sps ab+ schedule on photon V2

[blazedmasta]

Hello everybody!

I have a photon v2 on a 36 bow and it's a "big" improvement from what I had running before. I have started getting more and more sps frags just to have the color change a few days after being in the tank and with little to no growth. Switched to this light and have been getting awesome growth but color is seriously lacking. After doing some research I noticed that maybe the schedule was a little off and the intensity as well. So I changed my schedule to match the sps ab+ schedule and intensity. 9 hours photoperiod with 7 hours core intensity. I did noticed a good change. Corals are starting to color up but not sure of the par readings and if the green, red and white channels should be increase more. I know that the schedule is for another light but the logic behind it has been researched. I think when properly dialed in this will be a really good schedule for an SPS dominant tank. Have anyone heard of this schedule before and if so how can I implement this schedule with the photon v2? Maybe Logan will comment...[emoji57]

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

It makes sense to me- 7 hours of high intensity light in the middle of the day should do wonders for sps. If you lengthen the peak output you will get more light during the day which will help with both growth and color in sps corals.

 

[blazedmasta]

It makes sense to me- 7 hours of high intensity light in the middle of the day should do wonders for sps. If you lengthen the peak output you will get more light during the day which will help with both growth and color in sps corals.

Right now I have channel 3,5, and 6 at 100%. And channel 1,2, and 4 at 30% for 7 hours with 1 hour ramp before max intensity and 1hour after. For the one hour ramps I have ch 3,5, and 6 at 50% and ch 1,2, and 4 at 20%. I'm not sure of par if lights are 8 1/2 inches from water or if ch 1,2, and 3 can be increase for better par or intensity for those 7 hours.

 

[blazedmasta]

Can anybody help determine what par I have at this setting. I have a Photon v2 24in

 

[fernalfer]

Can anybody help determine what par I have at this setting. I have a Photon v2 24in

Holy moly i have a 120 48x24x24 and at my max settings my channel 3- 45% channel 5 and 6- 25% and channel 4-25% that is as high as intensity my lights get. I'm afraid to go any higher. Your at 100%. I feel i'd cook my corals. But looking at your tank everything looks great and happy. Maybe i should be turning mine up because everything is growing but at a snails pace. I have the Photon V2's 48"

 

[blazedmasta]

Holy moly i have a 120 48x24x24 and at my max settings my channel 3- 45% channel 5 and 6- 25% and channel 4-25% that is as high as intensity my lights get. I'm afraid to go any higher. Your at 100%. I feel i'd cook my corals. But looking at your tank everything looks great and happy. Maybe i should be turning mine up because everything is growing but at a snails pace. I have the Photon V2's 48"

Yeah... I'm getting good growth, and everything is starting to color up nicely especially my PC Rainbow was a nasty brown but is now starting to show color. It the highest placed coral. Followed by my vivid rainbow delight. It's encrusting like crazy and is now starting to sprout branches also starting to show color. Read up on this Radeon schedule and you will why I switched to something similar. I have recently bumped ch 1,2,4 recently to get more intense lighting which seems I am starting to get more color doing so but I am unable to test par since I don't have a par meter.

 

[blazedmasta]

Bubblegum digitata position the lowest in the tank.

 

[fernalfer]

Yeah... I'm getting good growth, and everything is starting to color up nicely especially my PC Rainbow was a nasty brown but is now starting to show color. It the highest placed coral. Followed by my vivid rainbow delight. It's encrusting like crazy and is now starting to sprout branches also starting to show color. Read up on this Radeon schedule and you will why I switched to something similar. I have recently bumped ch 1,2,4 recently to get more intense lighting which seems I am starting to get more color doing so but I am unable to test par since I don't have a par meter.

and how are your LPS and zoas doing with such intensity? Maybe i'll start slowly increasing my intensity and see how everything responds.

 

[blazedmasta]

Try now

 

[blazedmasta]

and how are your LPS and zoas doing with such intensity? Maybe i'll start slowly increasing my intensity and see how everything responds.

Here are some of my zoas

 

[blazedmasta]

My nems are also coloring up nicely

 

[blazedmasta]

Just dropped the whites down to 5% and after realizing creed leds are much stronger then I first thought. Noticed increased polyp extension almost immediately.

 

[fernalfer]

Just dropped the whites down to 5% and after realizing creed leds are much stronger then I first thought. Noticed increased polyp extension almost immediately.

the problem for me at 5% is looking at a blue tank all day.

 

[blazedmasta]

Yeah I felt the same way and upped it to 10%. Still not as high as what I was running before.

 

[indyjaco]

After reading this, i've dropped my Channel 4 and added that to channel 3. Hopefully it will give me a tad bluer look at better color!

I have 5 hours of CH 1 &2 at 20, Ch 3 at 65, Ch 4 at 25, Ch 5&6 at 55

Should I drop channel 4 even more and raise up 3, 5 and 6? It looks like 1 & 2 is okay at 20.

 

[blazedmasta]

Yeah this was really getting to me and I wasn't funding the answer I was looking for, so I rented a par meter from my LFS and boy was I way off. Par was really high, between 700 and 800 right under the water and like 500 to 550ish the around most of my corals which was higher than what I wanted. I wanted to shoot for around 350 in the middle and 250 on the sides and like 150 on the bottom. Now I run these settings for 7 hours with 1 hour ramp up and 1 hour ramp down.

Ch1-50
Ch2-50
Ch3-68
Ch4-5
Ch5-68
Ch6-68

 

[blazedmasta]

Rainbow Acans under the new settings

 

[blue meanies]

the problem for me at 5% is looking at a blue tank all day.

I have the Photon 24 version 1 on a standard 65 gal., with lights 8.5 inches above water. I find that keeping the white channel at one third of the blue channel (ramping up/down the blues for 1.5 hours before and after) gives more than enough white light for viewing. I peak at 16% white, 48% blue. Of course, other than the 3 extra channels, I don't know what difference there may be between V1 sand V2 (also still wondering if 12 hours of white light is too much, even at these lower intensities).

 

[blazedmasta]

I have the Photon 24 version 1 on a standard 65 gal., with lights 8.5 inches above water. I find that keeping the white channel at one third of the blue channel (ramping up/down the blues for 1.5 hours before and after) gives more than enough white light for viewing. I peak at 16% white, 48% blue. Of course, other than the 3 extra channels, I don't know what difference there may be between V1 sand V2 (also still wondering if 12 hours of white light is too much, even at these lower intensities).

The photoperiod Is only 9 hours 7 hours intense lighting with one hour ramp up and 1 hour down

 

[indyjaco]

How is everything looking this week?