changing my radion intensity a bit

[crustytheclown]

i have been running my radion at 100% on 20k for months and im wanting to change the spectrum a bit throughout the day. I like the blue of the 20k alot but i am wondering if my corals are wanting more white light? So i was thinkin of having like a 14 or 16k for a couple hours in the middle of the day to brighten it up a bit. So i was thinking to start i would do like 15min of the new spectrum for a week and work up slowly to the 2 hours. Has anyone else done this? what are your thoughts?

 

[Haddonisreef]

Ahold work also lower intensity as well to like 75%

 

[fishguy69]

We run our radions, on our display tank, at about 65% intensity. This seems to work perfectly along with running the 20K option for about 4 hours.

V

 

[jahmic]

I run my radion pro's overall brightness at 75% on a 31" deep tank...just upped it from 70% after noticing some rock nems starting to crawl up my rocks from the sandbed. Blues and UV do peak at 100%, but the whites only peak at 55% mid-day.

The schedule that you are considering is essentially how I have mine programmed; I adjusted the levels slightly from the 14k setting (decreased the reds and greens, increased white slightly), but I have a 2 hour period in the middle of the day where my tank is at 14k.

I would lower your intensity significantly (65-70%), program that mid-day "burst" with increased whites, and use the acclimation setting to gradually increase your intensity over several weeks. You should eventually find a "sweet spot" where the corals are looking happy for at least a few days before the start getting too much light and react poorly. IMO, that approach will be less abrupt of a change than hitting them with a sudden increase in your white LEDs...even if it's only for 15 minutes initially, it's potentially still enough for some of your corals to start shedding zooxanthellae and bleach if they are stressed.

I attached my schedule if you want to check it out, just have to unzip the .etg file

 

[crustytheclown]

I run my radion pro's overall brightness at 75% on a 31" deep tank...just upped it from 70% after noticing some rock nems starting to crawl up my rocks from the sandbed. Blues and UV do peak at 100%, but the whites only peak at 55% mid-day.

The schedule that you are considering is essentially how I have mine programmed; I adjusted the levels slightly from the 14k setting (decreased the reds and greens, increased white slightly), but I have a 2 hour period in the middle of the day where my tank is at 14k.

I would lower your intensity significantly (65-70%), program that mid-day "burst" with increased whites, and use the acclimation setting to gradually increase your intensity over several weeks. You should eventually find a "sweet spot" where the corals are looking happy for at least a few days before the start getting too much light and react poorly. IMO, that approach will be less abrupt of a change than hitting them with a sudden increase in your white LEDs...even if it's only for 15 minutes initially, it's potentially still enough for some of your corals to start shedding zooxanthellae and bleach if they are stressed.

I attached my schedule if you want to check it out, just have to unzip the .etg file

Awesome advice! Thanks a lot. Ill check out your program n decrease my intensity. One ?, though. U mean just decrease the intensity of the 14k setting for those couple hours, not the 20k setting I already have right?

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[jahmic]

I actually meant decrease the intensity of your entire program. I could be wrong...but I'm pretty sure that the overall brightness setting is only adjustable for the schedule...and not individual time points.

What size tank is it...and how deep? My radion accidentally ran at 100% for a month and bleached several corals....a lack of acclimation was likely a factor, but having placed a PAR meter under my light I can definitely say that 100% is a lot of light. Going by the replies in this thread...it seems like 65-75% is a pretty popular range.

 

[kutcha]

how do you view the schedule what program needs to be used?

 

[jahmic]

You can import it using either the manager that you can download to your computer, or ecosmart live. I used the latter...it's a web-based platform. If you have a radion you do need the connection manager installed to interface with the link below.

http://www.ecosmartlive.com/login

You should be able to import the program using that link after creating a login, and it should work whether or not you are using a radion and have the connection manager installed.

 

[crustytheclown]

I actually meant decrease the intensity of your entire program. I could be wrong...but I'm pretty sure that the overall brightness setting is only adjustable for the schedule...and not individual time points.

What size tank is it...and how deep? My radion accidentally ran at 100% for a month and bleached several corals....a lack of acclimation was likely a factor, but having placed a PAR meter under my light I can definitely say that 100% is a lot of light. Going by the replies in this thread...it seems like 65-75% is a pretty popular range.

Do you think decreasing my light suddenly from 100% to 75% will negatively affect my corals?

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[crustytheclown]

Bump

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[jahmic]

Sorry...meant to reply and guess I spaced it!

You shouldn't see much in the way of negative effects from decreasing your light intensity by that amount. I've dialed back my radions a couple times...and have even programmed in a 90% chance of cloud cover at the peak intensity for a full week just to give my tank "a break" and try to control nuisance algae outbreaks. Corals react fairly quickly...so you should know within a few days if they are really struggling from the change in lighting. I wouldn't hesitate to play around with spectrum and intensity levels to get your tank dialed in...sudden increases in intensity are the only thing I'd be cautious about.

 

[crustytheclown]

I actually meant decrease the intensity of your entire program. I could be wrong...but I'm pretty sure that the overall brightness setting is only adjustable for the schedule...and not individual time points.

What size tank is it...and how deep? My radion accidentally ran at 100% for a month and bleached several corals....a lack of acclimation was likely a factor, but having placed a PAR meter under my light I can definitely say that 100% is a lot of light. Going by the replies in this thread...it seems like 65-75% is a pretty popular range.

Sorry I missed this about what size my tank is? Its a 40gallon breeder lit by one first generation radion.

 

[crustytheclown]

We run our radions, on our display tank, at about 65% intensity. This seems to work perfectly along with running the 20K option for about 4 hours.

V

thanks for the reply! how many radions are you using and what types of corals are you growing and what size/how deep is your tank?

 

[Aaron]

FYI, I've done a lot of experimenting with my Radions.

I went through a phase where I did not have them go above 60% intensity. My acros eventually stopped growing. They still looked okay, I just wasn't getting any growth. Also, most of my sand bed corals slowly died.

After asking Gonzo what he's doing with his metal halides, I decided to try and mimic it with my Radions. I'm now getting great growth and color again doing the following:
Running them at 100% intensity for 6.5 hours (2 hours at the start with 40% cloud cover).
I ramp my white+red+green channel pretty abruptly at the start and end of my lighting cycle where I use the blue channels to get some "LED pop" viewing time.

If you come pick up the SPS colonies this week, bring a thumb drive and I can give you my .etg file.

 

[crustytheclown]

FYI, I've done a lot of experimenting with my Radions.

I went through a phase where I did not have them go above 60% intensity. My acros eventually stopped growing. They still looked okay, I just wasn't getting any growth. Also, most of my sand bed corals slowly died.

After asking Gonzo what he's doing with his metal halides, I decided to try and mimic it with my Radions. I'm now getting great growth and color again doing the following:
Running them at 100% intensity for 6.5 hours (2 hours at the start with 40% cloud cover).
I ramp my white+red+green channel pretty abruptly at the start and end of my lighting cycle where I use the blue channels to get some "LED pop" viewing time.

If you come pick up the SPS colonies this week, bring a thumb drive and I can give you my .etg file.

Was thinkin of comin by tomorrow around 7PM or soon thereafter. I will def bring a thumb drive. Thanks and look forward to chatting w you.

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