Initial Programming Intensity on the AI Sol Blue's

[pesto]

I will be picking up my new AI Sol Blue's this Friday. What light intensity should I use for my tank during the initial period? I do not want to damage any of my tank inhabitants. Can you share your programming recommendations with me? I have a 90 gallon mixed reef and currently using the Nova Extreme T5 lighting with 8x54 watt bulbs.

 

[Ruge13]

I would not go higher than 50% to start.

I started at 50% and increased 5% every 2 weeks or so over a mixed reef. I am now at 80% White, 75% blue, 70% Royal Blue during peak hours after 1 year. You can tell when the soft corals react negatively to too much light. SPS won't tell you, they will just start burning and dying off so don't over do it. When you softies are open and healthy looking, try another 5%. Small adjustments make a big difference. If I go another 5% higher (been steady for several months) my BTA's start shifting. They are at the max light they can stand in the spots they are in and I'd prefer they not move. So, I'm as high as I am going to get.

24" deep and lights are 18" above the water. This also makes a difference. AI's have a bit of a spotlight affect so you will want to increase % to reduce darker areas you probably do not have with T5's. Resist that urge or you will burn corals. If anything, increase the height of the light to get better spread. Do not increase height and % at the same time. Do one, let the tank settle a week or more, then the other. Nothing happens fast.

Others will no doubt have different experiences, this is just what worked for me.

 

[inverted]

I did something similar, although, it's a bit complicated to describe every setting. Basically, I had a gradual increase, up to the maximum setting where the max was for about 4 hours and the total photoperiod 12. IIRC, I started at something like 45% white 60% blue and 75% royal blue, then also added about 5% per week for about 3 weeks. I think it depends what type of lighting your coming from though.

 

[pesto]

Do you use the lunar setting at night?

 

[joelg]

I went from 300 watts of VHO lighting to 2 sol blue modules over a 30 inch wide tank
the modules are mounted the long way across the length of the tank about 7 inches above the water line due to me wanting to use my existing canopy
I started them out gradually increasing up to a 50% max for a 4 hour mid day setting then slowly decreasing back down totaling a 12 hour cycle
I quickly bleached a few corals at that setting so i turned my max down to 30%
the corals recovered after a few weeks then I started increasing the duration of the mid day setting from 4 hours to 6 hours.
when I started to see new growth after a couple of weeks I began to increase intensity by 5% every two weeks.
I am now at 55% for my mid day and things are growing nicely.I will keep increasing until I hit 60% and see how that works for a few months I'm not sure if I will need to go any higher
one other thing I did have to was to pay attention to the coral placement I am sure it is because my lights are so low to the water
but I do get a small amount of spot lighting so I just placed the corals that do well in more intense lighting in those areas and everything seems happy.
The coral that has been the slowest to acclimate to the light change is a purple acro but it may not be a fair example for it was in rough shape when I got it pretty browned out.
but it is definitely improving all the new growth is coloring up nice.
The best results have been with my rose millepora it was also in rough shape when I got it and is now beautiful.
There is a thread out there somewhere with tons of people posting their lighting schedules I weeded through all of them to come up with mine it may be worth a read

 

[pesto]

There is a thread out there somewhere with tons of people posting their lighting schedules I weeded through all of them to come up with mine it may be worth a read

Is the thread on BRS?

 

[FinsUp!]

Is the thread on BRS?

I'd be interested in seeing the thread too, as I plan on getting AI Sols eventually.

 

[Ruge13]

Do you use the lunar setting at night?

I do. 2% Royal Blue only. Goes from 0 light to the 2% over the course of the month. Doesn't seem like much until you see the 2% in total darkness at 3AM. Its bright.

 

[joelg]

Is the thread on BRS?

thread is on RC here is the link http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1963379&page=2

 

[pesto]

Thanks!

 

[mchartier]

I started at 35%W, 30%B, 30%RB. I increase 3-5% depending on how everything is adjust to the light.

 

[pesto]

I started at 35%W, 30%B, 30%RB. I increase 3-5% depending on how everything is adjust to the light.

This would be your max intensity setting ...correct?

 

[cilyjr]

Everyone seems to have the same issues setting them up but for me I was the opposite. Even at full blast I am getting less light from them then I did with my mh. I should say that I had 3 250 mh in lumenarc reflectors about 5 inches above the water and my AI are about 12 inches

 

[JohnK]

Could that distance off the water be the deciding factor? What if the LEDs were at 5" off the water? What optics are on that fixture?

 

[jfourn83]

Chris I dont think ur getting less light.... Just a different light.... Your tank looks more blue

 

[cilyjr]

John... I think it has alot to do with the distance. The LEDs are very " spotlightie" that is a big part of why I mounted them so much higher.
Justin.. There is no doubt the color is different but I have played with it a bit since you were over last. I still think they are not as bright as the old mh. That being said I do prefer the AI sol fixture. I would like to say my mh were very bright and I was getting some coral burning from them. That was part of the reason for switching. On a side note I am running white 100% blue 60% royal 85%. But that is only at max

 

[JohnK]

Makes sense. These details are why I hesitate on a Led build, So many variables....

 

[mchartier]

I have the AI fixtures about 6" off the water running the long way on a 57g (3') tank. I really dont see spot lighting what I do see is color separation in the shimmer on the sand bed, overflow, and backwall (painted black)

Also the settings of 35,30,30 was the max when I started out. I have them ramp to that over 2 hours and then stay at the setting for 4 hours and ramp back down to moonlights for 2 hours and then all off.

 

[cilyjr]

i never saw any spotlight but i was told it could happen. i do notice some areas that are a bit more shaded though

 

[inverted]

I don't really see the spotlight effect with the AIs. If you have the standard optics, the 4 70 degree pucks do a pretty good job of hiding it. The issue is if you look at the PAR data, the drop off in PAR is very steep (spotlight), whether you see it of not. The thing to be aware of, in this regard, IMO, is that moving a coral a few inches can inadvertently subject it to large changes in PAR. Having more units will help smooth this out though, as where there is overlap between the units, the PAR will sum. It's more of an issue though if you use too few.

As to the moonlight setting, I do about 2% rb 1%b. Even this is kind of bright, but it varies with the moon-phase. So, it is only maxed out a few nights per month.