new lights & how to adjust???

salt newbie01 · Oct 9, 2007

Well I am upgrading my lights over my 58 gallon tank from a 175 SE MH to a 250 SE MH. I will also be adding some vho for dawn/dusk simulation. How should I adjust for the increase in wattage? Right now the 175 MH runs approx 10 hours.

I am mainly keeping acans, micros, blastos and some palys/zoas. I have a predicament in that all my corals like diff levels of light. The blastos like low light, the acans like medium light and the micros, palys and zoas like higher light. It would not be easy for me to move all the acans to the sand bed as some are mounted in rock that I do not have room for on the sand bed. I wondered if I could start the new 250 light cycle at maybe 2-4 hours and slowly get longer? Would this work or would it burn the lower light corals even on a lower time cycle?? I am fairly new to MH so I need some help!!

matasw · Oct 10, 2007

A lot of people put some screen or eggcrate in between the lights and the tank. You could use several layers and remove them slowly over the course of a few weeks so it will gradually become more intense. I think this would be better then shortening the photoperiod because even if you shorten it they will be getting the full intensity for that few hours.

sailfin · Oct 10, 2007

Hey Patrick. Can you easily raise or lower your lights?

salt newbie01 · Oct 10, 2007

I didn't think about the screen idea - I have read that before - that makes morew sense than shortening the phot period - thanks

The new light will be going in a new canopy so no I wouldn't be able to raise it.

ironman · Oct 10, 2007

ya, the best thing is use egg crate, stack at least two layers and after a couple days or a week remove one layer, then wait another week and remove the last. also the new canopy will probly hold the light alittle higher than your original, so that will help. Id also start with a 4 hour period for a few days, then go to 6 then to 8 and so on. Just my opinion. If it was me though, id just crank those babies up and see which corals have a true will to live!

it weeds out the weeklings!