Lighting Question - help!

[mr. penguin]

Hello all,

First post! I have the fluvial marine and reef led light. If you're not familiar with this light, it has a "day" mode and a "night" mode, but you have to manually switch between the two. So, I have the day mode running from 9a-7p and then nothing from 7p-9p (the window where i manually switch it), and then 9p-11p in "night mode."

My frags aren't as colorful and aren't opening up as much as they used to, and i wonder if it is because of my lighting setup, like the tank is getting confused or something (28gal. euro).

I've noticed that in that two hour window with no lights, my frags/trees close up, and I presume they open back up when the "night" mode kicks on (I'll be monitoring it tonight).

Could this be my problem? Am I doing it wrong? My levels are great and i have a lot of coralline growth with unfortunate brown algae on the glass as well.

I started the tank in 07/13.

Thanks!!!

 

[Reefing Madness]

Water params are a big thing to double check.
Theres no reason why you can't go from day lighting to night lighting at the same whack, some would have the night lighting come on during the day lights and just overlap.
Whats the wattage of the lighting your using? What kind of corals?

 

[mr. penguin]

It's the fluval marine led. It doesn't allow overlapping since there's a switch you have to manually flip to go from day to night mode.

The coral is an orange/green frag

 

[Reefing Madness]

Does the light have 2 cords? Can you turn them both on and put them on a timer?
What kind of frag?
Softy?
LPS?
SPS?

And I'll ask what your water parameters are, need the following
SG
Temp
PH
Alk
Cal
Mag
Nitrates
Phosphates

 

[mr. penguin]

Just one cord. It's either off, day, or night mode.

Sal: 1.023
Ph 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Temp 79

That's all I test for.

 

[mr. penguin]

Just one cord. It's either off, day, or night mode.

 

[Reefing Madness]

SG is down a bit, should be at least 1.025
Really need Cal, alk and posphates.

 

[mr. penguin]

I'll have to get a test kit for that. I've had my tank up and running since 07/13 and my salt has never been that high. My LFS sold me their house-made saltwater, but I've seen switched over to using red coral pro salt since I got my own rodi filter.

Should me salt be higher if it's always hung around 1.023 and the LFS said that was ok?

 

[NanaReefer]

I agree with over lapping your lights. Say days on at 8am then off at 5pm. Nights on at 5pm and off at 11pm. Then I'd seriously consider saving up for a new/better fixture
As for your SG. 1.023 acceptable. However most keep it at 1.025-1.026. Just keep it stable. What are you using to test your salinity?
Dr Fosters & Smith has the Red Sea Pro test kits for a very reasonable price. Consists of the big 3, Ca/Alk/Mag.

 

[mr. penguin]

Unfortunately there is no way to overlap them with this light. It's a new release product (fluval marine led) and wasn't cheap. I will get more testing supplies and try to raise my salinity through the next water changes.

 

[wbrown]

more important than any 'overlap' of day to night mode, what light were you previously using?
as far as making changes to your salinity or mineral levels, you should focus on keeping the same routine for awhile, and allow your critters to adapt to the new lighting.
if you previously had MH or high power flourescent lighting, your animals need to adapt to the new lighting before you add to their stress by changing other things. Old lamps in your previous fixture change the actual wavelength of light both visable and invisable spectrums. Simply changing lamps could have had the same effect on your specimens, You changed the whole setup.
I personally went from over 1000W of combined MH and flourescent to 600W of LEDs, all my critters took awhile to adapt to the new lighting. You could potentially be over lighting, or under lighting and have little means to tell the difference yourself, but the corals know it.

 

[mr. penguin]

I've have the fluval led marine since day 1

 

[wbrown]

have shrimp? Shrimp step on polyps, then they close up. same for hermits.
your tank being under a year old may be undergoing some maturing, have you done several large water changes? I generally advise at least a 50% change as the tank approaches 6 months, and maintain a 20-25% monthly change from then on.
Are you or have you checked your TDS values on the output of your RODI? You may want to check pH level of your RO water prior to adding salt as well, low pH to start with will cause some funny stuff to happen to your mix. If you have an air pump you can always drop an airstone in your makeup water just to raise pH and also keeps algae in your container down.
Another thing to consider if whether your local water utility company is treating with chlorine or chloromine, prefilters for your RODI unit will be different, the wrong type filter may let the other chemical pass. This is based on your comment about using LFS water, now you are making your own. Just things to consider.

Now here's a question you likely hadn't thought of, is your home heated with gas or electric, and when was the last filter change? Fireplace? Gas heat gives off residual carbon gasses as well as adds moisture to the air. Moisture will pick up particulates inside your home, and eventually they will settle.. possibly on your tank. Electric heat strips with a scented oil dispenser anywhere in the house can also create some issues, these usually go away after the weather changes back to moderate temperatures again. Fireplaces can do all sorts of weird unexpected things, depending on the type of wood, proximity to the fireplace, and what you may use as kindling.
If your maintenance routine is the same now as it was 2 or 3 months ago I would venture that whatever the root is, is environmental.

 

[Whys Alives]

Chances are your 'night mode' settings aren't going to make a bit of difference to your corals. They really only respond to white light. But I'm confused when you say that the fluval marine led fixture is the only one you've used, but then say your corals don't look as vibrant as they used to. Are you saying the corals looked better when you first bought them?

Which of the fluval led fixtures are you using? They come in different sizes.

I'm currently using the small square one on a ten gallon. It said it was good for 10 to 20g, but it seems under powered to me. I only bought for temporary use, and indeed I wouldn't want to rely on it for long term. It's good enough for low light corals, but pretty marginal for even moderate light corals. And while it does sell itself as a marine lighting fixture, frankly the spectrum is more appropriate for a freshwater tank. It's just not very pleasing. The biggest disappointment of course is the lack of twin plugs for day and night lighting effects. A considerable number of marine plants and animals are surprisingly sensitive to changes in the lighting cycle. You wouldn't want to put grape caulerpa under that light or it would go sexual every time you manually flip the switch at plus or minus an hour from the previous day.

In short, consider a different fixture from a different manufacturer. If high end led is too expensive, then consider T5-HO.

 

[Whys Alives]

Upon second inspection, it appears I may have grabbed the wrong box and that my fixture could be the 'aqualife and plant' rather than the 'marine and reef'. Unfortunately, I no longer have the box, but that would explain some of my complaints. :]