will my coraline die when i upgrade to MH?

[mlwoods007]

I have a 125gal with approx 250lbs LR under 4x96w pc's. After Christmas, I plan on upgrading to three Icecap 250w MH (10k XM's). Some of my rock is completetly purple from coraline and I really don't want it to die. I know it won't ALL die, but i'm worried that the MH's will be too much for it at first. Do you think I have anything to worry about? Is there anything i can do to lessen the possibility of die off?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[renogaw]

you're going to have more than coralline issues unfortunately.
you'll probably have an algae bloom as well.
basically you want to acclimate the lights to the tank. can you keep them high off the tank for a few days, then lower them every couple days?

 

[mlwoods007]

keeping them high off the tank - I should be able to. depends on how i build my canopy. still a little undecided on it.
what if i only ran them for a few hours on the first day, and then gradually increase the amount of time they ran?

 

[green machine]

that would also work if you cannot move the lights.

 

[larrynews]

i would try to use both lights that what i have, put them on a timer so that the pcs come on first then the halides, then in the evening have the halides shut off about a hour or so before the pcs, then if you do it this way you can start by using the mh only an hour the first day and increase them of the next month or two until you have them on the length you want. be careful of the heat they do heat up the water alot, i have fans built into mine and watch the temp. fluctuation from the the time the mh come on then then morning temp so it doesn't change to much

 

[bigreefer]

I agree with everyone. I upgraded from 4x65w pc to 2x250w MH + 4x65w pc. I know it was a big changed and I did try to aclimate as best as possible but I did have some coralline bleaching and even some coral bleaching. I also had new aglae outbreaks that I never had before. It has been 6 months or so and all the coralline grew back and corals regained color. It is tough at first but hang in there it is worth it. You wont believe how fast corals grow with the better light!

 

[teen]

to answer your original question, most of your coraline that is exposed to teh light will die off. everything that is shaded should be fine, but no worries, it will most likely grow back in no time.

 

[kevin34]

I have heard that a great way to acclimate new lighting is to put 3-4 layers of screen over your tank. Every 2 or 3 days or so remove one layer of screen which will slightly increase the light.

 

[buffett]

Originally Posted by Kevin34
I have heard that a great way to acclimate new lighting is to put 3-4 layers of screen over your tank. Every 2 or 3 days or so remove one layer of screen which will slightly increase the light.
lol that was going to be my suggestion, just go to the local hardware store and pick some screen up and layer it over the tank remove some like he said and you should be fine

 

[mlwoods007]

Thanks all for your input. I'm going to try and build it, so i can raise/lower the lighting though (drew up the plans last night). If it doesn't work out the way i plan, i'll definately use the screen idea. I plan on mounting two fans inside, but what are your opinions on how low to run the 250's without me needing a chiller (remember it's a 125gal and I refuse to get one). Was thinking i'd probably have to have them about 12" from the water...
As far as running my current pc's along with my new halides: I don't want to disassemble my (2) 2x96w fixtures to mount them under the canopy. I'd like to be able to get some $ back out of them. Not to mention, in doing so i wouldn't like the look of everything not being "cleanly" installed. It would bother the h*ll out of me and i'd end up changing it eventually.
I already have an icecap 660 with 4 endcaps that i plan to run 2 72" actinic vho's with. I think that should be fine.