T5 led combo. Hydra 26hd

[Phillyd1990]

So ive been running the aquatic life hybrid fixture for 4 months or so now and have been trying to figure out whats the best percentage to run the hydras at. I dont want to blast things to much since in have the t5 on for 7 hours a day. Just curious to see what others are running there leds at.

My bulb combo is blue+ blue + purple + blue+

 

[Crabs McJones]

So ive been running the aquatic life hybrid fixture for 4 months or so now and have been trying to figure out whats the best percentage to run the hydras at. I dont want to blast things to much since in have the t5 on for 7 hours a day. Just curious to see what others are running there leds at.

My bulb combo is blue+ blue + purple + blue+

I've been running my T5 fixture with my AP700 (two blue+ two Actinic+). Not sure if this'll help you but i've only been ramping my AP700 up to 30% intensity with the lights 8" off the water.

 

[Phillyd1990]

I've been running my T5 fixture with my AP700 (two blue+ two Actinic+). Not sure if this'll help you but i've only been ramping my AP700 up to 30% intensity with the lights 8" off the water.

I have mine 9” above the water but my led intensity is much higher and things look a little washed out.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have mine 9” above the water but my led intensity is much higher and things look a little washed out.

I would turn the LEDS down pretty low, and slowly ramp them back up.

 

[Phillyd1990]

Ill have to give it a shot. Im just curious as to how high i should go with them. I used to keep them much higher but i dialed them way down when i added the 4 t5 id like to gear my lighting towards sps. And lps i have are all down on the sand bed

 

[Crabs McJones]

Ill have to give it a shot. Im just curious as to how high i should go with them. I used to keep them much higher but i dialed them way down when i added the 4 t5 id like to gear my lighting towards sps. And lps i have are all down on the sand bed

When BRS did their testing on the Aquatic Life fixture, they found that 8" off the water was the best mounting height to get a good even spread. Don't know if 9" will change much, but just food for thought

 

[Clutch]

I’m getting a par meter soon this week and will run two T5s with ap700 will let you know results it will be in the canopy don’t know exactly how far from the water it is 7-9 inches

 

[Clutch]

If your running that much light it’s always good to increase the light from the ap700 gradually try 10 percent everyday instead of the 30

 

[Clutch]

It’s alwats hard to tell without a par meter and if your running two fixtures that are different why I caved in and bought a par meter because in the long run you need to know your light parameters

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

$12-$20.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-lux-meter-how-do-i-use.368945/#post-4549549

 

[Phillyd1990]

$12-$20.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-lux-meter-how-do-i-use.368945/#post-4549549

Ive actually seen that thread before and meant to buy one lol i guess theres no better time than now

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

you need to know your light parameters

Bingo.

 

[Z3speed4me]

I have different LED units but I also started at about 25% (since I have a PAR Meter) but have slowly ramped up a little bit over the last 2 months and have watched my colors and growth pop in the meantime.

 

[SDboatguy]

I run retro fitted T5s with hydra 26hds - 5 hr ramp up/down with a 4 hr peak on the hydras. At peak all channels @ 100% give or take except white it's at 69%. For the T5 - 2x B+ come 3 hrs before the LED peak and go off 3 hrs after it (10hrs total) 2x C+ run an hr before / after the peak (6 hrs). About 16 months at these levels+/-, SPS doing great until I had a DINO outbreak ...

 

[Phillyd1990]

$12-$20.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-lux-meter-how-do-i-use.368945/#post-4549549

I got this today. I put it to 100,000 but its giving me the number in hundreds and telling me to mutiply by 100. Wouldnt that be way high? Ill post a pic of right under one of the hydras right at the surface of the water

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I got this today. I put it to 100,000 but its giving me the number in hundreds and telling me to mutiply by 100. Wouldnt that be way high? Ill post a pic of right under one of the hydras right at the surface of the water

58,ooo.
With led alone that’s about 900 par.

 

[Phillyd1990]

Wow i did the math completely wrong the first time lol now im getting 58,000. Ok well i guess i know now my leds are way too high. A couple weeks ago i dropped everything to %50 and red green and white to %10. Im guessing i should lower them again?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Wow i did the math completely wrong the first time lol now im getting 58,000. Ok well i guess i know now my leds are way too high. A couple weeks ago i dropped everything to %50 and red green and white to %10. Im guessing i should lower them again?

Lol. How’s the coral look?
And what’s the live stock?

You can run high par for sort or lower par for long.

 

[Phillyd1990]

Ive had issues with alot of my coral. Sps especially montis end up losing color completely. Ive lost lps as well and ive Done everything i can to make things stable and in good range for all my corals. Ive been looking for anything that was off hoping to find something. Did an icp test as well and everything was fine. I can post my parameters if need be. Over the past 2 weeks ive been able to get my ph up to 8.3 using randys new alkalinity recipe and a co2 scrubber. Im hoping bring the lights down will help if thats a good route to go

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Ive had issues with alot of my coral. Sps especially montis end up losing color completely. Ive lost lps as well and ive Done everything i can to make things stable and in good range for all my corals. Ive been looking for anything that was off hoping to find something. Did an icp test as well and everything was fine. I can post my parameters if need be. Over the past 2 weeks ive been able to get my ph up to 8.3 using randys new alkalinity recipe and a co2 scrubber. Im hoping bring the lights down will help if thats a good route to go

I think it’s a good idea then.

Shoot for about 400 par at the top on a 20-24 in deep tank I think.