sps under reefbreeders?

So my question is, is anyone keeping high light SPS like acros under the reefbreeders light? What corals have you been able to keep under them? How high off water do your lights sit? optics? how far below water level are said corals?

I have 2 of the 120w value fixtures with 90* optics over my 75.

I have killed plenty of corals, bleached a lot. :/

I am trying to figure out how high i should have my lights set.

They hang about 12" above water level. Right now i have the white/colors at about 50% and the blues at about 75%.

I think lack of flow may have been an issue in the past. So i am correcting that now.

But i have 2 frags from harrysfrags.com (harrys turquoise stag, and candelabra) they are mounted to a rock about 6-8" under water level.

Can anyone suggest more or less light? I have no idea what the par readings are i dont have a meter.

 

I have montis(plating/encrusting and branching), Ponape Birdsnest (that just took off like wildfire since Sunday for some reason- I count 10-15 new branches coming off of it since Sunday) and some sort of acro that has really colored up from brown to bright green.

I turned my light down to 30% (Bs and Ws). They're very strong and likely a contributor to the bleaching. Get your flow to 3800 GPH or so and you'll be fine.

 

The lights are likely to high, or too close to the water line, or both.

What's your alk levels and has it been stable?

 

Ah, alk. I hate my alk levels. Its been stable for as long as i can remember around 6dkh. Since i started using reef crystals. I have tried bringing it up with powder. But it always goes back to 6 dKh.

And maybe i should turn my lights down then. I will try this.

 

Your lights wont make a difference if your ALK isnt right. Do you do any dosing or use kalk?

 

Yeah, a dKH of 6 is really, really low. I have mine at 12, but most seem to target 9-10. What are your magnesium and calcium readings? That may provide some insight into why your alkalinity is always falling.

 

cal is always around 450. and i do not have a mag test kit. i need to get one. How can i raise my alk?

 

Step 1: Get a Mag Test Kit, and appropriate Supplements (Mag, Alk and Cal).
Step 2: Get Mag stable by following instructions on Suppplement.
Step 3: Get Alk stable after Mag is straight, by dosing Alk supplement per instructions.
Step 4: Test, test, and test again. make sure all of your "big 3" are stable for at least 2 weeks. Math will be involved to figure out consumption rates per day, thus giving you the answer on dosage per day.
Step 5: Add Acro's.

Side note...I have never been a fan of Reef Crystals. From one box to the next I would go from 6 dkh to 11 dkh per batch. If you're going into SPS, I'd go with Red Sea Pro, or Salinity.

 

I like the BRS 2part system.

 

Awesome! thanks guys! will get a mag test asap!