Roast my lighting schedule!

[TheDuude]

Calling all radion user to roast my lighting schedule.

I'm just not getting the growth I would expect. Do I need to bump intensity up?

I am running 3 Xr15 G4 pro over a 60 " long reefer 525xl..

 

[blaxsun]

Three G4s might be a bit light on coverage. I might adjust your curve a bit so it's sharper at sunrise and sunset so that the corals get more exposure during the day. You could try adjusting it up to 75-80% (I run my G5 XR15/XR30s at 75%).

 

[MIke Wood]

how old is the tank? light is just one factor. i didnt get much growth out of my tank for the first 1.5 years. i am using the same intensity now that i was then and things are taking off now.

 

[BanjoBandito]

YOUR LIGHTING SCHEDULE IS SIDEWAYS. TURN YOUR LIGHTS SO THEY SHINE DOWN ON THE TANK.

 

[TheDuude]

how old is the tank? light is just one factor. i didnt get much growth out of my tank for the first 1.5 years. i am using the same intensity now that i was then and things are taking off now.

This setup is just reaching a year old but the LR was transferred from another tank which was setup for 3 years or so.

 

[MIke Wood]

This setup is just reaching a year old but the LR was transferred from another tank which was setup for 3 years or so.

my LR was is like 4 years old as well. i downsized. and its now been in my current tank for 2 years. first year not much growth at all other than zoas and mushrooms. past 6 months things have really taken off.

 

[A Young Reefer]

Calling all radion user to roast my lighting schedule.

I'm just not getting the growth I would expect. Do I need to bump intensity up?

I am running 3 Xr15 G4 pro over a 60 " long reefer 525xl..

Your lightning schedule is so bad that the so called weed Xenia has enough dignity to choose not to grow under them. (You asked for it).

Jokes aside I think it’s a good lightning schedule and as @MIke Wood suggested there are other factors that control growth.

 

[TheDuude]

Your lightning schedule is so bad that the so called weed Xenia has enough dignity to choose not to grow under them. (You asked for it).

Jokes aside I think it’s a good lightning schedule and as @MIke Wood suggested there are other factors that control growth.

Xenia!? Never again! Ha

Any thoughts on where I should be running my schedule intensity? Right now point intensities are all 100% with schedule at 75%

 

[pecan2phat]

3 units is definitely sparse over a 5' tank, as blaxsun stated plus I see no cool or warm white settings so this can be a factor also.

 

[TheDuude]

Cools and warms running at 14% at the peak. It's AB+ with a bit more whites as I don't like to much blue. Should I be cranking up to 100% then and getting rid of the big curve?

 

[pecan2phat]

I run the AB+ on one of my tanks and the whites, greens and reds are 24% across the board.
The template for the Coral Lab softie setting even has the whites @15%, green @ 20% and red @ 25%.
Sounds like you tweaked the percentages?

 

[pecan2phat]

Best method also is if you can borrow a PAR meter locally.
You might find that your PAR levels at the current settings are much lower than what you had expected.

 

[TheDuude]

I run the AB+ on one of my tanks and the whites, greens and reds are 24% across the board.
The template for the Coral Lab softie setting even has the whites @15%, green @ 20% and red @ 25%.
Sounds like you tweaked the percentages?

I did tweak the percentages a bit as I don't like the really blue look on my tank. Should I go back to default?

Sometimes I really miss not having so many options for lighting. MH or old school LEDs where your only option was on or off.

 

[TheDuude]

Best method also is if you can borrow a PAR meter locally.
You might find that your PAR levels at the current settings are much lower than what you had expected.

I did do some par readings recently and par was as expected with a min of about 100 at the sandbed working up to 350 towards the surface. Edges of the tank had low light area obviously. I think par is good but worried about my spectrum.

With the price of corals these days I just want to ensure I'm giving them every advantage to thrive in my tank

 

[pecan2phat]

My point was that it looks like you tweaked it in the opposite direction and gave your tank an increased blue look since your whites, greens and reds are lower then the default of all three Coral Lab template settings.
But I see that you did measure PAR and they are not that bad. What overall max intensity is the light set for?

 

[TheDuude]

My point was that it looks like you tweaked it in the opposite direction and gave your tank an increased blue look since your whites, greens and reds are lower then the default of all three Coral Lab template settings.
But I see that you did measure PAR and they are not that bad. What overall max intensity is the light set for?

Point intensity are all 100s but schedule is at 73.

 

[pecan2phat]

So my XR15 in this pic shows 60% intensity, your XR15 is at 100% or 73%?

 

[TheDuude]

And this is the part I might be screwing up.. I'm using Mobius as I don't have a reef link. My point intensity is always 100% the individual chanel's change throughout the day to follow my curve. And then schedule intensity is set to 73% which I was told adjusts all points up or down. I am wondering now if my spectrum is shifting all day the way I have it setup

 

[pecan2phat]

I'm not familiar with Mobius even though my fixtures are Mobius ready, I'm too comfortable with the Reef Link to switch.
Maybe someone using Mobius can chime in.

 

[Nonya]

And this is the part I might be screwing up.. I'm using Mobius as I don't have a reef link. My point intensity is always 100% the individual chanel's change throughout the day to follow my curve. And then schedule intensity is set to 73% which I was told adjusts all points up or down. I am wondering now if my spectrum is shifting all day the way I have it setup

You're not screwing up. As far as wanting your corals to grow faster, what's the big rush? Being in a rush is the quickest way to failure. Check your chemistry and if they're ok, SLOWLY increase your overall intensity, a percent or two a couple times a week.