ATI 6 Bulb Configuration, PAR/PUR, Actinic necessary?

[BigJohnny]

Hey Reefers,

Currently I run the following on my new tank (only 3 months old):

BACK
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic
ATI Coral Plus
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
FRONT

My aquascape is kind of a horseshoe where the center/mid left/mid right are centered under the back 3 bulbs and right and left are centered under the the back 5 bulbs with the front sand basically centered under the front bulb.

Today I borrowed a par meter and noticed that some of the highest points on my aquascape are directly under the actinic and therefore have a lower PAR value then lower points which are closer to the middle. I know that a PAR meter (apogee) cannot measure accurately in that range, and I know actinics offer some valuable PUR which would register anyway. My question is, do you think I should:

A) keep everything the same and rest assured that even though the par is slightly lower in those areas they are still receiving the most usable light

B) switch a blue plus or coral plus from the middle/front with the actinic to make PAR more uniform on the highest points where all my acropora/montipora will be

C) replace the actinic with an blue + because I don't need it since blue + provide enough light near that spectrum

I also plan on lowering my lights gradually so that par ranges from 250-350 up top, however I'm not sure I would need to if I switched out the actinic for a blue+.

I plan on having acros up top, montis just below, and my lps below that and on the sand bed.

Here is the PAR map as it stands now:

Btw, I have an extra blue + and coral + so switching out bulbs is an easy option.

I would love to hear your opinions/experience/logic regarding this matter and I would really appreciate your participation!

Thanks!

P.S. please do not make any recommendations based on the appearance of the overall color of my light or corals because this photo is not accurate. It was taken with my cell phone and the white balance etc is off.

For example- Everything is slightly more blue and the acros on the top frag rack are almost fully colored, not bleached as they appear in this photo.

 

[BigJohnny]

No ATI junkies out there?!

 

[Ron Reefman]

I don't use t5, but I do know light, PAR, PUR and Apogee meters.

I don't see any reason to change what you are doing. You have lots of rock and some nice frags, give the system time and see how it goes.

 

[Mark426]

Looks fine to me. I would leave it the way it is if it were my tank and lower the fixture gradually like you're planning. You can always use the blue+ or coral+(both have similar output) later on if you feel the need for a slight PAR increase.

 

[Reef Frog]

The Blue Plus bulbs have some actinic phosphors, so that combined with one of their actinic bulbs should give you plenty of spectrum in the lower ~400 nm range & up. If you look at the spectrum graphs API publishes, you'll see a small spike in the sub 400nm range on the actinic which is actually used in photosynthesis.

Personally I might swap one blue plus for the coral plus you have on hand. This is just personal preference though. For me, this maintains a more natural look while still having plenty of 420-460nm meter light to bring out the fluorescent colors.

I think your combination is going to grow everything very well. You may find some low light corals are going to do best low down, towards the ends of the aquarium or mounted on the vertical or in a semi shaded location. I'm thinking chalices, some acans, candy canes etc. if you intend to keep those species. I think your SPS will be just fine up rooms you've planned.

Great looking aquascape BTW. IMO you did the right thing keeping the top of the rock work mid-tank. Acros & other branching varieties should do very well there and look nice as they grow out.

 

[BigJohnny]

I don't use t5, but I do know light, PAR, PUR and Apogee meters.

I don't see any reason to change what you are doing. You have lots of rock and some nice frags, give the system time and see how it goes.

Cool thanks for your input.

 

[BigJohnny]

Looks fine to me. I would leave it the way it is if it were my tank and lower the fixture gradually like you're planning. You can always use the blue+ or coral+(both have similar output) later on if you feel the need for a slight PAR increase.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks

 

[BigJohnny]

The Blue Plus bulbs have some actinic phosphors, so that combined with one of their actinic bulbs should give you plenty of spectrum in the lower ~400 nm range & up. If you look at the spectrum graphs API publishes, you'll see a small spike in the sub 400nm range on the actinic which is actually used in photosynthesis.

Yea I feel like one actinic will provide some benefit without taking away too much overall par.

Personally I might swap one blue plus for the coral plus you have on hand. This is just personal preference though. For me, this maintains a more natural look while still having plenty of 420-460nm meter light to bring out the fluorescent colors.

I originally had a coral plus instead if the actinic but it was too white for my liking. The purple plus is pretty white imo so that plus 1 coral plus looked better to me. I contemplated pulling the purple plus for another coral plus but it's spectrum is unique so I want it in there.

I think your combination is going to grow everything very well. You may find some low light corals are going to do best low down, towards the ends of the aquarium or mounted on the vertical or in a semi shaded location. I'm thinking chalices, some acans, candy canes etc. if you intend to keep those species. I think your SPS will be just fine up rooms you've planned.

Thanks I hope so! Besides acros/montipora, I have 5 acans, 1 chalice, a duncan, a frogspawn, and a lepto. I agree with you that all of those will do best in those locations. That is where they have been thus far and are doing great. Saving the top for the acros/montis.

Great looking aquascape BTW. IMO you did the right thing keeping the top of the rock work mid-tank. Acros & other branching varieties should do very well there and look nice as they grow out.

Thank you I appreciate that, I'm happy with it as well. The only thing is I wish I had more depth to the tank so that there was a more gradual slope from front to back/more sand bed up front. I can only do so much with 50 gallons however so I'm pleased. I kept the top of the aquascape there for that very reason, and I wanted some open space up top for the fish to be able to swim (don't have any yet haha).

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!