Innovative Marine 10G setup with a Prime 16 HD - Light settings.....

[AaronRV45]

I am setting up an Innovative Marine 10G with a Prime 16 HD light. I plan on running 20lbs of Nature's Ocen sand and 20lbs of Real Reef Rock. 

 

With the Innovative Marine 10G I also have the skimmer. I intend to add DrTim's to get a cycle going. I won't introduce the skimmer or any other filtration yet. The Real Reef Rock has been on heat and circulation for 5 days now even though I know it isn't really live rock. 

 

I intend to have nice soft corals with a lot of color under the Prime 16 HD. I might get a goby or a clown later down the road but that isn't needed. I want a beautiful array of coral. 

 

I need assistance with light settings. Once I add the sand, rock, and get the water in the tank what light settings should I use? I want growth on the rock and sand but I don't know what all of these settings mean. Back in the old days, you raised them up or down.

 

Thank You

[Koleswrath]

I'm using the BRS settings since they give you exact par measurements for a 12 x 12 x 12 cube. I'm an excel junkie so I charted the channel ratios and used the chart to ramp up from 25%. For softies you can just set it at 25% and call er good. You might want to increase your white channel a bit since soft corals may not have the fluorescence of LPS/SPS corals. This will give you more true colors.

BRS recommended spectrum settings
	100%	90%	70	56.5	55	53.5	40	25%	20	12	6
UV	166	149	116	94	91	89	66	42	33.2	19.92	8.964
Violet	166	149	116	94	91	89	66	42	33.2	19.92	8.964
Royal Blue	125	113	88	71	69	67	50	31	25	15	6.75
Blue	125	113	88	71	69	67	50	31	25	15	6.75
Green	10	9	7	6	6	5	4	3	2	1.2	0.54
Deep Red	10	9	7	6	6	5	4	3	2	1.2	0.54
Cool white	65	59	46	37	36	35	26	16	13	7.8	3.51

[mcarroll]

On 12/10/2023 at 9:06 PM, AaronRV45 said:

Rock has been on heat and circulation for 5 days now even though I know it isn't really live rock.

What do you mean by that last part?   Was it dead/dry when you got it?  Was it from the ocean when you got it?  Somewhere in between?

 

On 12/10/2023 at 9:06 PM, AaronRV45 said:

I need assistance with light settings. Once I add the sand, rock, and get the water in the tank what light settings should I use? I want growth on the rock and sand but I don't know what all of these settings mean. Back in the old days, you raised them up or down.

You might not have picked the best tool for the job – maybe akin to using Photoshop to remove redeye, but you don't know how to use Photoshop.  (there are much easier tools to start with)

 

There are many "canned" light setups for your light, so going that route is always an option (and has already been suggested in another post).  A "canned" setup might even be a good enough starting point.  BUT...  It's probably more interesting to set up your lights on your own, with the help of a light meter, which can be as cheap as $free and doesn't have to cost much more than that.  Basically, leave off the vanity colors, and focus on setting the blue and white channels.   Max out the blues where you want them, then set the whites just high enough that all your corals look good to you....so you have a nice 20,000K-ish look.  Then you can use the light meter to dial in the overall intensity level you want.

 

On 12/11/2023 at 10:53 AM, Koleswrath said:

I'm an excel junkie so I charted the channel ratios and used the chart to ramp up from 25%.

That assumes a linear response on each channel, which could actually be the case.....but would be really interesting to verify with a light meter (any kind).  (LED's aren't inherently linear in output as power increases, so that makes me wonder.)