florescents anyone?

[robin.gordon1]

I made the switch to MH a couple of years ago and the reef I had suddenly
went downhill. corals and coralline algae all died off. then in October I
started a new smaller reef tank and had some success until I replaced an old
bulb with a new one and now like a few others the algal growth is
unbelievable. I have to clean the gravel at least once a day and the clove
xenia has to be brushed once a day to stop the furry brown algae from
killing it.
now I had a lot of success with tubes before , although five or six tubes in
the one hood is a bitch to fit, and am thinking that my bubble coral is fine
during the early morning cycle until the MH comes on and then it collapses
in on itself then to save it I could switch back.
I had to do a bit of a modification to the MH unit to allow it to run a
double ended tube but this it does but with disastrous results as far as the
corals in my tank.

is this a wise move.

36G main tank with 16G sump skimmed with a prizm deluxe and a RIO1700 return
pump.
Amm= 0
nitrites= 0
nitrates= >5ppm
Ph= 8.7
po4= ?

Robin

[S_Allamand]

What is the MH bulb you are using? Also remember to acclimate the corals to
the new lights,
think of a human put under a tanning bed all day, wouldn't like it much
either :)


"robin.gordon1" > wrote in message
...
> I made the switch to MH a couple of years ago and the reef I had suddenly
> went downhill. corals and coralline algae all died off. then in October I
> started a new smaller reef tank and had some success until I replaced an
old
> bulb with a new one and now like a few others the algal growth is
> unbelievable. I have to clean the gravel at least once a day and the
clove
> xenia has to be brushed once a day to stop the furry brown algae from
> killing it.
> now I had a lot of success with tubes before , although five or six tubes
in
> the one hood is a bitch to fit, and am thinking that my bubble coral is
fine
> during the early morning cycle until the MH comes on and then it collapses
> in on itself then to save it I could switch back.
> I had to do a bit of a modification to the MH unit to allow it to run a
> double ended tube but this it does but with disastrous results as far as
the
> corals in my tank.
>
> is this a wise move.
>
> 36G main tank with 16G sump skimmed with a prizm deluxe and a RIO1700
return
> pump.
> Amm= 0
> nitrites= 0
> nitrates= >5ppm
> Ph= 8.7
> po4= ?
>
> Robin
>
>

[skozzy]

Lower your pH for a start. How far off the water is your MH ? Most people
say 1 foot minimum for 150 watts. What is the Kelvin rating of the bulbs ?,
if they are too low (say under 10k) I found that all sorts of crap grow and
my coral don't open up as much. I added Fluros so I could reduce the time
the MH was on, and the corals like the fluros more, I am soon going to
change my 10k bulb for a 12k or 14k and try that out.

Also 2 years for a MH bulb is pushing the limits of it. You might benifit
from putting a new bulb in after 2 years. Some also say 1 year max for a MH
over a reef tank. A new bulb also needs about 2 weeks to bed in, I don't
know if during this stage you should have it over the tank, but I havn't
hear otherwise.

> I made the switch to MH a couple of years ago and the reef I had suddenly
> went downhill. corals and coralline algae all died off. then in October I
> started a new smaller reef tank and had some success until I replaced an
old
> bulb with a new one and now like a few others the algal growth is
> unbelievable. I have to clean the gravel at least once a day and the
clove
> xenia has to be brushed once a day to stop the furry brown algae from
> killing it.
> now I had a lot of success with tubes before , although five or six tubes
in
> the one hood is a bitch to fit, and am thinking that my bubble coral is
fine
> during the early morning cycle until the MH comes on and then it collapses
> in on itself then to save it I could switch back.
> I had to do a bit of a modification to the MH unit to allow it to run a
> double ended tube but this it does but with disastrous results as far as
the
> corals in my tank.
>
> is this a wise move.
>
> 36G main tank with 16G sump skimmed with a prizm deluxe and a RIO1700
return
> pump.
> Amm= 0
> nitrites= 0
> nitrates= >5ppm
> Ph= 8.7
> po4= ?
>
> Robin
>
>

[robin.gordon1]

I have tried cutting off the MH and using a 14000K powerglo and a blue
marine tube and big water changes and the tank seems cleaner and the corals
seem to be doing a lot better.

Robin


"robin.gordon1" > wrote in message
...
>I made the switch to MH a couple of years ago and the reef I had suddenly
>went downhill. corals and coralline algae all died off. then in October I
>started a new smaller reef tank and had some success until I replaced an
>old bulb with a new one and now like a few others the algal growth is
>unbelievable. I have to clean the gravel at least once a day and the clove
>xenia has to be brushed once a day to stop the furry brown algae from
>killing it.
> now I had a lot of success with tubes before , although five or six tubes
> in the one hood is a bitch to fit, and am thinking that my bubble coral is
> fine during the early morning cycle until the MH comes on and then it
> collapses in on itself then to save it I could switch back.
> I had to do a bit of a modification to the MH unit to allow it to run a
> double ended tube but this it does but with disastrous results as far as
> the corals in my tank.
>
> is this a wise move.
>
> 36G main tank with 16G sump skimmed with a prizm deluxe and a RIO1700
> return pump.
> Amm= 0
> nitrites= 0
> nitrates= >5ppm
> Ph= 8.7
> po4= ?
>
> Robin
>