Changing Light Types - Cautions?

[RaymondL]

HI everyone,

I'm going to be changing reef lights (I won't go into the reasons for here), and to that point, what would be the safest way to do it? I'm going to assume that measuring the PAR values at different areas of the tank first, and then when installing the new lights, adjust the settings so they match, or should I start up with low PAR and work my way up?

I'm not sure how changing lights impact the corals - this is my first attempt.

THanks

 

[Shawnd08]

I would get the par as close to the old lighting as possible. I recently switch lights on one of my tanks and just matched the par the best I could. I never ran into any issues. I would say if anything start the new lights 5-10% lower and slowly increase them over time.

 

[Northern Flicker]

Which type are you switching from and to?

 

[MnFish1]

HI everyone,

I'm going to be changing reef lights (I won't go into the reasons for here), and to that point, what would be the safest way to do it? I'm going to assume that measuring the PAR values at different areas of the tank first, and then when installing the new lights, adjust the settings so they match, or should I start up with low PAR and work my way up?

I'm not sure how changing lights impact the corals - this is my first attempt.

THanks

I think your second option is the best but - first - why are you changing your lights - if its because you think you need more light - you can check the PAR - but that is not always completely helpful comparing blue light. Coral is not affected by a few days with less light - but they can be significantly worsened by a quick upward change in lighting. i.e. use the coral acclimation

 

[vetteguy53081]

HI everyone,

I'm going to be changing reef lights (I won't go into the reasons for here), and to that point, what would be the safest way to do it? I'm going to assume that measuring the PAR values at different areas of the tank first, and then when installing the new lights, adjust the settings so they match, or should I start up with low PAR and work my way up?

I'm not sure how changing lights impact the corals - this is my first attempt.

THanks

Focus on height to water and start low and slowly increase intensity until desired intensity.
Most new lights have an acclimation mode - use that to be safe

 

[Waters]

Are you going from one type of light to another (T5s to LEDs for example) or just going from LEDs to LEDs? If you are staying with LEDs, I would try to match PAR and spectrum. If you are going from another type of light to LEDs, I would start at a lower PAR and work your way up.