Lighting sch??

[jservedio]

I try and mimic the schedule corals on the reef normally receive, but shifted later into the day so I can enjoy it while I am home. While my light fixture is only set to 55% max intensity with a Radion Pro, here are my relative intensities:

9am: 0%
11am: 25%
12:30pm: 50%
1:30pm: 75%
3:30pm: 100%
5:30pm: 75%
6:30pm: 50%
8:00pm: 25%
10:00pm: 0% (moonlights)

In the ocean, a typical reef receives 13 hours of total light, 9 hours at or above 25%, 6 hours at or above 50%, and 4 hours at or above 75% peaking at 100%. The natural lighting schedule looks like a big parabola.

Obviously, you can replicate this with LEDs exactly or closely with dimmable T5s, but it is impossible without dimmable fixtures. This is the reason people ususally have actinic on for 10-12 hours and daylights on for 4-8 hours. It is dependent on your corals lighting needs and the output of your light,

Don't go too fast too quickly - if you increase your PAR by 30 or 40% overnight, you will probably bleach a lot of things - even SPS.

 

[Jayellul]

I try and mimic the schedule corals on the reef normally receive, but shifted later into the day so I can enjoy it while I am home. While my light fixture is only set to 55% max intensity with a Radion Pro, here are my relative intensities:

9am: 0%
11am: 25%
12:30pm: 50%
1:30pm: 75%
3:30pm: 100%
5:30pm: 75%
6:30pm: 50%
8:00pm: 25%
10:00pm: 0% (moonlights)

In the ocean, a typical reef receives 13 hours of total light, 9 hours at or above 25%, 6 hours at or above 50%, and 4 hours at or above 75% peaking at 100%. The natural lighting schedule looks like a big parabola.

Obviously, you can replicate this with LEDs exactly or closely with dimmable T5s, but it is impossible without dimmable fixtures. This is the reason people ususally have actinic on for 10-12 hours and daylights on for 4-8 hours. It is dependent on your corals lighting needs and the output of your light,

Don't go too fast too quickly - if you increase your PAR by 30 or 40% overnight, you will probably bleach a lot of things - even SPS.

Good post

Personally I feel that led users should always work their way to 100% and only use less for acclimation and stuff. I think it's crazy when I hear guys only using their lights on 25% etc!

Fwiw my schedule is follows;

2 x t5s 12hrs
4 x t5s 10hrs
1 x 250w MH 8hrs

Note I leave the t5s on during MH lighting.

 

[jservedio]

Good post

Personally I feel that led users should always work their way to 100% and only use less for acclimation and stuff. I think it's crazy when I hear guys only using their lights on 25% etc!

Fwiw my schedule is follows;

2 x t5s 12hrs
4 x t5s 10hrs
1 x 250w MH 8hrs

Note I leave the t5s on during MH lighting.

Yeah, that isn't possible for me and many others, even with a mainly acro tank. I have a Radion XR30 Pro over a 20g tank - it'll never be close to 100% even with teh 120 degree optics. Aiming for 100% is silly - you should be aiming for a target PAR or, even better, a Daily Lighting Integral based on your nutrient levels. Just because a light can put out 2000 PAR doesn't mean you should have 2000 PAR over your tank - the reason LEDs are so powerful is because people want so many colors (which requires more diodes and more power) and the lower intensity you run them at, the longer they last.

 

[Mstanker]

Thats good info. I went from max 30%whites to 42 for 2 weeks and then 50's, and now maxing 75% for 2hrs.

 

[Dan1789]

The new radion pros at 100% intensity, 100% channels would bleach a tank quick unless they were mounted crazy high.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

The new radion pros at 100% intensity, 100% channels would bleach a tank quick unless they were mounted crazy high.

Given their performance, I would rate them equivalent to a 250 watt MH. Which would bleach corals under an aged quad T5 setup.

Based on their PAR Chart one could conclude that at a depth of 12" under the water over a standard 24" wide tank, their max intensity will be about the point of Photohinibition... So depending on the previous light acclimate...acclimate...acclimate...

Some prefer a Max Intensity above the point of Photohinibition for part of the day as this causes the corals to produce pigments to reflect this excessive light. These pigments are the colours we cherish and are most commonly found in SPS tanks with the intensity of a 400 watt MH.

Bill

 

[Dan1789]

At all on 100% I had 400 par on my sand bed of my 90g. Corals could probably be acclimated to that but you probably wouldn't need to. I've only had mine for a 6 months or so and I'm not an expert on lighting, just FYI

 

[jservedio]

Given their performance, I would rate them equivalent to a 250 watt MH. Which would bleach corals under an aged quad T5 setup.

Based on their PAR Chart one could conclude that at a depth of 12" under the water over a standard 24" wide tank, their max intensity will be about the point of Photohinibition... So depending on the previous light acclimate...acclimate...acclimate...

Some prefer a Max Intensity above the point of Photohinibition for part of the day as this causes the corals to produce pigments to reflect this excessive light. These pigments are the colours we cherish and are most commonly found in SPS tanks with the intensity of a 400 watt MH.

Bill

That is not an accurate comparison at all - a smaller footprint tank coming from a 250w MH going to a Radion Pro G3 @ 100% is going to to bleach their acros, no question about it at all.

PAR at depth is very different between metal halides and LEDS - while PAR at the very surface may be comparable, not so much at depth. A Radion pro is more like a 400w metal halide at depth directly underneath it. Let's use Melev's measurements - A 400w 20K Radium on an IceCap magnetic ballast in a nice Lumenbright reflector puts out a little under 200 PAR at 24" depth. A Radion G2 Pro with 90 degree optics puts out a little under 300 PAR at the same depth.

They are very different lights. Of course a single Radion Pro can't light a tank like a single 400w Radium, but directly underneath it, the Radion is putting out more PAR.

It's comparisons like these that cause people to bleach their systems and trash LEDs. They are completely different and making generalized comparisons like that are highly inaccurate.

 

[Jayellul]

LEDs are for noobs

 

[Jayellul]

Given their performance, I would rate them equivalent to a 250 watt MH. Which would bleach corals under an aged quad T5 setup.

Based on their PAR Chart one could conclude that at a depth of 12" under the water over a standard 24" wide tank, their max intensity will be about the point of Photohinibition... So depending on the previous light acclimate...acclimate...acclimate...

Some prefer a Max Intensity above the point of Photohinibition for part of the day as this causes the corals to produce pigments to reflect this excessive light. These pigments are the colours we cherish and are most commonly found in SPS tanks with the intensity of a 400 watt MH.

Bill

Spot on

 

[ms705jk]

I'm a noob and I'm freaking awesome. My tank looks sweet and my corals are growing like crazy under my leds. My light bill went down and I'm not running out every 6 months for new bulbs.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

That is not an accurate comparison at all - a smaller footprint tank coming from a 250w MH going to a Radion Pro G3 @ 100% is going to to bleach their acros, no question about it at all.

PAR at depth is very different between metal halides and LEDS - while PAR at the very surface may be comparable, not so much at depth. A Radion pro is more like a 400w metal halide at depth directly underneath it. Let's use Melev's measurements - A 400w 20K Radium on an IceCap magnetic ballast in a nice Lumenbright reflector puts out a little under 200 PAR at 24" depth. A Radion G2 Pro with 90 degree optics puts out a little under 300 PAR at the same depth.

They are very different lights. Of course a single Radion Pro can't light a tank like a single 400w Radium, but directly underneath it, the Radion is putting out more PAR.

It's comparisons like these that cause people to bleach their systems and trash LEDs. They are completely different and making generalized comparisons like that are highly inaccurate.

What height over the water was Melev using for these numbers? And Yes MH along with other LEDs do provide more coverage than the G3...

I prefer to standardize my Par Measurements between lights by using a 24" Free Air Base Line. My 8 month old 400 watt Radium MH with a reefflux reflector using a 220-240V Electronic IceCap Ballast (Yes Old School) gave me a reading of 424 PAR. For reference Chicago is well over 1000Par on my porch during lunch.

Everyone's water is different and I have yet to see a burned coral with proper acclimation. In fact some growers like Battle Corals are two to three times the peak PAR as it helps with colour and pigments.

I'm not sure of their graph height, but I hope these PAR readings are over 12" under water with the fixture at least 12" off the water or at least 24" in free air as they pull 170 watts at full power.

Given the spectrum graph of quality LEDs like Radion they are brighter than advertised but its still a 250 watt MH equivalent based on the facts.

Bill