BTA and the lights burned out

T

tg1119

My Power Compact stopped working today and I am pretty sure that the ballast is done for. I am looking to up grade to a 150 or 250 MH. I have a GBTA that I am worried about. I will not be able to get lights till tomorrow. Will going to such intense lighting shock my BTA or other corals? Should I run the light for 4 hours the first day and then work up to 8 or 10 hours? Oh yeah my tank is a 29 gallon the 30 inch one I think BTA is almost on the sand bed.
 
I would acclimate the tank to the new lighting, yes. If the BTA starts hiding during the day, it may be light shocked.
 
I would certainly agree with Scott on this too. The BTA will be fine in semi-darkness for a couple of days if it was in good health. Since you didn't say what wattage the PC bulbs/setup was, it's hard to say how much of a shock the changeover will be, but in any case going from PC's to MH's will be a large change. You can use fiberglass screen over the tank and remove layers as the animals get used to the new intensity. Some people recommend removing a layer a week, but in any case adjust the lighting up slowly. The 4,8,etc may be too much to quickly depending on time. I'd probably do 4 hours for 2-3 days at least and then 5 hours for 2-3 days,... working up to a full schedule. Even that may be a little aggressive, but at least it's not doubling each time it changes. Always watch the animals though as it may not be obvious immediately that it's too much light/change at a time. JMO
Doug
 
Thanks for the help. I had 192 watt pc fixture, but will be going today to pick up a new light. I have to make a trip back to Dallas this weekend, go to school in San Marcos, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to adjust the lighting enough but if I can run it for a couple of days for 4 hours I think it will be just fine.

Thanks
Todd
 
Ok picked up 150 watt MH with a 14000k bulb. It is a coralife tank mounted fixture and I have it set as far away from the tank as possible. Will be running the light for 4 hours a day until Monday 6/11 then going to go to 5 or 6 hours and slowly move up from there. Does this sound like a good schedule?

Todd
 
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