Lights on a new tank!

[alll1124]

I have a Nuvo Fusion 20. its been done cycling for a little while now but I haven't set up a light yet. I have the AI prime hd. My question is, what setting should I be starting out on and for how long? Percentage increases? I plan on starting with a few zoas and maybe a few other beginner corals after that.

Any tips would be much appreciated !!!

thanks!

 

[ReefEco]

Hey there - depending on your mounting height, I'd start at 40-50% - but that is a little arbitrary without knowing how high your corals will be in the tank, and what other corals you will have beyond zoas. Zoas can adapt to a lot of different light regimes, but usually starting them in lower-medium light is a good bet. Check out the par sensor rentals at Bulk Reef Supply - a good deal to get a baseline so you know the par values at certain positions in your tank, at different light intensities. I'd rent the par sensor and make a "map" of the tank at 10% intensity intervals. Do it once, and you have some metrics to work from and aren't flying blind. As for lighting interval - I light my tanks for 12 hours (typical of the most equatorial reefs) with long ramp up and ramp down times, 90 minutes. I like to see my tank for more of the day, without blasting corals with too much light : ) Hope that helps - Nuvo fusion 20 is a sweet little tank!

 

[alll1124]

thanks for the info!! I appreciate it!!