siskiou Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Since I have had cyano popping up pretty severely in my 60G cube, I switched the old MH bulb out for a new one today (among other measures, like more flow, more snails, large water changes). Do these need to be burned in slowly? Should I throttle the timer back to something like 3 hrs a day at first and add a half hour every few days? Or is that not necessary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason7504 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 it will burn in by itself in like 100 hrs or so of use..but you might want to run it for like only 3 or 4 hours because your corals need to adjust to the higher intensity of the new bulb 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Thanks! Good thinking! I have it set for three hours for the next few days and will slowly add to that. This bulb sure looks a lot brighter than the previous one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason7504 Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 your welcome what wattage and brand is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 250w DE aqualine 10000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 another trick people use is to put mesh, like for screen doors over the tank. with several layers on the tank it will block a good amount of light, but still allow a full photoperiod. a couple days later take one off, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 I have a couple of old screens lying around in the shed somewhere! Will go and dig them out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 that should cause less stress than cutting the photoperiod back like that. just stretch it across the tank and hold it on with the hood or whatever you can rig up. if you can get 3 layers on that is best. run for 3 days, then take one off, 3 more days: another off, 3 more days, and you are to full light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 YAY!!! your thread got me to 1000 posts!!! lol. that wasn't the purpose, i hope that was helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 Heh, congratulations! BTW, I have two pieces of dark screen on there, and it's really cutting down on the brightness. I have more screening, but don't want to go overboard. Should I stick with two pieces, or add the third anyhow? It looks darker in the tank with 2 screens than it did with the old bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 I would just stick with the two. since it seems darker and you aren't taking as many steps i would go with 5 days between removals. it is always better to be safe than sorry. hijack: did you figure out what skimmer you are getting? if you are still wanting a uv, i would be interested in trading my uv for your old skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 I'm getting an OctoX 200. Can you remind me again of the UV specs, so I can check on pricing and availability of replacement bulbs? I might be interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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