Understanding lighting

Discussion in 'Beginning Reefers' started by NatalieMadison, Nov 26, 2016.

  1. image.jpg Understanding lighting is well, overwhelming.

    My 28g nanocube came with "intermediate" lighting consisting of 25- 1watt LEDs, 14k daylight clustered in the center. 4- .5watt moon light 465nm.

    Visually those LEDs are very intense. And I've noticed a bit of color change in my acan already lying on the sandbed, just front of center. The light may have been more intense than it was used to. I moved it back under the ledge and at an angle to reduce the light intensity. And I've dropped the timer to 6hour days. I thought about looking for a window cling style tint at autozone that can be cut and placed over a square patch of the LEDs to create a less intense zone. Has anyone tried this? Or, any thoughts on lighting adjustments in the 28-29g nanocube? Here's a pic of the acan today:
     
  2. image.jpg Here is a pic of the same acan last Sunday:
     
  3. Here's what I purchased to manually dim those lights ;). I didn't even have to use the adhesive backing. The water film on the light panel helped to adhere the film right to the surface without any messy glue or adhesive. I'm playing with square area use now. I've moved my acan and Duncan to the low light side and my corals unaffected by the light intensity over to the right. I've covered 3 rows or 15 lights initially. Probably too many covered, but I'll slowly cut and resize the film and see what happens. image.jpg
     
  4. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    The problem with the window tinting is you don't really know what spectrum you're creating.

    For what it's worth, corals just fragged and moved to a new tank can change/lose color for a lot of reasons and lighting is only one of them. Can you raise your light higher above the waterline? You can also move corals you are concerned about to the edge of the tank out of the direct light.
     
    NatalieMadison and DCHarrington like this.
  5. It's a hinged all in one canopy on the nanocube.
     
    huntindoc likes this.
  6. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Bummer!
     
  7. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    I read the description from JBJ. Those lights are "Our new LED illumination system is now offered in two different models to accommodate mid to low light corals with our “Intermediate” ..." Acans fall in that range so lights probably aren't the problem. Regardless, color change isn't necessarily a problem. Try laying the Acans flat on the bottom and give them a day or two. If their health declines we can start looking at other options. My guess is heat though not light.
     
    huntindoc and NatalieMadison like this.
  8. My cube is running at a constant 78...should I drop it a degree or two? The Acans otherwise look happy, and healthy. Open, beautiful, tentacles extended after lights out, feeding well, and I'm seeing a bit of new growth already. :)

    Is there a good site, article, that talks about the best corals to purchase for mid to low lighting? Is a PAR meter a required piece of equipment? It seems a lot of the soft corals adapt, but I'd hate to invest in a coral or clam or other livestock, that prefers intense lighting only to find that the cube isn't strong enough. I can't seem to find where JBJ has posted any PAR meter readings.
     
  9. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    I think you will be fine with most LPS and softies and possible some of the easier SPS like Birdsnest and Montipora. I wouldn't buy any Acropora until you have successfully kept those other SPS.
     
    NatalieMadison likes this.
  10. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Cyphastreas are another that do ok in low to intermediate lighting. Temp at 78 is fine. I keep my tank 79-80 (higher in the winter to give me more time to react to a power outage).
     
    NatalieMadison and Deton8it like this.
  11. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    After I posted my reply I remembered Cyphastrea.
     
    NatalieMadison likes this.
  12. Cyphastrea is nice too! Of the softies and LPS corals...what have been your favorites...real stunners...?
     
    Deton8it likes this.
  13. Deton8it

    Deton8it President Staff Member

    For color it is pretty hard to beat Zoanthids or Chalice corals. They grow well on the rocks and add some color. They come in pretty much any color combo that you can imagine. For character I love Plate (Fungia Sp.) corals, Trachyphyllia (or Wellsophyllia). None of them are fast growers but they can move if they aren't happy where you put them. They also have an active feeding response. Watching corals eat fascinates me.


    John
     
    NatalieMadison and mhattenhauer like this.
  14. Me too! Love watching the acan and Duncan, and wasn't expecting the mushroom or cup coral to have a response, but they did!

    I can't tell if my favia is happy. It's the one coral completely unchanged since entering my tank.

    And I've moved my zoa all over the tank. The middle section of the frag just doesn't want to open, and it's a generous sized colony. They are in a slow flow area, on the sand bed with lowest source of light. Any thoughts? Should I just leave them alone and let them settle?

    The outer edges of the colony always open. Just not the center section of the polyps.
     
  15. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    If the favia is unchanged he's probably happy. I'd pick a spot for the zoas and let them be for a while. My Rasta zoas didn't open completely for several months when first introduced. Now they're open all the time.
     
    NatalieMadison and DCHarrington like this.

Share This Page