new lights

[vanreefer]

I used the screen metod with good results
Dan

[Snappy]

if you are going from good PC's to say 175's or what ever for the most part you should be able to get away with the switch,

I have a 130 gal tank and am now using 3 x 175's.
I was using both 72 and 48 inch pc's on the tank previously so I am hoping it won't be too big a change for them, but that said there seems to be a little bleaching on my orange and purple caps. Will they bounce back?
I guess I'll cut back the intensity for a bit and build it up this week.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Snappy

I was using both 72 and 48 inch pc's on the tank previously so I am hoping it won't be too big a change for them, .

where do you find PC's that are that long? longest I have seen is 36"??

Steve

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Johnny Reefer

Hmm. All sounds pretty complicated, plus you'd have to stay home all day long if you didn't use the digital timer, which would be a PITA to set anyway. Not to say these methods wouldn't work, but I think I'll stand by the "1 hour every two days" theory

ya it is but a 20 buck timer takes care of it all for ya. anyways I have done it this way and I have just ponded them on be for, what I have found my self is that the more water flow I have the less chance of bleaching there is, weather this is just something that seams to be working for me or there is actually something behind it I am not sure.

the reason 1 on 1 off is better than just increasing the on time by an hour every day is there is a point where a coral becomes light saturated when it is exposed to brighter lights, after this point if I recall correctly the bacteria in the coral are producing more sugar than the coral can use and the reaction of this and how the coral trys to get rid of the excess sugar cause the bleaching. apparently a coral can take extreme light for an hour be for this starts to occur and this is why the on off thing, it prevents over production of sugars by the bacteria for coral food and allows the coral to reduce the bacteria population to the proper levels.

If I can find the article about it I will post it for you, much more involved than what I wrote but for now the readers digest version will have to do.

Steve

[danny zubot]

This brings to mind a question I've been pondering. I will hopefully be upgrading my light soon. Should I consider this method when upgrading from a single 250 watt 14K to a single 400 watt 10K Mh?

[Snappy]

Danny,
Personally I like the colour of the 10 k as it looks more natural.

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

where do you find PC's that are that long? longest I have seen is 36"??

Steve

Sorry for the confusion, I had been using a 72 & 48 inch fixtures, each with 4 bulbs inside.
Question,
If bleaching does occur will the coral eventually go back to normal?

[danny zubot]

I had a bit of bleeching with my caps when I setup the new tank, the color came back but it would depend on how much the coral was affected. Better not to chance it IMO.

[Snappy]

so far the bleaching is very minimal. The lights are only 175's

[danny zubot]

So when do we get to see pics?