Hydra 52 Help

Winschuc · Jan 15, 2015

The system it's over is a 24x24x12H frag tank. It's mounted at 12" AWL. I cannot seem to get the settings correct on this. Each time I'm faced with RTN within a day of installation. Water parameters are in check and have been stable.

The system has been running with a 250w - DE 20k for a few weeks with great growth. I switched over to the AI two days ago, yesterday the flesh on my SPS was falling off, frogspawn was only 1/4 of its size under MH and my Maxima was slightly pale. I'm open to suggestions on how to make this work a little better. Not a fan of losing a few hundred $ in SPS.

I am running coral acclimation mode at 40% reduction for a three week cycle. Below are the settings.

UV & Deep Red:
730 - 0%
1130 - 50%
1700 - 50%
2100 - 0%

Green & Violet:
730 - 0%
1130 - 60%
1700 - 60%
2100 - 0%

Deep Blue & White:
730 - 0%
1130 - 75%
1700 - 75%
2100 - 0%

Royal Blue:
0000 - 0%
630 - 5%
1130 - 75%
1700 - 75%
2130 - 5%
0000 - 0%

Sense of nature · Jan 15, 2015

Winschuc said:
The system it's over is a 24x24x12H frag tank. It's mounted at 12" AWL. I cannot seem to get the settings correct on this. Each time I'm faced with RTN within a day of installation. Water parameters are in check and have been stable.

The system has been running with a 250w - DE 20k for a few weeks with great growth. I switched over to the AI two days ago, yesterday the flesh on my SPS was falling off, frogspawn was only 1/4 of its size under MH and my Maxima was slightly pale. I'm open to suggestions on how to make this work a little better. Not a fan of losing a few hundred $ in SPS.

I am running coral acclimation mode at 40% reduction for a three week cycle. Below are the settings.

UV & Deep Red:
730 - 0%
1130 - 50%
1700 - 50%
2100 - 0%

Green & Violet:
730 - 0%
1130 - 60%
1700 - 60%
2100 - 0%

Deep Blue & White:
730 - 0%
1130 - 75%
1700 - 75%
2100 - 0%

Royal Blue:
0000 - 0%
630 - 5%
1130 - 75%
1700 - 75%
2130 - 5%
0000 - 0%

Try running acclimation @60%
ur settings seem a bit high imo
Also tone down the uv spectrum
I have a 210& my settings are almost 1/2 of those

Maximo · Jan 16, 2015

You burned your corals! Halides shine in all directions where LEDs a a direct beam! Halides need a reflector to redirect light where LEDs use a lens to spread light! Even though they don't appear too bright or hot doesn't mean they are! You should have started no more than 30% intensity In acclimation mode, 60 is a very intense shock! You also mentioned that your parameters were in check but didn't list them. The LEDs could have just been the straw that broke the camels back. Controllable LEDs are a very advanced piece of equipment and can wreak disaster if not used right! Try bringing your Alk up from 6-12 in a day and see how everything reacts, not very good! Dial the lights back and go slow, you may now never be happy with LEDs considering you stressed your corals so bad they may never recover properly! Most people hurt their corals by not using their lights properly and blame poor results on the light!

Tahoe61 · Jan 16, 2015

Maximo said:
You burned your corals! Halides shine in all directions where LEDs a a direct beam! Halides need a reflector to redirect light where LEDs use a lens to spread light! Even though they don't appear too bright or hot doesn't mean they are! You should have started no more than 30% intensity In acclimation mode, 60 is a very intense shock! You also mentioned that your parameters were in check but didn't list them. The LEDs could have just been the straw that broke the camels back. Controllable LEDs are a very advanced piece of equipment and can wreak disaster if not used right! Try bringing your Alk up from 6-12 in a day and see how everything reacts, not very good! Dial the lights back and go slow, you may now never be happy with LEDs considering you stressed your corals so bad they may never recover properly! Most people hurt their corals by not using their lights properly and blame poor results on the light!

Thanks for the insight on the fixture, it's hard not to feel like the LED are inadequate when you have previously run MH. I am taking your advice and reducing my acclimation intensity even more. Good post, thanks.