lighting

[josie521]

HI all, I have a question...LFS said I have too much lighting. I have a 75 gal tank. I have a Hamilton MH hood...2-250wt 14k and 2-110wt VHOs. The bulbs are 7" from the top.A few months ago I lost almost everything ..SPS, brains,hammer, frogspon..still not sure why. I upgraded from 4-110 VHOs in Nov. Could I have too much lighting? my tank has been set up over 7 years. thanks, josie

[Doug1]

Well I dont think your lighting is too much, If you upgraded last nov and tank crashed a few months ago I doubt over lighting was the issue, need more info to make a guess as to what happened tho sorry to hear that, tank crashes can de so frustrating, I went thru it with my 75, then shortly after got in a motorcycle wreck, had surgery and all that, tank still is in limbo due to financial issues and home repair projects that take precedence

[wharyat]

You don't have too much lighting SPS will love it; a little overkill tho, 150 HQIs would have yeilded the same PAR.

Did you acclimatize your corals to the more intense light? i.e. start with short photoperiods (1-2 hours) and slowly increase (15 mins or so a day) up to your regular lighting schedule. Or did you have any other way (smoked plexi, screen, etc.) of blocking the light initially then slowly increase over a week or two?

And as Doug stated, it may not even be a light issue.

[Tasher80]

I run two Hamilton 250 HQI's and two 110 VHO's on my 72 gallon and my corals love it. My SPS grown like crazy. I keep my softies at the bottom but my toadstool is near the top and it loves the light.