Hey rules are meant to be broken.
Maybe it was such a low light spot, they just knew there was no way to stretch far enough to get enough light so they just gave up. Lol
Lights too strong?
- Thread starter TheEngineer
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Maybe it was such a low light spot, they just knew there was no way to stretch far enough to get enough light so they just gave up. Lol
yea, i dont buy the low light stretch thing. I was given the stupid watts per gallon thing and way underlit for years and they never stretched, I blamed myself for bad husbandry and they died(i did use a lux meter and I know it was under lit). when my zoas fall in the shade now, they dont stretch. they just wither. the same zoas i have now with higher light, are stretched thew ones on the sand arent. I've had zoad not open till i blasted them with light. that was totally weird btw. they wouldnt even melt. once i smashed them the opened, ive changed from Mh to led over the course of a month and acclimated and none of them stretched.Hey rules are meant to be broken.
Maybe it was such a low light spot, they just knew there was no way to stretch far enough to get enough light so they just gave up. Lol
I just dont buy it. I dont know why they stretch. but i dont think its not enough light.
oh we should totally do a why they stretch thread cuz i really wanna know. Ive used meters and dropped em in the shade on purpose too. I would take pics next time.Hey rules are meant to be broken.
Maybe it was such a low light spot, they just knew there was no way to stretch far enough to get enough light so they just gave up. Lol
Idk it certainly works that way in my frag tanks. When they seem to stretch i move them more towards the middle in higher par and within a week or two they're shorter. If i notice some not opening anymore i move them to the lower light and they come back, usually.
But moving to higher light always makes them stop stretching. 250 plus par i never had any stretch.
But moving to higher light always makes them stop stretching. 250 plus par i never had any stretch.
Let's do it!
I know i have some stretching. I actually have been meaning to swap lights out so i can do that.
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TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
Yes!
OP
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TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
I turned the Kessil down to 50 from 75. I'll give that time to see what changes. I'll turn the UV off after that and see what happens.
As far as reaching it isn't my experience but you've got more of that with zoas than I do
Hey so I'm looking today at some pretty in healthy zoas in my extra "temporary" holding spot. All stretching some in real need of more light.
I'm planning to get some better lighting but wanted to just take some pics for you before i swap lights. I took pics of the a par, and some whammin watermelons reaching hard.
I also took a pic of them laying down in comparison and the associated par. These are in the same water at similar flow.
Please ignore the unkept frag rack.
Excellent. I need to get a thread up. Spaced it today.
I need to do less house works.
I need to do less house works.
I have to take a pic of this blasto in there. Even the blasto is reaching for more light. Lol
Whenever talking about too much light we really need to get in the habit of thinking about flow as well. Corals dissipate extra light energy as heat, if keeping coral in high PAR you need higher flow as well. That tiny boundary layer of water surrounding coral is what it's all about, higher flow means that layer is smaller and dissipates heat better. From an Advanced Aquarist article:
Photoinhibition is a precursor to coral bleaching which occurs when corals receive more light than they can handle. When photoinhibition occurs, corals begin to stress and their photosynthesis rate decreases. In corroboration with the observations of West and Salm, the recent work by Nakamura et al. (7) has shown that there is a reduction of photoinhibition by water flow. By exposing samples of Acropora difitifera to varying water flow speeds and two different light regimes, Nakamura and his colleagues determined not only that photoinhibition is reduced at higher flow speeds but they also showed that at high light intensities and low flow speeds, photodamage of the coral symbionts is amplified which in turn makes corals more sensitive to light and temperature extremes.
Photoinhibition is a precursor to coral bleaching which occurs when corals receive more light than they can handle. When photoinhibition occurs, corals begin to stress and their photosynthesis rate decreases. In corroboration with the observations of West and Salm, the recent work by Nakamura et al. (7) has shown that there is a reduction of photoinhibition by water flow. By exposing samples of Acropora difitifera to varying water flow speeds and two different light regimes, Nakamura and his colleagues determined not only that photoinhibition is reduced at higher flow speeds but they also showed that at high light intensities and low flow speeds, photodamage of the coral symbionts is amplified which in turn makes corals more sensitive to light and temperature extremes.
Thus Riddles explanation of photoinhibition at 350 par and most forget he's also measuring flow in cm per second in those tests. Quite different from the usual hobbyist using gph tank vol calculations.
IMO most or many are probably giving thier softies too little flow. In my personal tests and learning experiments I have the same zoas n palys at different flows and light.
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TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
Interesting. Flow's not an issue in my tank though.
OP
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TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
I decided to drop some big bucks and pick up a lux meter. $17 was more than I wanted to spend but I look at it as an investment 
Just popped a battery in and took a reading.... 51,000 lux at the water surface. That's more than I thought I'd be at. I'm thinking of putting it in a bag and checking a few spots underwater too.
Just popped a battery in and took a reading.... 51,000 lux at the water surface. That's more than I thought I'd be at. I'm thinking of putting it in a bag and checking a few spots underwater too.
itll be fun!I decided to drop some big bucks and pick up a lux meter. $17 was more than I wanted to spend but I look at it as an investment
Just popped a battery in and took a reading.... 51,000 lux at the water surface. That's more than I thought I'd be at. I'm thinking of putting it in a bag and checking a few spots underwater too.
The other interesting thing to do is take it outside. Point it at the sun, then just the sky. Then, take it in the kitchen. Its really pretty amazing how our eye's work, and then, why the shouldn't be trusted to set our leds in the tank.
If you have reefer friends locally or a trusted LFS, take it over there too.
Take a look starting at about 17:00. It will give you a far more accurate estimate of what your light should be producing throughout your tank.I decided to drop some big bucks and pick up a lux meter. $17 was more than I wanted to spend but I look at it as an investment
Just popped a battery in and took a reading.... 51,000 lux at the water surface. That's more than I thought I'd be at. I'm thinking of putting it in a bag and checking a few spots underwater too.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...ew&id=10&vid=5daea118e3c30ed0e0e46a6df12b58c5
MaiReef
Valuable Member
All I know is that my new zoas didn't open with less light for days. I got worried and turned my lights back up and then they popped their heads out in less than 30 minutes. They all lay flat for me. Since my new lights my old zoas have multiplied like crazy. Almost doubled a 10-15 head colony. I am still figuring out zoas and palys though. Since my new lights, some of my palys have opened up.
