Upgrading Lights

[JMar101786]

Hey All -

So I am taking the leap into the LED world and I guess I'm just looking for advice. I figure plenty of reefers have already made the switch and i'm hoping that maybe I can learn from any mistakes made previously so that I don't make them myself.

Currently I have a 220 Gal mixed reef that tends to be heavier on the sps side. The corals in this tank have always been under (2) 400 Watt 20K Radium Metal Halides. I don't have any other supplemental lighting, just the metal halides.

The dimensions on the tank are 72" Long, 24"High and 30" Deep.

I picked up 3 Radion Pro's and have them all set up on the hanging kit, however I have yet to put them physically over my tank.

Currently I am in the process of trying to figure out how to program them and i'm getting a little caught up so if anyone can offer advice there i'd appreciate it.

Secondly in regards to the actual switch - can anyone offer advice on how to go about doing it so that I don't do any damage to my coral; I've read some horror stories where people burnt their pieces because they were too close to the water or because they didn't acclimate them slowly enough to the new type of lighting.

Any and all information would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Joe

 

[JMar101786]

Not sure if maybe this is in the wrong section and nobody is really seeing it? If anyone could please advise i'd appreciate it

 

[bklynreef]

i ran the same 400 watts over my tank. I have Pros also and run this program im very happy with. download Jonathans Graph and i just tweaked the intensity to 100%. switched the time as i wanted and made a weekend graph as well. btw if i were you id buy the xconnector toggle usb so you can be cordless from your computer to your radions always. best few dollars i ever spent on the lights.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2124262

 

[JMar101786]

That's a great idea for the wireless USB...thanks for that info - didn't even know that was an option.

and thanks for the link to that thread, I'll have to read up on it.

 

[JMar101786]

Where can I find that wireless USB toggle is there an ecotech specific one ?

 

[bklynreef]

ecotech toggle? are you kidding? if i waited for ecotech to make me what i need to go wireless if be waiting years and they would charge an arm and a leg for it too. Trust me and youll never regret buying this piece of equipment unless your buying the reef link from ecotech which will do the same thing but from anywhere in the world if thats your fancy, but i personally set mine and leave it and mabe give it another setting for weekends so i can view only the red lights at night so i can watch all the night time things going on in the tank without disturbing the tank since the fish and inverts cant see the red spectrum. Enjoy, Ecotech puts out a hell of a product with great customer service but just gotta watch their price drops on their products.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6346504

 

[JMar101786]

Very true, it would be pretty costly and take quite some time to come out. As you said though they make a very solid product so I guess that's how they get to charge what they want. Anyways, thanks for the info and I'm definitely going to look into the toggle ...I appreciate the links

 

[JMar101786]

And then Ecotech announces the reeflink for 199 right after that last post lol crazy timing

 

[JMar101786]

Does anyone have any good graphs to share that resemble 20k lighting that have good growth results?

 

[JMar101786]

Okay - So here we are - 14 Day into the LED upgrade and I am concerned at the moment.

I have some corals that have stayed the same - such as a Bubble Gum Monster chalice and a Miami Hurricane chalice which both sit on my sand bed and have not changed one bit.

While I have other corals such as my Pagoda cup and my Cyphastrea which hardly open up and look like garbage...

Then I have my bonsai and my red planet which have dulled out a lot.

I am fearful and brave at the same time, part of me wants to push forward and just see if this is a low point that I need to get passed before the BIG improvement and the other part wants to run to my garage, wipe down my metal halides and put them back up.

So... there we are - 14 days in and conflicted on what to do :/

 

[pkane11384]

How far are they over the water? Are you acclimating the tank to the lights? I've been on LED's for over a year. Started with a RapidLED conversion. Went to an AI Sol Super Blue around June and it took me a month to acclimate the tank to those lights. Just converted the AI fixture with a Hydra conversion and i'll acclimate it for another 3-4 weeks. It's going to take a while for the corals in the tank to get used to the lights. Don't give up just yet!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Reefs

 

[JMar101786]

How far are they over the water? Are you acclimating the tank to the lights? I've been on LED's for over a year. Started with a RapidLED conversion. Went to an AI Sol Super Blue around June and it took me a month to acclimate the tank to those lights. Just converted the AI fixture with a Hydra conversion and i'll acclimate it for another 3-4 weeks. It's going to take a while for the corals in the tank to get used to the lights. Don't give up just yet!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Reefs

How far are they over the water? 8"over the water

Are you acclimating the tank to the lights? - I am using the Radiant preset graph from ecotech and running a 5 week acclimation program with the starting intensity 35% and ending percentage after 5 weeks at 65%

I'm going to hang in - just afraid to lose some of my colonies.

 

[pkane11384]

Sounds good. How long is your photo period?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Reefs

 

[JMar101786]

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