Do I have too much light?

[SnowManSnow]

400w DE 14k 24 inch deep tank. Lots of my corals seem to be bleaching out.. lost a torch completely... sps seem fine.... ??

 

[reefman225gal]

doubt it but it would be nice to know if you have been using that lighting since tank has been est. because if you were using a lower watt light then all the sudden pop that in its possible you shocked your corals. when going to a higher watt or lower you have to let your corals photo- acclimate.

 

[mr_X]

i use 400 watt se bulbs. my tank is 24 deep i think. no troubles from the light. as a matter of fact, i am stepping it up this week. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Snow, shouldn't be? There may be something else at play here.

 

[trido]

How high above the waterline is the fixture and how many hours a day do you run it? Also, do you have big temp changes from morning to night?

 

[Anonymous]

Is there glass between the bulb and the water?

 

[SnowManSnow]

no glass

The temp swings about 4 degrees up to 82 at this highest point. The pendant is about 12" up.

I believe it runs 7 hrs / day

I did go from a 250w pendant some months ago to this 400w, and I thought that that was the issue, but even some new corals I've bought seem to be loosing color.

Everything in my tank is setup very well and all the equipment is more than adequate. The only thing I can think of is that when I set it up I put crushed coral as a substrate. Maybe this stuff is fowling my water by trapping things. As a precautionary measure I think I'll start swapping it out with sand.

B

 

[dnorton1978]

Is the temp. swing a daily thing? I could be wrong, but that does seem like a pretty decent swing to occur on a regular basis.

 

[SnowManSnow]

EVERY DAY.

 

[dnorton1978]

Have you had the 4 degree fluctuation since day one, or is that a more recent occurance? Again, my knowledge is a bit limited, but I do know that maintaning a constant temp is important. That could be the problem. Or maybe not. Others will chime in, if you build it they will come.......LOl

 

[SnowManSnow]

Actually I've cut it down to 4. it use to raise a little more than that when I had my 250w pendant.

I went earlier and bought 40lbs of caribsea ( or whatever it is ) substrate. I'll be undergoing the pains of replacing my crushed coral floor tonight

Hopefully this will be a step in the correct direction.

B

 

[dnorton1978]

Good luck with the transformation. It sounds like a painful job. Have fun..

 

[Ben1]

DE bulbs must have a glass sheild in place as they dont have the outer glass tube the SE bulbs have and so they give off harmful UV rays. Hopefully there is glass on your pendant at least. I would otherwise say the lighting is not your issue.

 

[mr_X]

you are saying that you MUST have a glass shield between a de bulb and the water?
but you do not need this with se?

 

[Anonymous]

hmm. FWIW, 82 might be high. I've noticed what my tank does much better when the water is in the mid-high 70's.

 

[SnowManSnow]

ya.. 82 is getting up there I just can't seem to keep it down.. and I plain dont have $$ or room for a chiller.

OH there IS A SHIELD in the pendant.. i thought the guy meant on top of the aquarium.

Maybe another fan is in order.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I think if i raise my light I'll still have MORE THAN ENOUGH for my tank.. I'm going to raise it some and see if that will help wiht the temp swings

 

[trido]

My temp went from 78-82 almost all summer last year. I didnt consider this to be an issue. Not ideal, but definately not an issue. I woule raise your pendant up and see if that helps. Thales for example, has His 400 SE 20K quite high above his tank (about one and a half feet?) with VHO actinic and has excellent coloration. (Forgive me for giving up your trade secrets) I keep my 250s at over a foot now days. What K of bulb do you have? Do you have any actinics?

 

[SnowManSnow]

14k DE hamilton

no actinics

 

[trido]

You shouldnt be losing color due to lack of blue. Id just raise your light and see what happens. Of course, I dont know much.