Metal Halides are the bomb

[Kfactor]

Get another Reefbrite with XHOs. I love my RB gear so far. I did switch to Hamilton 20k bulbs from the RB 14k bulbs and my tank look so much better than it ever did under LEDs

Do you use the reef Brite strips for ramp up and down ?

 

[rtparty]

Do you use the reef Brite strips for ramp up and down ?

I will on the upgrade. I don't have them yet. Right now I use Blue Plus T5s for my dusk/dawn and they are great

 

[Kfactor]

I just ordered my other reefbrite hybrid fixture but need a ballest will the icecap ballest work on it ?

 

[bobnicaragua]

You will have to wire it in. The reef brite ballasts just plug in, but don't have adjustable wattage settings.

 

[A. grandis]

I just ordered my other reefbrite hybrid fixture but need a ballest will the icecap ballest work on it ?

What is the ballast you have on the other ReefBrite fixture? I would get the same ballast for the new one.

 

[Kfactor]

What is the ballast you have on the other ReefBrite fixture? I would get the same ballast for the new one.

It’s a lumatek and can’t find one anywhere here in Canada I have looked everywhere

 

[shred5]

Would 2 250w halides be over kill on a 4’ tank 18” high ? I got one right now

No that is what I would recommend.

 

[JCM]

Didn't you hear? All light sources grow coral "just fine." It is fun to see what happens when you are better than "just fine" though, right?

You can probably turn the T5s off when the Halides are running and save them for dusk/dawn. I do this to save electricity, if I run them at all.

Preach!

I use t5's because I don't have the space for large reflectors and to avoid heat but nothing grows corals like halides. Ive never seen an LED tank in person that looked right. I wish I could quantify it but they just look artifical or something.

 

[infinite0180]

These halides are strong. I killed half my coralline and now algae took over the rocks! I should have went slower. It looks like the coralline is slowing coming back though.

 

[A. grandis]

It’s a lumatek and can’t find one anywhere here in Canada I have looked everywhere

Lumatek is a great ballast!! Keep trying to find one!! Get the luxcore or Icecap for now then. Not too bad.

 

[A. grandis]

Preach!

I use t5's because I don't have the space for large reflectors and to avoid heat but nothing grows corals like halides. Ive never seen an LED tank in person that looked right. I wish I could quantify it but they just look artifical or something.

Not trying to answer for jda! You will always have options for smaller reflectors. I'm glad I'm not the only one that have noticed that in every tank under LEDs!

 

[A. grandis]

These halides are strong. I killed half my coralline and now algae took over the rocks! I should have went slower. It looks like the coralline is slowing coming back though.

Yup!!! Need to adapt the system slow. The whole process could take up to about 6 months, depending on how much the differences of qualities of light are and nutrients. Every system changing light should go slow to make sure the system will adapt faster. Make sure you have herbivores in the system now. They will help the coralline to get back faster.
Your coralline that was living under lower light will be replaced/adapted until it could support stronger light. The die off is necessary and the bad thing is to see the green taking over. Normal. That is the reason why it could take up to 6 months... the presence of the green algae. It's like setting up that system over again. Maintain stability! That is also crucial for the system now. No worries.. the end of the story will be great!!!!

 

[JCM]

Not trying to answer for jda! You will always have options for smaller reflectors. I'm glad I'm not the only one that have noticed that in every tank under LEDs!

I wish I could put words to it but they just don't look right.

I've actually considered a mh/t5 hybrid fixture but they seem to be few and far between. With a rimless tank, I need something compact and attractive.

 

[A. grandis]

I wish I could put words to it but they just don't look right.

I've actually considered a mh/t5 hybrid fixture but they seem to be few and far between. With a rimless tank, I need something compact and attractive.

Try to get an used Giesemann Spectra.
It's like the most amazing thing in the world. LOL!
Or get ReefBrites.

 

[infinite0180]

Yup!!! Need to adapt the system slow. The whole process could take up to about 6 months, depending on how much the differences of qualities of light are and nutrients. Every system changing light should go slow to make sure the system will adapt faster. Make sure you have herbivores in the system now. They will help the coralline to get back faster.
Your coralline that was living under lower light will be replaced/adapted until it could support stronger light. The die off is necessary and the bad thing is to see the green taking over. Normal. That is the reason why it could take up to 6 months... the presence of the green algae. It's like setting up that system over again. Maintain stability! That is also crucial for the system now. No worries.. the end of the story will be great!!!!

That is exactly what i am experiencing! I know it will be worth it in the end. In the meantime ill just try and deal with the algae growth the best i can. Im not making anymore changes to the lighting until i see some good acro growth. I have my photo period where i want it but i want to lower the light an inch or two so i can turn off my T5 when the MH comes on. Right now ive been leaving them on for that extra 50-60 par they are providing. I hung my light 13” off the water to start so im not getting crazy numbers but right in that 200-250 range along the rocks and 175-200 on the floor.

 

[rtparty]

That is exactly what i am experiencing! I know it will be worth it in the end. In the meantime ill just try and deal with the algae growth the best i can. Im not making anymore changes to the lighting until i see some good acro growth. I have my photo period where i want it but i want to lower the light an inch or two so i can turn off my T5 when the MH comes on. Right now ive been leaving them on for that extra 50-60 par they are providing. I hung my light 13” off the water to start so im not getting crazy numbers but right in that 200-250 range along the rocks and 175-200 on the floor.

My tank got a MAJOR shock going from LED to halides. I am up to like 3 hours a day on the halides after almost 3 months. I could go faster but my tank is LPS dominated and they need serious time to adapt back to 300+ PAR. My acros are absolutely loving the halides. The growth on a couple pieces is getting back to what I remember when the hobby was in a much better place. I see new growth daily right now on a couple pieces.

It's not just the corals that need to adapt either. It is EVERYTHING in our tanks. Down to micro plankton, pods, and everything in between. Light gets to places it never was before. Takes time for the system to get back in balance. I am loving it to be honest!

 

[A. grandis]

That is exactly what i am experiencing! I know it will be worth it in the end. In the meantime ill just try and deal with the algae growth the best i can. Im not making anymore changes to the lighting until i see some good acro growth. I have my photo period where i want it but i want to lower the light an inch or two so i can turn off my T5 when the MH comes on. Right now ive been leaving them on for that extra 50-60 par they are providing. I hung my light 13” off the water to start so im not getting crazy numbers but right in that 200-250 range along the rocks and 175-200 on the floor.

You don't need to worry about PAR. The observation of your tank is what dictates the moves with the new light, adapting it slowly and observing. Checking PAR can be deceiving. Remember: that PAR sensor isn't as good as observing the reactions of your organisms. They are the best "sensor" to read! Don't trust PAR numbers. It's going to be great! It will reach the balance and everyting will start to flourish at once. Do your changes in small rates weekly. I love it! Happy for you!!

 

[A. grandis]

My tank got a MAJOR shock going from LED to halides. I am up to like 3 hours a day on the halides after almost 3 months. I could go faster but my tank is LPS dominated and they need serious time to adapt back to 300+ PAR. My acros are absolutely loving the halides. The growth on a couple pieces is getting back to what I remember when the hobby was in a much better place. I see new growth daily right now on a couple pieces.

It's not just the corals that need to adapt either. It is EVERYTHING in our tanks. Down to micro plankton, pods, and everything in between. Light gets to places it never was before. Takes time for the system to get back in balance. I am loving it to be honest!

Exactly! Every organism will need to adapt. Bacteria will need to adapt too, and that is why the nutrients get somehow messed up for a while.
Gotta love Acros!!! Pics please!!! Cheers!!

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Yeah, when I went from T5 to MH my lps and soft corals suffered. on average I’m seeing 200-250w on the sand bed.

after a few months and creating some lower light locations the frogspawn and hammers are better. Not great, but better. The torch loves the light.

i plan to place plating monti to help shade corals...the monti are growing like mad.

overall, please I switched. One concern I don’t have, is enough light. Near the top I read 750-800 watts with the par meter But as said above, it’s just a metric, I let my eyes be the judge as to how the coral is doing under the MH at any particular spot.

 

[A. grandis]

Yeah, when I went from T5 to MH my lps and soft corals suffered. on average I’m seeing 200-250w on the sand bed.

after a few months and creating some lower light locations the frogspawn and hammers are better. Not great, but better. The torch loves the light.

i plan to place plating monti to help shade corals...the monti are growing like mad.

overall, please I switched. One concern I don’t have, is enough light. Near the top I read 750-800 watts with the par meter But as said above, it’s just a metric, I let my eyes be the judge as to how the coral is doing under the MH at any particular spot.

PAR is actually reported as: 200-250 molm2sec (micromole per square meter per second) or 750-800 molm2sec, not W (watts).
The corals will only suffer when we don't adapt them correctly. If we do it slow they won't manifest anything wrong. You can see them adapting in terms of changing colors a bit in the process and sometimes they even stop growing in the beginning, but when they start to process and balance everything, including their zooxanthellae population, in the right rates, they get on track for their best growth and pigment production. I do not change them to a "better spot", never did. They don't need that at all. What we should do is to choose the best spot and leave them there, adapting the light slowly. Even the so called "deep water Acros" can support and do really well under halides at the top. So adaptation is the key. Trust me... any light change needs to happen slow and don't change it anymore. Only when changing bulbs. Try to get the same bulb always and adapt them to the new bulb. Changing spectrum or even ballasts could provoke new adaptation cycles. Not a big deal.