LFS Guy Says 50% Intensity For Soft Corals/LPS?

[Coolnesscomplex]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Tim and I’m super excited to get back into the hobby after many years. Just bought a Red Sea Max Nano. And naturally, I immediately need y’all’s help please!

My local fish guy in charge of the coral seems to be very knowledgeable - he sells his own frags to the store and picks out the stock for display, etc. He told me that since I want to grow a bunch of zoas and soft corals that I should keep all of my light levels at 50% max.

But David Saxby’s lighting schedule is so cool! That dude’s schedule has UV, V and RY at pretty high levels, so I guess I have to tweak it and dial them all down to 50% assuming my local guy is right? After all, he knows I have a small tank instead of the giant tank with SPS that David Saxby probably has...thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R! Great looking nano your LFS guy is correct. LPS and soft corals dont need nearly as much light as SPS corals do. So you can run the saxby program, but at lower percentages.

#WelcometoR2R

 

[Coolnesscomplex]

Awesome thank you Crabs! That answer was the perfect convergence between my local expert and my online experts!

I am already making rookie mistakes though. I don’t get my salt until tomorrow and I unbagged my live sand out of excitement yesterday. So now there’s saran wrap on top of the tank to keep it wet till tomorrow!

I also purchased some Turbo Start 900 and left it unrefrigerated for about four hours after I got home.

 

[Pntbll687]

Don't worry about the live sand. Some of the bacteria may die off, but that just turns into food for the turbo start you're going to add.

Looks like a nice nano tank there!

Keep it simple with consistent water changes and you should do fine.

 

[Coolnesscomplex]

Sweet, thank you Pntbll!! This community rocks. I posted a question at 6:15 AM and got one at 6:30!

 

[Pntbll687]

Sweet, thank you Pntbll!! This community rocks. I posted a question at 6:15 AM and got one at 6:30!

Yea, lots of people will help out out at all times of day. I once posted a question at 11pm and was getting answers at 2-3am.

 

[Doctorgori]

Would not distance, water clarity and a few other variables have an effect on intensity? Not disputing the answer just worried about the one size fits all answer...

 

[Pntbll687]

Would not distance, water clarity and a few other variables have an effect on intensity? Not disputing the answer just worried about the one size fits all answer...

All those things do have an effect on intensity. But from the pics it looks like the light is mounted to an arm, which is probably in a fixed position, so we could REASONABLY say that the light height isn't going to change.

Water clarity could play a role, if there was a sand storm going on, or if OP had a major bacterial bloom. But those things are what if situations.

OP could always start at say 30% and ramp up 5% every two weeks to make sure the corals are ok.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Tim and I’m super excited to get back into the hobby after many years. Just bought a Red Sea Max Nano. And naturally, I immediately need y’all’s help please!

My local fish guy in charge of the coral seems to be very knowledgeable - he sells his own frags to the store and picks out the stock for display, etc. He told me that since I want to grow a bunch of zoas and soft corals that I should keep all of my light levels at 50% max.

But David Saxby’s lighting schedule is so cool! That dude’s schedule has UV, V and RY at pretty high levels, so I guess I have to tweak it and dial them all down to 50% assuming my local guy is right? After all, he knows I have a small tank instead of the giant tank with SPS that David Saxby probably has...thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[Dana Riddle]

Beg, borrow, or rent a PAR meter. Match your numbers to those at your LFS. Those corals and their prices you would lose without light measurements would pay for a meter. Better yet, look for a local club - many have purchased a meter for members' use.

 

[Coolnesscomplex]

This is all very helpful, thank you. So it sounds like even if my intensity is maxed at 50%, I should nevertheless use an acclimation mode at first and set that to a 40% reduction to arrive at @30% overall intensity? Hopefully my math is correct!

 

[Pntbll687]

I think you're over complicating things.

Start low, and ramp up over time. You're just trying to avoid too strong of light right off the bat which can stress corals out.