Hydra 52 Light settings on a 15 gallon cube

[Tsweet2323]

So I’m a beginner and am a little confused I have a Hydra 52 on A 15 gallon innovative Marine tank right now I have a pair of clowns and like 2 pieces of coral I’ve just started stocking the tank but it’s been up and running for about 3 months what should my setting on my hydra be at?? I feel like I can’t find a good balance and can someone explain to me a little more about it maybe because I see some tanks like just violet lights and some not just a little confused about it all open to any advice and tips anyone can give me thanks all

 

[JaaxReef]

How high off the water? That is a very powerful light for that small of a tank! You’ll get a lot of light spill if you run it too high, but could really blast things if you aren’t careful. I would make sure it is no less than 9-10” off the water line.

Also; what coral are you growing? Softies, LPS, SPS? This could change my recommendations quite a bit.

I have 2 26HDs over my 4ft tank with one supplemental actinic Illumagic Vitamini led bar. I’ve swapped the pucks on mine for Luxdium gold LEDs, but I will try to remember old settings from my stock 26HDs and recommend much lower percentages to start.

Depending on type of coral you could adjust percentages up or down a little, but could give you an idea of ratios to try running:

Violet: 50
UV: 40
Royal: 60
Blue: 40
Red: 5
Green: 5
White: 15

See how that looks? Could maybe add more white if that is too blue? Perhaps start with a schedule with 6-8 hours at peak with an hour of ramp up and down and see how it goes?

 

[Tsweet2323]

How high off the water? That is a very powerful light for that small of a tank! You’ll get a lot of light spill if you run it too high, but could really blast things if you aren’t careful. I would make sure it is no less than 9-10” off the water line.

Also; what coral are you growing? Softies, LPS, SPS? This could change my recommendations quite a bit.

I have 2 26HDs over my 4ft tank with one supplemental actinic Illumagic Vitamini led bar. I’ve swapped the pucks on mine for Luxdium gold LEDs, but I will try to remember old settings from my stock 26HDs and recommend much lower percentages to start.

Depending on type of coral you could adjust percentages up or down a little, but could give you an idea of ratios to try running:

Violet: 50
UV: 40
Royal: 60
Blue: 40
Red: 5
Green: 5
White: 15

See how that looks? Could maybe add more white if that is too blue? Perhaps start with a schedule with 6-8 hours at peak with an hour of ramp up and down and see how it goes?

It’s about 6 -9 inches off the water I’m really new to saltwater so I get confused in the types of corals but I believe there’s 2 softies in there as of now but want to grow a little bit of everything if that’s possible eventually, and for some reason everytime I try to set a schedule in the light it’s doesn’t work I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong or what?

 

[Colt13]

35% white and 50% blue if youre going for SPS

 

[SliceGolfer]

A couple pictures of your tank and light setup would help the discussion. I run a Noopsyche K7 V3 Pro (180 watt LED) over my IM15 gallon tanks. One tank is LPS corals, the other tank is SPS corals. The settings between the two vary greatly. While not the same light as your Hydra 52, I think the discussion relevant. There is an oversized light with the potential to over illuminate the aquarium. A PAR meter will be your best friend in setting the light accordingly.

For my LPS tank, I aim for 80 par at tank bottom, which corresponds to white 2%, royal blue 30%, green 19%, UV 4%, blue 30%, red 0% for the spectrum I am targeting. The distance between my light source and water surface is 14 inches.

My SPS tank is different, as the corals require increased lighting. For this tank, I target 275-350 PAR across the corals, so the same 180 watt light has settings that max out at 76% for some channels.

Again, PAR meter is your best tool to set it precisely. I would watch your corals for bleaching, staying closed, shriveling, or ultimately dying as an indicator if the light is set too strong. If you have zoas and they are reaching towards the sky, this is an indicator your light may be too weak and you could bump up the power. With more intense lighting you should maintain more nitrate and phosphate, especially if you are hitting zero on those measurements.

 

[Tsweet2323]

A couple pictures of your tank and light setup would help the discussion. I run a Noopsyche K7 V3 Pro (180 watt LED) over my IM15 gallon tanks. One tank is LPS corals, the other tank is SPS corals. The settings between the two vary greatly. While not the same light as your Hydra 52, I think the discussion relevant. There is an oversized light with the potential to over illuminate the aquarium. A PAR meter will be your best friend in setting the light accordingly.

For my LPS tank, I aim for 80 par at tank bottom, which corresponds to white 2%, royal blue 30%, green 19%, UV 4%, blue 30%, red 0% for the spectrum I am targeting. The distance between my light source and water surface is 14 inches.

My SPS tank is different, as the corals require increased lighting. For this tank, I target 275-350 PAR across the corals, so the same 180 watt light has settings that max out at 76% for some channels.

Again, PAR meter is your best tool to set it precisely. I would watch your corals for bleaching, staying closed, shriveling, or ultimately dying as an indicator if the light is set too strong. If you have zoas and they are reaching towards the sky, this is an indicator your light may be too weak and you could bump up the power. With more intense lighting you should maintain more nitrate and phosphate, especially if you are hitting zero on those measurements.

Here is my tank now although I plan changing the rock work and everything would love if you had any ideas on rock work or what would be best and here are the settings I have it at right now