Low PAR, best way to increase without harming corals

[markysgirl]

The photo included has the current par numbers.
I want to add some SPS to the top of the rocks so the lights need to be turned up.
What is the best way to accomplish this? Should I turn it up to the desired intensity all at once?
Or do it in increments?
If increments are better, how much should I increase it each time and how long should I wait between increases?

 

[FangsAndGames]

10% increments every week until you get desired numbers

 

[Raege]

Slow increases best to allow what you have to get used to the boost they will get. What kind of lights are you running? Easier for someone with your setup to recommend percentages channels etc.
beautiful tank btw
#reefsquad

 

[FangsAndGames]

Do not turn it up all at once. You will shock your fish and corals. Could possibly bleach some too.

 

[rkpetersen]

In part it depends on how you want to add light.
If you're turning up LEDs, do it in small increments as suggested, 5-10% weekly, monitor your corals for any negative effects, and adjust back downward temporarily if you see any corals closing up.
If you're adding T5s, which I highly recommend, you don't have to be as cautious, although I'd still start out at less than the final goal. Start with perhaps 4 hours midday, and increase it by 30 minutes weekly, again while monitoring for any negative effects. With dimmable T5s, you could try a full photoperiod at reduced intensity (never tried this myself.)

 

[markysgirl]

I am running Kessil AP 700. There are glass tops between the lights and the rocks.
Conundrum I'm now having is I only have the PAR rental for 7 days, so I will have to send it back before I can even measure after a week.
I've been thinking about buying a seneye monitor maybe I should?
Thank you for the compliment! This is my first salty tank so I love to hear I am doing it right.

 

[AKReef]

I am running Kessil AP 700. There are glass tops between the lights and the rocks.
Conundrum I'm now having is I only have the PAR rental for 7 days, so I will have to send it back before I can even measure after a week.
I've been thinking about buying a seneye monitor maybe I should?
Thank you for the compliment! This is my first salty tank so I love to hear I am doing it right.

I would just find the setting you're looking for while you still have the par meter. Increasing the lights for 15 mins while you figure it out won't be a big deal. Afterwards, like people have been saying, slowly ramp up the lights over the next few months to you end goal setpoint.

I just did the same thing and nearly doubled the PAR level in my tank over 2 months. Probably a little fast, but corals have already shown improvement.

 

[markysgirl]

I would just find the setting you're looking for while you still have the par meter. Increasing the lights for 15 mins while you figure it out won't be a big deal. Afterwards, like people have been saying, slowly ramp up the lights over the next few months to you end goal setpoint.

I just did the same thing and nearly doubled the PAR level in my tank over 2 months. Probably a little fast, but corals have already shown improvement.

Duh!!!
Thanks for the advice!
I just turned the lights up from 30% to 45% and these are the new numbers.
What do all of you think about these numbers for mixed reef?

 

[markysgirl]

I forgot the new photo

 

[AKReef]

What do you have for lights? Looks like you really could use one more to spread the light out more evenly. Pretty dark around the sides of the tank. You could also try raising your current light to get more spread.

Otherwise, I think it looks good. As long as you have that PAR map and place corals accordingly.

 

[minus9]

Remember, the AP700 has an acclimation mode. As mentioned above, set your lights to the desired intensity using the par meter, then set the light to acclimation mode. If it's a big jump from where you are currently, then I would do a 14 day acclimation period. Btw, you can break this up over a period of 4 weeks and split the intensity up. This gives you a finer adjustment over a longer period of time. Go slow, corals can survive much longer in lower light than they can with too much light.

 

[markysgirl]

The acclimation mode on the light has it go up to 80% which is way too high for my tank.
I think I'm going to raise it 10% each week and go slower if the corals look stressed at all.
So today I went from 30% to 33.
I cannot raise the lights more as they are mounted in my canopy and 7 inches from the waterline.
I've pre ordered two 8 inch 50/50 lumi light pro lamps for the ends. I'm going to set those on a timer so they are on 6ish hours out of the day.
I think those will keep the softies I have on the sides much happier without raising the par crazy high.

 

[phatduckk]

I normally use the acclimation mode on my lights for raising par. I'll grab a par meter, put the lights on manual control & quickly figure out what id need them set to in order to get to my target... then I set that as my new schedule but engage acclimation mode and let the lights' programming schedule increase the par over the course of a few weeks.

For what its worth I have ReefLED lights but I assume many lights have some way of setting an acclimation mode that ramps up a little per day

 

[minus9]

The acclimation mode on the light has it go up to 80% which is way too high for my tank.
I think I'm going to raise it 10% each week and go slower if the corals look stressed at all.
So today I went from 30% to 33.
I cannot raise the lights more as they are mounted in my canopy and 7 inches from the waterline.
I've pre ordered two 8 inch 50/50 lumi light pro lamps for the ends. I'm going to set those on a timer so they are on 6ish hours out of the day.
I think those will keep the softies I have on the sides much happier without raising the par crazy high.

That's why I suggested splitting it up over the course of a month or even longer. If you're going to do it manually, then I would increase it by 3% each week. If your corals show any signs of stress, then I would back it up and hold until they even out. I run Kessil's and have been using them for over five years and found that smaller increments work best. You're in no rush to raise them, so take your time. Don't get stuck on a par number, let your corals tell you what works best. You'll have some hot spots with the 700, so you might be able to strategically place some sps when it's time.