Photon V2 lighting help

Neonaught

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 30, 2023
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
Montgomery
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Howdy y'all! New member here from Texas. I'm running a 140 gallon FOWLR tank moderately stocked with fish and inverts that's 4' X 2' with a 44" Photon V2 6" about the water. I'm have a rough time coming up with a settings profile that will grow my purple and other Coraline algae but not cause excess brown or green algae growth on rocks and sand. All the profiles I'm finding on the 'net are for corals and too intense. Y'all help a FLOWLR brother out please! Thanks so much!
20230320_144212.jpg
 

Ron Reefman

Lets Go Snorkeling!
View Badges
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
9,366
Reaction score
21,076
Location
SW Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm a long time Photon user.

Dial back the PAR as the fish don't really care. Use more blue than white (just like with corals) as most algae grows better with white light.
 

littlebeard

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 7, 2015
Messages
499
Reaction score
655
Location
Madison, WI
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Have you thought about a Utility fish such as a bristletooth tang or rabbit fish?
 
OP
OP
N

Neonaught

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 30, 2023
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
Montgomery
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I usually keep a couple of Yellow Tangs and a Brown Barred Goby to keep the rocks and sand cleaned but after the pandemic all I can find is tank-raised Clowns mostly and the cost of Tangs has sky-rocketed! Thanks for you reply!
 

mrpontiac80

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 19, 2021
Messages
3,385
Reaction score
4,459
Location
centerton AR
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
PAR is in layman’s terms how intense the light is. For example my photons are 18” above the water and my blues are at 96% and white is 30% with red and green at 10%. But I’m growing sps in a mixed reef.

On my last tank, my lights were a lot lower to the water and I only needed 60% blues and 10% everything else for the same corals.
If your tank is newer, you’re likely going to have algae show up until you get coraline to take hold first. Use snails and such to help eat it.
 
OP
OP
N

Neonaught

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 30, 2023
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
Montgomery
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
PAR is in layman’s terms how intense the light is. For example my photons are 18” above the water and my blues are at 96% and white is 30% with red and green at 10%. But I’m growing sps in a mixed reef.

On my last tank, my lights were a lot lower to the water and I only needed 60% blues and 10% everything else for the same corals.
If your tank is newer, you’re likely going to have algae show up until you get coraline to take hold first. Use snails and such to help eat it.
My system has been up for 20 years so I have been down the road of new tank syndrome a couple of times the I was dealing with cancer twice and was too ill to properly maintain the system. I'm loving the Photon after years of using fluorescents and metal halides!

I really appreciate the advice! I'm going to write a profile of settings going easy on the red/greens since that is the part of the spectrum most involved with photosynthesis.
 
Back
Top