure out how to approach acclimating them to light. At this low of a setting should I start with the frags under a shadow and slowly bring them out or should I just start on the open substrate and go from there?
Also, my understanding is that the red and green channels are mostly for visual appeal, but what about UV? I currently have it at 0 but should I introduce some to get more fluorescence? Are there any handy rules of thumb for balancing UV output against the blue channel?
Thanks!
My question is, as I introduce more softies and LPS, should I keep the max intensity at 30% for the medium term or will I likely need to go higher? I've read extensively that it's better to be low than high, so what signs should I watch out for that I need to increase light? Is going up a few % a week a good way to test higher light levels? I've ordered some more shrooms and zoas that will arrive in 2 weeks so I'm trying to figure out how to approach acclimating them to light. At this low of a setting should I start with the frags under a shadow and slowly bring them out or should I just start on the open substrate and go from there?
Also, my understanding is that the red and green channels are mostly for visual appeal, but what about UV? I currently have it at 0 but should I introduce some to get more fluorescence? Are there any handy rules of thumb for balancing UV output against the blue channel?
Thanks!
