Let me know what you decide upon and why.

Good thinking, young padawan. ;)

Thanks for watching. :)

Oysterman No I get in the hobbie

Thanks!

Thanks! Every video I share typically has some small useful tip buried like an easter egg. Enjoy finding them all. :)

melevsreef -holy shit that was also a super fast response. Another plus! 😂😂😂

I take care of my channel. :)

Thanks Thomas. :)

melevsreef If you where any more of a geek Stereotype you would explode into pure geek essence!!! Good videos brother. Keep up the good work and god bless.

Hi Thomas! What's your lighting schedule?

3578lehcar The VHOs turn on at 11am and turn off at 10pm. The MH are running a staggered schedule as described in the video. First MH turns on at 1pm, second at 2:15pm, third at 3:15pm, and each bulb runs 6 hours from their respective starting points. Moonlighting from 10pm to 11pm, then darkness for the night. You can see the graph in this video at 3:20-3:36.

Thanks can I simulate that with kessils sorry to ask soo many questions but I'm VERY new to reefing. My tank is on the way and I like to be prepared

Dam that's intense white light

That's very convenient!

Mike Maponga How is the tank holding up? Are you dealing with algae issues? Are the corals happy and healthy? If all looks well, you probably don't need to change a thing.

Can you explain yourself further? I don't understand the question.

Thanks!

Thanks.

No, I don't believe that you heard correctly. Plan on a total photo-period to be about 9 hours per day. I'd suggest starting them at 1pm, and off about 10pm so you can enjoy your aquarium for the entire evening after you get home from work. Or if you work third shift, move the lighting to what is your time around the tank. Regarding percentages, that is something you have to determine. Hardly anyone runs lights at 100%.

There's not a lot of control you can have with the lighting you own, unless there's some type of option to dim or ramp up the LEDs somehow? Corals will adjust to the light. All new corals should be placed on the sand for the first week or two, then moved up a little. This gives them time to adapt over time and avoid bleaching.

melevsreef BTW> Your tank is breathtaking!!!

+Vickie Drouin Which model Kessil lights did you decide upon? The 360s? If you work during the day, why not have the lights start around 3pm and turn off around 10 or 11pm? That would be just fine. It won't mess up your reef. The tank may get some ambient daylight before your Kessils turn on.

Seasonal is tough, as where we live doesn't match where many of our corals originated (unless all you have are frags from hobbyists). The days are shorter in North America this time of year, in comparison to daylight beneath the equator. If you opt for a shorter period of light daily, say 5 hours instead of 9, then increasing the intensity gradually could work in your favor - if you don't push too far. These are living animals, some hardier while others are more delicate and may not tolerate our exploring nature as pseudo-scientists/mad hobbyists. ;) We can't compare our corals to tree leaves (cold weather + sugars = colorful fall foliage), for example. Changes you make today may not visibly show any effect for a few weeks, and if something goes wrong it will take many weeks for the affected corals to rebound and heal up again - if they survive at all. I've never changed my light period based on season, although the Apex controller does change twice a year for Daylight Savings Time. Typically corals that receive too much light can appear more pale and drab. If you want to measure results, I'd use a specific method like reducing the photo period 15 minutes for an entire week, and compare. Then shave off another 15 minutes and let a week elapse again to see how your reef responds. You can take pictures and compare those photographs against each other if that is easier for you. Let me know what your results are. Lastly, keep an eye on tank temperature. Shorter lighting periods could result in a cooler tank if you use metal halides. A dip in temperature can also affect coral health and coloration. Stability & consistency is often the best course of action.

I'm using Lumenbright pendants with Reefbrite ballasts and TwinArc bulbs. Here's the video about the Lumenbrights and you can see my lightrack too. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7OmfLqeyp6boYU.html

Welcome to the hobby. How much control do you have over it? More than on and off?

+melevsreef Yea I have a Channel 1(Ocean Blue Light), Channel 2 control (High Kelvin White light) ,A Moon light phase as well as sunrise/ sunset for both Channel1 and 2. I also have 2 master knobs, One controls the Intensity from (0-100) and the other controls the Spectrum. Ive looked everywhere to find how someone set theirs up. The store I bought it from didn't tell me much but to not go over 50/50 on the power. I can cook the corals but its not the biggest problem at this time for be because I only have the Live rock and the Clown pair

+NEF Photography and Media Since you control it with knobs, I don't know that you can allow it to increase gradually each day and then ramp down again. That's one of the benefits of other lighting, like the Radion I run. Here's the graph of the one I have set up currently. melevsreef.com/pics/15/9/wmx-radion-schedule.png

I'd keep it around 8 hours per day, maybe 9 at the most. If you started the lights around 1pm, you'd have a nice view in the evening until about 10pm. You could run the LED portion as a moonlights for one or two hours, then let your reef rest in total darkness.

It’s really a visual effect for me, and it’s an acquired taste. I’ve done this for over a decade and my reef has grown exceptionally well. There’s no detrimental response to staggered lighting, livestock-wise. Let me know how you like it.

Thanks for your answer. I really love it, that's why i was asking. I think i will setup something like that. It will be easy for a 6ft freshwater just 2x 2ft led or fluo at each side plus my main I think it will look great. Your videos definitely made me wanting to setup a reef tank, it will be for this year. I have a 4ftx2ftx2ft sleeping in the garage, it should be pretty nice to learn salt water.

That light doesn't give you a lot of options. Basically pick the color you prefer to look at the most, and set the duration to 8-9 hours a day. Daylight encourages better growth, and the bluer spectrum adds color. Perhaps use daylights during the day when you are away, then when you get home turn it more blue for personal enjoyment?

Heck of a light for a 20g. ;) If the livestock is doing well, no reason to change anything. It would be good to know what PAR readings you are getting; you could let others know what works well in they were dealing with similar circumstances.

I'd suggest running them about 9 hours per day. If you are working all day, have them come on around 1pm, so they are off by 10pm.

I run 6500 Kelvin LED lighting over it, and no it doesn't cause cyano bacteria to grow (or bloom, which is what you probably meant when you see the red slime covering the sand & rocks). Yes, I run them about 9 hours a day. Here's another LED light I use over my other refugium, I did a review here: www.melevsreef.com/articles/product-review-reefbrites-lumilite

+Shane Reich You can take a look at this graph: melevsreef.com/pics/15/9/wmx-radion-schedule.png And here's my schedule as programmed into the Apex: Radion_6_17 12:56 0% Custom (75,75,100,100,100,0) 14:00 31% Custom (75,77,100,100,100,35) 15:31 57% Custom (0,0,100,100,0,44) 16:48 70% Custom (62,75,100,100,100,55) 18:01 78% Custom (45,60,100,100,100,40) 19:15 69% Custom (35,50,75,75,75,39) 21:00 37% Deep Blue (45,45,100,100,100,22) 22:13 15% Deep Blue (0,0,0,100,100,0) 23:38 0% Custom (0,0,0,100,100,0)

The visible spectrum we see as you go deeper is blue, or perhaps we aren't seeing the rest of the colors... I can't recall that for sure. But most corals we get grow somewhere between 30' and 60' of water, and of course some are shallower. But blue lighting isn't the only one we should use.

Yeah I usually run my kessil with the whites and blues both going. I do use more blues than whites though but have been slowly turning up my whites over time to see how they react.

Shahin Ruyani Replace as in upgrade to the latest version or newest gear each year. For you to enjoy real savings, you'd have to keep your LED fixture for many years. If you keep upgrading, you won't really save money long term.

Thanks Melev. I see. I bought them for the brightness.

Check PremiumAquatics.com

A couple of 16" fixtures would work, but centering a 21" fixture over your aquarium should look nice as well. Keep them about 9" off the water (or higher) and remember less light intensity during the first few weeks (or months) is better than too much light.

Yes, you can run them longer because they aren't used up. And since I run Twin-Arc bulbs I can easily run them two years between changes.

Thanks. How high are your lights above the water level?

18" from the bulb itself to the surface of the water. 16" from the glass shield in the Lumenbright reflector. These reflectors are excellent. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g7OmfLqeyp6boYU.html

+Meldium It sounds like your day is too long to me. I would start it a couple of hours later but end it as scheduled to avoid stressing your corals.

ok so i have it set to 7 hours i believe. you saying should i set it for 14:00-19:00 instead?

I've been running VHOs for well over a decade. I think all the way back to 2004 or sooner. But I just upgraded those with some Reefbrite XHO LED fixtures and I'm very impressed. The next video I release is about those.

melevsreef looking forward to it!

Feel free to share this video with others that may benefit from it as well. :)

icetek0713 Yes, I just need your email address and I'll send you the file.

melevsreef Great, thank you so much. Icetek713@gmail.com

icetek0713 Email sent!

And that doesn't even include cloud-cover, which happens frequently in nature.

Stephen Heavens That is a magnetic feeding clip, one designed for 3/4" thick glass. I sell it here: melevsreef.com/catalog/megaveggiemag I also have the normal sized one for more common aquarium glass thickness: melevsreef.com/catalog/veggiemag

Some corals can be fed during the daytime, others are looking for food when the fish are sleeping.

+Kpshc707 Yes, I sure do. They work very well.

Hi Glenn, the bell curve is displayed in this video at 12:08. I can export my schedule and email it to you via EcoSmartLive if you want.

melevsreef Hi Marc - Thanks for sharing all of this great information. I've had a FOWLR tank for about 6 years, it's only in the past 3-4 months that i've started keeping a variety of SPS, LPS, and softie corals. I'd be interested in the Radion graph as well if you'd be willing to email me a copy too. Would this schedule work for corals or do you have it set for just the anemone tank? Thanks!

I use the current orbit marine led light it have built in timer is it is fairly cheap does a grey job

Thanks for the feedback. I bought the Orbit Marine Pro. I love the light. Though I am thinking about adding a wider spectrum of blues and purples

What is extremely expensive for you? Like the Lumini Aqua Pixie 150 costs $459 and it is a very nice LED light system.

Since you've been running it like this for a year, the question is how do your corals look? If they are doing well, colorful and growing, you might as well continue to use what has worked well for you. I do hope you provide your fish & corals with total darkness to rest overnight. :)

yes I provide darkness for 12 hours and the corals have good color and are growing pretty good thank you for your thoughts that makes sense to stick with what has been working for me

+Fred Beer Hi Fred. Feather caulerpa grows in the refugium zone.

At the peak in the center of my reef is the Shadowcaster Acropora colony.

Nice. I just ordered 3 Acapora's for my highest back rock

I use a Evergrow it2040 8" above a 44gal upright.. the water between highest rock and water level is 9".... my lights should be powerful enough yes? I run them on the factory setting for 12/24 hr setting

I appreciate your point. I was hoping to illustrate my own logic on this topic, which has clearly worked for my reef. Did you happen to see my recent video with the corals we pulled out? They grew massive under this same lighting method/schedule. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hth1aLWJsbjbfnU.html

now i want to frag my coral and throw it in the ocean...

The refugium is a zone within the sump beneath the aquarium. 25% of the tank water drains into that zone, and a LED light above it provides 6500K lighting for 9 hours daily. This is what allows the plants to grow.

No, I don't run it that long. 9 hours a day, and I have feather caulerpa. melevsreef.com/critters/caulerpa-sertulariodes

I was under the impression that caulerpa will go sexual if left in the dark.

Certain species will. Not feather caulerpa.

I used my iPhone5 for this one. Sorry it didn't look like the usual quality but it had to be used all day long... too long to park my 6+ on a tripod.

+Franklin Michael Pretty much. The blue excites some colors, but growth is slower. That's why I use bulbs that do both.

melevsreef Sorry for asking so many questions haha, but does the blue light excite colors while it is on or does it make the coral get brighter and moro colourful it's self.

From 10pm to 11pm nightly. That's it.

melevsreef Thanks

I love that idea, so as it hits high noon it's brighter and more white. However, I'm working with the lights I have. Since the making of this video, I swapped out my VHO light bulbs to some XHO LEDs from Reefbrite, and the blue hue that they put out exceeds what the VHO actinics were doing previously. I like the idea of solar panels, but I do live in the "hail capital of the world" hehehe. Maybe some day I'll add some, but for now my electric bill really isn't bad at all.

Would be cool to see a vlog about your thoughts on the LED’s and any changes you observe! Electricity is expensive in Oz and solar is now very affordable . We don’t get much hail though and plenty of sun. I also feel better knowing my electricity demands are not producing CO2 and this was a big factor for me. Also means I am putting more powerful lights and flow for my new 30gal I’m building without the extra cost of running ;)

I love that!

Refugium zone, Euroreef protein skimmer (same one since 2004), calcium reactor and a reactor with granulated activated carbon (GAC), and three 300w heaters.

What is in fuge? What kind of macro?

Craig Witherow Feather caulerpa. It's been the dominant macro algae growing for years, so that's what I use.

Wow you really tried to break that down way more then you should have lol

I'm glad your reefs look great. With T5s you don't have the flexibility of LED technology to ramp up and ramp down lighting, nor the ability to change spectrums throughout the day. As you said, they are on at full intensity. You can select which specific bulbs to light at a certain time for different visual appearances (dusk in the morning and evenings, for example). With MH, I'm happy to attempt to mimic the light moving across my tank each day. The nice thing about this hobby is the abundant choices we all have, allowing us to pick and choose what we prefer best.

melevsreef at work we have AI hydras over our reef. I am replacing them with an ATI sunpower t5 fixture. The hydras have been very disappointing.

You aren't the first person to say they are reverting from LED to T5 or MH bulbs. I'm running MH and LED (xhos) over my 400g now. I posted a video about the switching from VHO to LED about 10 months ago. I love the XHOs, and I really had serious doubts about them initially. So glad I was wrong. :)

namer pit Will it live? Probably. Can you not set your lights to provide one or two hours of white for the corals to get some daylight spectrum too?

no its just a blue led light 2 feet long i had a white led but it fell now dont work

namer pit Are you going to replace the white one?

melevsreef at some point when i get the money just wanted to make sure the anemone would be ok with the blue light for now

namer pit What light fixture is it specifically? Make sure this one is really secure, as well as the replacement light when you get it.