Mr. Microscope's JBJ Picotope

[Mr. Microscope]

im confused... why wouldnt you have the lights on for one long period like night and day? just tryin to gather as much info for when i get a par. and do you have the fuge light on when the tank lights are on? i thought this causes the ph to swing (if you have chaeto or other macro)?

Supposedly, corals can only use light for so long for photosynthesis. I read a scientific paper that figured out a lighting schedule of 4hrs on - 8hrs off produces the best growth. Especially since corals do their growing with the lights off. My fuge light goes on after my main lights go out from 7pm to 6am. During the day when my main lights are off from 10am to 3pm, I figure the ambient lighting in my office is good enough. This is how I avoid pH swings (I have chaeto in my fuge). My photo-period is a modification of the 4 on - 8 off schedule to accommodate for viewing it at work.

[Mr. Microscope]

I added an extension cord to my lights so I also can have my korilla on with the lights so there is less flow when the lights are off.

Cool. I had considered that, but what is the advantage?

[.Newman.]

I have actually been running that same thing with the powerhead on with the lights and off with the mainlights since i started my pico. I got the idea from El Fab, but it sounds to me like natural reefs would get more flow during the day...

[JBM]

more flow during the day seems logical

 

 

 

thanks for clarifying that buddy, how long have you been doing this & what hard data do you have to support this theory (aside from said research).

[Mr. Microscope]

more flow during the day seems logical

 

 

 

thanks for clarifying that buddy, how long have you been doing this & what hard data do you have to support this theory (aside from said research).

 

Good question. Well, I just started this photo-period last Friday. So, I'm not sure how my corals will react. Let me see if I can dig up a link to that research paper.

[Mr. Microscope]

I posted this thread back in July:

Photo period, How long is your's and why?

 

Here's a quote from the thread from another nanoreefer, complete with a link to the paper:

In my frag system i run a 4 on / 8 off / 4 on / 8 off / light cycle I get great growth with this method

 

This is a quote from Practial Coral Farming by Miguel Tolosa

 

4 on 8 off light cycle

 

There have been some experiments exploring the benefits of maximum Zooxanthelle alage production by using a alternating light cycle of 4 hours on and 8 hours off.

 

The Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology Found that Motility, Or growth, In the cells of Zooxanthelle alage " occurred only during the period of illumination and lasted 8-9h, with a peak at 2.5-4h after lights on." It is this peak at 2.5-4h that has given rise to farms based on the 4 on 8 off light cycle. there has been increased coral health. The amount of growth depends upon the corals being farmed, but nearly all coral show marked improvement using this light cycle.

 

You can find this article in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and ecology Volume 298 Issue 1, 7 January 2004, Pages 35-48

 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=A...e275ae882467702

[ParanoidObseshun]

Micro, its weird how some of your palys/zoas faded that much and then closed up for that long. Wonder what would have caused it to do that. I have had the occasional zoa do that, but were never closed that long.

 

Glad to see that things are coming back though, and hope all your stuff perks back up to what it used to be!

[Mr. Microscope]

I'm assuming the lack of color intensity has to do with a starve-off of some of the zoozanthae. I'm curious about how the markings moved around so much while closed up. I can't believe it survived that long completely closed.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. My friend at in the institute said he would bring in the bubble coral on Monday. If he does, I'll be sure to post pics!

[ParanoidObseshun]

Bubble coral, nice! I like the look of those, used to have one in my tank, but it didnt agree with other corals I had nearby so I have it in my other tank now. Do you happen to know what color it is?

[Mr. Microscope]

White supposedly. Yes, I've been slowly emptying my tank to make way for it lately. I even rescaped a little to make a nice nook for it.

[straydog]

I went with korill on the light cycle along the lines of the closed time of the zoes/palys rest/grow cycle, the aqua clears give around 100 gallons per hour each circulation, and the korilla adds an additional 425 when the lights are on giving what food/pods more circulation when they are open and can benefit more.

[.Newman.]

be careful with that reasoning. if the flow is way too fast in the day time, the feeding aspect can be disrupted rather than helped. the food particles would simply whisk by with too fast a speed and force for the zoa/paly nematocysts to properly harpoon the food and hold it...a nice random flow is better rather than a really fast random or steady flow. if the zoas start to rock or shiver in the current thats probably too fast.

 

the higher flow does allow the animal to breathe better and get rid of waste more efficiently, so those are plusses. but dont overdo it.

 

I recently switched my powerhead on the night cycle to experiment. one reason was that i didnt have a day outlet for the plug, and the only open outlet left on my power strip was the night outlet lol. the other reason is that i am curious if it will help the corals grow to have more flow during the night, when they aren't open (depending on the coral).

[Mr. Microscope]

Today's post to the Lighting Forum:

 

Designing an LED build, Please offer criticism

[.Newman.]

do a metal halide tank! they look so much better.

[Mr. Microscope]

do a metal halide tank! they look so much better.

 

I've considered that, but I really like the idea of something that I never have to replace. Also, less power and heat. Plus, the build could be fun.

[jdl]

are you going to use the old aqualight for a housing? i have always thought it would be cool to make that pos (im running one now) into something magnificent... im sure it can be done but it is far beyond my creative skills.

[Mr. Microscope]

Do you mean my old 18W Current Satellite? I wanted to do that a while ago for my pico, but this design is for my next aquarium. The 18 inch, 25 gallon Mr. Aqua cube.

[.Newman.]

metal halide produces rediculous colors

[Mr. Microscope]

I'm working on a unique design. My LEDs will have more than just the royal blues and cool whites. I'm planning to add some neural whites (for warmer colors), cool blues (for pastels), and even one cyan run extremely dim. I've been inspired by a discussion in the lighting forum. They haven't finalized results, but there's a lot of potential for the future of LEDs. Check it out:

 

LED Aesthetics: What do really think of your color?

[.Newman.]

I honestly think that a nice metal halide light coupled with a few royal blue LEDs for OPTIONAL viewing under actinics only, is the best light choice for a nano. I will surely make something like that when I get a large tank to turn into a reef

 

the idea is to let corals grow under metal halide, and then whenever you wanted you could turn off the halides and switch on the royal blues to look what kind of neon colors the reef has!

[Mr. Microscope]

I honestly think that a nice metal halide light coupled with a few royal blue LEDs for OPTIONAL viewing under actinics only, is the best light choice for a nano. I will surely make something like that when I get a large tank to turn into a reef

 

the idea is to let corals grow under metal halide, and then whenever you wanted you could turn off the halides and switch on the royal blues to look what kind of neon colors the reef has!

 

M'akoy Pinoy has a setup similar to that and his corals look AMAZING! It's a 30 gallon with a 150 Watt MH (I think), and he has a strip of 1W LEDs that go across the tank. With only the blues, the whole thing glows like you wouldn't believe. You are definitely convincing me further Newman. I still have a hard time with the idea of replacing a bulb every year though.

[.Newman.]

there is still the risk that your LEDs might burn out because you dropped the fixture or wired them wrong or something. I had my entire blue string of 3 burn out cuz the fixture fell a little bit and they all shorted from that >_<

just cuz its LED doesnt mean its bullet proof and that youll only have to replace every 12 years. 1 year replacement of a $20 or so bulb is nothing, compared to some multi bulb T5 setups that are replaced every 6 months

though i am digressing here. I want to take a look at the tank you mentioned. do you have a link?

EDIT: right i remember that tank. its what i was talking about, but this guy runs the blues all the time. I meant use a( natural low K rating (HQI MH light and the use the RB Crees whenever you feel like seeing some wacky neon lol.

I meantion low K just because it seems to produce the most natural colors in coral. something like parishilton's tank. and low K just means around 10,000 in my personal context.

[SnakPak]

there is still the risk that your LEDs might burn out because you dropped the fixture or wired them wrong or something. I had my entire blue string of 3 burn out cuz the fixture fell a little bit and they all shorted from that >_<

just cuz its LED doesnt mean its bullet proof and that youll only have to replace every 12 years. 1 year replacement of a $20 or so bulb is nothing, compared to some multi bulb T5 setups that are replaced every 6 months

though i am digressing here. I want to take a look at the tank you mentioned. do you have a link?

EDIT: right i remember that tank. its what i was talking about, but this guy runs the blues all the time. I meant use a( natural low K rating (HQI MH light and the use the RB Crees whenever you feel like seeing some wacky neon lol.

I meantion low K just because it seems to produce the most natural colors in coral. something like parishilton's tank. and low K just means around 10,000 in my personal context.

 

Where are you finding a MH bulb for $20 that is of any quality? I ask this because I have always spent $60-80 on my replacement bulbs, usually Phoenix 14k. I have nothing against MH because I had great results using it over my current 7.5g cube, but the amount of heat it would throw into the tank really put me off when the ballast went out recently.

 

I don't want to sound like I'm on a LED high-horse, because I think that each lighting solution has pros and cons. But saying that failures as a result of dropping a LED fixture is a negative against them is absurd. That is a user-related error.

[JBM]

i would have never dreamed of keeping a clam in my pico if it wasnt for led's

 

 

if your ever out on the island eric your more than welcome to stop by & check out my fixture.

 

Or if you dont feel comfortable building your fixture, give me all the parts & i'll assemble it for the price of 1 beer at a local bar/ pub in midtown (i get bored on my midnights in the city)

[Mr. Microscope]

Awesome! I'd like to see your build. What kind of drivers did you use? Do you have a build thread?