MH Lighting Question

[oz]

I have the 6' Aquamedic HQI fixture with 3x250's and 2x150's (blue) and I normally run the 150's for a couple hours in the morning then switch to the 250s then back to the 150s for the "dawn".

I really like the look of all 5 on at the same time. Outside of increasing my power bill, you guys see any harm if I add the 150s on slowly of the course of a week or so?

The lights are only about 6" off the water.

 

[jeff_mcphail]

Chris you've got enough light there for a 30" deep tank! If it was my setup I would only have the main lights(the 250's) on for 4 hours a day. Too much light was causing my corals to brown up.

 

[oz]

makes sense. I'll try a different light timing to see how it goes.

 

[stroid]

If you really like the look of all 5 I would suggest getting the PAR meter and finding out how much of a difference the two 150s add to your 3 250s. If the par isnt changing that much I dont see it having a negative affect on the corals. Yes to much light can be a problem but I think you may get positive results from more PAR. Check it out

 

[oz]

What are the symptoms of too much light on corals?

I have never taken par readings on this tank.

 

[skriz]

You won't have any issues with the corals; there won't be too much light to bleach them. BUT, slowly ramping up the light schedule is the proper procedure.

The only issue I see would be heat. As long as you can keep the tank cool, you'll be fine.

I would go with what looks the best to you.