Light Acclimation Schedule

[Planeden]

Hey All,

Newbie Question. I got my first round of corals over the last week (frogspawn, zoas, palys, leather, and dendro) and cranked my lights down to 25%. It is a moderate lighting system, once up to 100% PAR will be between 100 and 200. Everything (except the dendro) is sitting on the bottom of my 10 gallon tank. These guys will be in the 10 gallon for about a month before being moved into my main tank.

Lighting is an AI Nano perhaps 20" over the water. the lighting schedule is simple with all three colors being even. at 8AM it fades in from 4% to 25% over 4 hours. Then at 4PM it fades back down to 4% over 4 hours.

I am planning on stepping the lights up slowly and leaving them on the bottom. I figured go to 50%, then 75%, then 100%. How will I know that these guys are ready for me to up the lights?

Thanks for any assistance.

[victoly]

you wont really. all you can do is take it slow (I do 10% per week if possible), and back it off if they start to bleach or stay retracted more than you have observed in the past.

[Planeden]

thanks victoly.

so, a few things occur to me with 10% a week:

1. at that rate, if i continue to back it down to 25%, the corals in quarantine will never see full light.

2. if i continue my plan to QT for a month before adding a new batch, then do a similar light acclimation on my DT, then my DT will not reach full light for many months (5 - 6 with my current plan).

is it possible that i am being too conservative by backing it down so far? should i change my stocking plan so that everyone gets up to full light for a week or so before adding something else? or should i just not think about it too much?

[victoly]

Yeah, that makes sense. I'd observe as best I could the intensity of light that they were under before transport and try to match it. Another method you can use is to vary their starting location in the QT tank (sandbed vs perched on top of the rockwork).

I think this falls into the category of "planeden is thinking about this too much".

IMO 25% is too weak to start with to make a meaningful difference. Additionally, you're most likely going to be constantly adding new pieces, and not going to have the luxury of adding things in batches. Coral is a little more resilient than you might think.

[Planeden]

well, i'm not pretty so i have to get by on my smarts, which is kinda why i just squeak by . thanks victoly. i'll bump them up a little quicker on this batch and see how they react. next time i wont cut the lights down so much.

[victoly]

well, i'm not pretty so i have to get by on my smarts, which is kinda why i just squeak by . thanks victoly. i'll bump them up a little quicker on this batch and see how they react. next time i wont cut the lights down so much.

dont sell yourself short. a little makeup and a black dress go a long way.

[Planeden]

well, i'm not pretty so i have to get by on my smarts, which is kinda why i just squeak by . thanks victoly. i'll bump them up a little quicker on this batch and see how they react. next time i wont cut the lights down so much.

dont sell yourself short. a little makeup and a black dress go a long way.

but, the shaving, oh the shaving...i have to go to the pet groomers to get started.

[Timfish]

There are pet groomers that will come to your house. You definitely do not want to go too low. Your corals will start to acclimate immediately to the new light levels so if possible try to match the levels to what they were under previously. Most corals will acclimate in a month or two to new light levels. I have seen corals do fine with levels increased or decreased by 300% or more but do poorly when levels are changed multiple times in short order. if you are not familiar with the species you are dealing with you do need to be cautious but like Victoly pointed out you can be too cautious and start too low.

[Planeden]

Thanks timfish, good tip. In home grooming would be a lot less embarrassing.

As for the lighting...it depends on what you mean by "know". Being my first corals, in one sense I know nothing. On the other hand, they are all "moderate lighting" and are currently getting 'low light". One was under LED, one was under PCs and metal halides, the other two were at the aquadome, which I'm not sure about. It's fair to say that all were under more intense lighting than they are currently in.

[George Monnat Jr]

If you have a PAR meter (or even a lux meter), then you could match between your QT's final level and your DT's initial level.

[Planeden]

If you have a PAR meter (or even a lux meter), then you could match between your QT's final level and your DT's initial level.

They are pretty close, actually. QT is bout 100-200 and DT is about 50-200. Give or take.

Edit: what I meant to say is that both at 100% are close to each other.

[George Monnat Jr]

What I mean is instead of doing 2 independent ramp-ups like:

2. if i continue my plan to QT for a month before adding a new batch, then do a similar light acclimation on my DT, then my DT will not reach full light for many months (5 - 6 with my current plan).

you can do a single, seamless ramp. So if you end your QT at say 120 PAR, when you move them over to your DT they would still be at 120 PAR. Then you can ramp up to whatever at the same or a different rate.

[Timfish]

. . . it depends on what you mean by "know". Being my first corals, in one sense I know nothing. . .

Well, I've been doing this for 25 years and I still feel like I don't know anything! The more I learn the more I understand how little I actually know.

George makes a good point about using an inexpensive lux meter. Also, looking at some of the chromoproteins that reflect blue and red but absorb yellow argues in favor of using lux as PAR is not looking at that part of the spectrum. It also raises the fundamental question of what a coral is using yellow light for and why is it getting rid of the blue and red used for photosynthesis?

As you talk to more people and see more tanks you'll develop a better understanding for which corals are more adaptable and what to expect under different lighting conditions. Using a PAR or lux meter to map your light field you'll also realize you may have already been changing the intensity on you corals quite a bit even just moving a few inches. Here's an example of how fast it can change: http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/24549-the-difference-an-inch-makes/?hl=inch You'll also understand how you can manipulate the colors of some corals by placing them in different locations. This birdsnest colony, http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/24054-the-difference-a-12-inch-makes/ exhibits a range of color influenced by intensity getting about 100 at the base, 200 on the top left and 350 top right. Frags from the base, 100 PAR, can be put under 200 or 350 PAR and new growth will be pink or purple.

[Planeden]

What I mean is instead of doing 2 independent ramp-ups like:

2. if i continue my plan to QT for a month before adding a new batch, then do a similar light acclimation on my DT, then my DT will not reach full light for many months (5 - 6 with my current plan).

you can do a single, seamless ramp. So if you end your QT at say 120 PAR, when you move them over to your DT they would still be at 120 PAR. Then you can ramp up to whatever at the same or a different rate.

i'm sorry, i did get that. it makes perfect sense. but if i get into it too much i will be accused of over thinking it . but yes, once i get the QT set i can try to match them to a stop in the DT that resembles what they had here. thank you.

[Planeden]

@timfish:

well, if you don't know yet....

lux vs. par - i think this is way beyond my pay grade. i can make sure the wing wont fall off your plane, but not so much with how the cabin lighting works. but, i think i can get by with getting close the right parameters and seeing how the corals react. if they look happy at the light then i will be happy looking at them. whether they are eating the yellows, blues or reds is their business; i don't want to pry. i will let others do the research portion of it, if that interests them.

but that is very interesting of how quickly it can change in so little space. kinda goes to the point of corals being more resilient to light than we may think. the birdsnest is really interesting. first, i'm glad it can grow under 200 PAR as i would like to get one. but what is interesting to me is the straight line between pinkish and purpleish. i would think that the par would be a gradient change, so i would expect the color to also be a gradient change. perhaps the color comes from the PAR at the "trunk" and not the "branches". or perhaps i'm making stuff up.

i increased my lights today. everyone is happy except the leather. the frogspawn is stretching more than yesterday. from what i understand leathers are pretty tempramental with change. i'll keep an eye on him. maybe give him some mysis and tell him it is ok.

[victoly]

leathers are just temperamental in general. It's generally not for any specific reason, they just freak out from time to time. truly the women of the coral world.

[Planeden]

Wow, I feel like I've arrived. I got giffed.

The leather let his hair out this afternoon, so whatever he didn't like he got over.

[offroadodge]

i havent had alot of LPS, but every SPS i have recieved or purchased just gets put where i want it and thats it. To this days i havent had anything bleach cause of light. And i was runnig close to 1300W of light up until 6mnths ago and now im running 1000W. I have put new specimens on the sandbed for a day to make sure they are gonna make it before there final resting place.

[Planeden]

That's interesting. Most of the light issues I've read about seem to wrapped around SPS.