Swanky
New Member
Hey guys, one of my first questions posted, so apologies if I'm not following protocol to a 't', work with me here 
Last Fall as I set up my first 4 foot LPS / Softy tank, I decided to pick up a Maxspect Razor for lighting, and have been super happy with the quality of the fixture to this point. What I HADN'T been too pleased with were the default light programs, while my first frag of GSP didn't have much in the way of a complaint, (of course) my newest addition of a Mint Chocolate Chip Acanthophyllia gives me 'the look' right now, and from my personal opinion and research, the default lighting preset for LPS / Softy with 'Moonlight' was like a 12 hour lighting schedule, also seemed a bit excessively white for highlighting my corals lovely colors.
The recent BRS video where they dug into some detail on said Maxspect Razors seemed like perfect timing for my questions, however I have been left with a few that my mediocre-at best college math studies can't really navigate too well.
In the video, Randy mentions that their personal preference for spectrum mix is Channel A (Royal Blue & Cool White) @ 80%, Channel B (Royal Blue & Light Blue) @ 100%, Channel C (Deep Blue & Violet) @ 100%, and finally Channel D (Deep Red, Cyan, and Warm White) @ 60%. Now, I should mention my trial of this ratio was way nicer than the heavy Channel D that the preset offered, however my questions started up hereafter.
They tested their 200w fixture on a 120gallon tank, at 12" via a hanging kit - now, my house has exceptionally high ceilings, and there is no way I can (or will) hang this fixture from a 12' high, old plaster ceiling... One of my selling points for this fixture was the powdercoated factory legs that can be screwed on and set directly on the tank. This puts my fixture at 6" above the waterline. The percentage of spectrum on their personal ratio for the 120g tank is Channel A - 64%, Channel B - 80%, Channel C - 80%, and Channel D - 48%, trouble is, that's at 12" rather than the 6" I find myself working from.
Now, to reiterate, my peanut sized brain knows that the 'inverse square law' and such exist, but I couldn't tell ya what that means for me losing 6" of height on my lighting fixture will do, aside from knowing that the same ratio tested and used in their video will cook this poor Acantho in no time. I DO enjoy the look of that ratio however, and am looking to lock this down as well as I can as I know lighting is no joke for long term care of our corals. Just wanna get this little guy happy as can be and thriving. Would love to work on some pics, possibly even a build thread sooner than later.
Any lighting experts to chime in is more than appreciated. Right now I'm on a 9 hour sunrise to sunset (7 hours of peak intensity), with a solid hour of slow ramp up, one of down, into lights out through the night. Will also mention my other handful of frags being a favia, GSP, blasto and a trio of rock flowers are all loving life, just the big meaty boy isn't loving life on his sandy bed right now.
Last Fall as I set up my first 4 foot LPS / Softy tank, I decided to pick up a Maxspect Razor for lighting, and have been super happy with the quality of the fixture to this point. What I HADN'T been too pleased with were the default light programs, while my first frag of GSP didn't have much in the way of a complaint, (of course) my newest addition of a Mint Chocolate Chip Acanthophyllia gives me 'the look' right now, and from my personal opinion and research, the default lighting preset for LPS / Softy with 'Moonlight' was like a 12 hour lighting schedule, also seemed a bit excessively white for highlighting my corals lovely colors.
The recent BRS video where they dug into some detail on said Maxspect Razors seemed like perfect timing for my questions, however I have been left with a few that my mediocre-at best college math studies can't really navigate too well.
In the video, Randy mentions that their personal preference for spectrum mix is Channel A (Royal Blue & Cool White) @ 80%, Channel B (Royal Blue & Light Blue) @ 100%, Channel C (Deep Blue & Violet) @ 100%, and finally Channel D (Deep Red, Cyan, and Warm White) @ 60%. Now, I should mention my trial of this ratio was way nicer than the heavy Channel D that the preset offered, however my questions started up hereafter.
They tested their 200w fixture on a 120gallon tank, at 12" via a hanging kit - now, my house has exceptionally high ceilings, and there is no way I can (or will) hang this fixture from a 12' high, old plaster ceiling... One of my selling points for this fixture was the powdercoated factory legs that can be screwed on and set directly on the tank. This puts my fixture at 6" above the waterline. The percentage of spectrum on their personal ratio for the 120g tank is Channel A - 64%, Channel B - 80%, Channel C - 80%, and Channel D - 48%, trouble is, that's at 12" rather than the 6" I find myself working from.
Now, to reiterate, my peanut sized brain knows that the 'inverse square law' and such exist, but I couldn't tell ya what that means for me losing 6" of height on my lighting fixture will do, aside from knowing that the same ratio tested and used in their video will cook this poor Acantho in no time. I DO enjoy the look of that ratio however, and am looking to lock this down as well as I can as I know lighting is no joke for long term care of our corals. Just wanna get this little guy happy as can be and thriving. Would love to work on some pics, possibly even a build thread sooner than later.
Any lighting experts to chime in is more than appreciated. Right now I'm on a 9 hour sunrise to sunset (7 hours of peak intensity), with a solid hour of slow ramp up, one of down, into lights out through the night. Will also mention my other handful of frags being a favia, GSP, blasto and a trio of rock flowers are all loving life, just the big meaty boy isn't loving life on his sandy bed right now.
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