Help me change my light schedule Safely

[Beadz]

Running a Radion XR30 Blue g6. Currently using a slightly modified AB+ schedule.
My goal is to incorporate a 10k look for a short time each day (perhaps 1-2hours, either at dusk or dawn or midday), with a ramp from and back to the AB+ schedule on either side.
I do not want to fry or deprive my currently happy tank full of corals.

 

[Troylee]

Shouldn’t have any problems.. every coral I get comes from a dimly lit led tank and I blast them under 14k metal halides and they respond great. Not a single issue..

 

[Beadz]

Shouldn’t have any problems.. every coral I get comes from a dimly lit led tank and I blast them under 14k metal halides and they respond great. Not a single issue..

I was concerned that a sudden spectrum/intensity shift could be dangerous. No need to make this change slowly?

 

[Troylee]

I was concerned that a sudden spectrum/intensity shift could be dangerous. No need to make this change slowly?

I don’t think so honestly.. I’ve never had any issues.. I don’t acclimate any corals to lighting that’s too much work lol.. I even have hammers and torches in 500 par and living their best life’s. And it’s not like you’re adding a ton more light or anything they should be just fine. Observe and make any changes you feel necessary but I don’t think you’ll have to make any changes.. like I said my corals come from a frag tank lit by a hydra 26 running all blues to metal halides that are 5 times the par lol.

 

[jimk60]

Personal I would make the change slowly. Maybe over a couple of weeks. I've seen even high light loving corals start to bleach after increasing light intensity quickly.

 

[Beadz]

Personal I would make the change slowly. Maybe over a couple of weeks. I've seen even high light loving corals start to bleach after increasing light intensity quickly.

I’m unsure how to best do this slowly. Create a point say midday with the new color temp and then use the acclimation feature? Doesn’t that cut all diodes down and slowly ramp them all up to the new schedule? Just confused and don’t want to ruin what is a good thing. Thank you.

 

[ZoWhat]

Go borrow a PAR meter from a LFS

Research the appropriate PAR your corals need

 

[Beadz]

Go borrow a PAR meter from a LFS

Research the appropriate PAR your corals need

I own a 510 meter. Does spectrum shift not matter, just PAR?

 

[jimk60]

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the light you're using. With my older reefbreeders I have to manually set the intensity for each spectrum on an hourly basis. Say whites from 10 to 20 percent at 11am etcetera.

 

[ZoWhat]

....then get busy, lolololololol

 

[Beadz]

....then get busy, lolololololol

So a sudden Spectrum shift doesn’t matter then, just equivalent PAR? Thank you.

 

[ZoWhat]

In my experience the color wavelength helps determine the colors of the coral.

For instance, a zoa might produce richer colors if exposed to more blue light 420nm to 500nm.... than if exposed to only white light, which could make the zoa look "washed-out"

Sidenote.... white light is a combo of blue, green, red wavelengths all mixed together. Blue light is heavy on wavelength below 500nm and nothing in the yellow, red wavelengths

PAR.... on the other hand is INTENSITY. Think.of it this way.... how the sun feels on your skin during August sun versus January sun. The August sun feels denser bc it has more intensity.

PAR is used for coral growth and too much or too little effects their growth

Color wavelength is used for coral color saturation. SPS corals love blues. LPS generally love white

The sweetspot is figuring out the best light color wavelength COMBO'ed with appropriate PAR intensity

 

[TheDuude]

Just tweak to whatever looks best to you.

 

[Troylee]

So a sudden Spectrum shift doesn’t matter then, just equivalent PAR? Thank you.

Correct.

 

[cilyjr]

I’ve never had any issues.. I don’t acclimate any corals to lighting that’s too much work lol..

Me either.
I had a pretty good conversation with Dong Zou once. And he is an advocate of placing them or they're going to be and letting them acclimate. If you slowly ramp up the lights over a month, every time you do a change, they have to start the exclamation process again pretty much. I liked the thinking and have never changed the lights because of putting in a coral.
I don't have any loss and I am often moving in wild pieces from Australia, Indonesia, and to Malaysia.