Bleaching RBTA and Marineland LEDs

jp5785 said:
Looks like I'm going to go with 2 of the 20" Aquaticlife T5 HO Marine lights for my Biocube. I've heard good reviews and they look decently priced. Anyone have any experience with these for anemones?
Click to expand...

You will not need 2 most likely. I run a single 20in aquatuclife T5HO on mine. My BTA (No one told me to feed them so I almost starved it, it is making a nice recovery now). I also have a clam in it. I am running 2 10k whites and 1 antic and 1 violet. Remember the light bulbs are 18in and a bit hard to find in different types, but over all I love the light. Adjusting the lighting might be a less impulsive move fist though.
 
I have a 39 gallon mixed reef and have had the marineland reef capable led fixture for some time with two rbtas that love it . Ive recently added some cfs to my tank to add more light to b able to keep sps again . One of my nems was days from death when i got it and is now almost fully recoverd . The btas r right under the leds at the very bottom of mybtank and look amazing i feed them very well so they r very happy . How ofyenbdid u feed ur nem before it took a turn for the worste ? That can have alot to do with it dying . If u didnt feed it enough or the right food that is pronb what caused this not the lighting . U do need to let ur livestocknget used to a lightingbchange as well that goes for everything anenomes r just more sensative thanbcorals and if u reaserch it online u will find that ya the leds have lower wattage but the par value and lumins r very good and u can find online that the led fixture is equivelant to 2 or 3 ho t-5s they just use a lower wattage of power consumpton than other lighting but they put out the same amount if not more than a light rated at a higher wattage . So if i were u i wouldnt runbout and spend a bunch of money on t-5s cuz the box says x amount of watts cuz u already have that in ur leds u r just saven money onbur electric bill . U need to get the nem to eat and keep it eating andbit will recover andblet it hide just figure out a way to get food to it still its hideing cuz its sic and tryen to protect itself go on karens bubbletip anenomes .com its a great site and will help u alot it deals with everything u need to know about these anenomes and u will b going down the right road from there . Its not about brands and how much u pay for equipment its about how much u know about the stuff u r tryen to keep alive . Ive been in this hobby for around 20 yrs and have hit alot of walls and when that happens u need to do ur reaserch and figure out what u have to do to get over that wall . I hope ur nem gets better and i hope i was of help if u have any questions feel free to pm me and ill b happy to help . Good luck
 
Are the marineland reef capable LEDs dimmable? My guess is that you are giving it too much high intensity lighting. I recently took the top off my 28g cube and put a radion over it (I know...overkill, but I love the controllability built in). Anyway, it's about 10" off the water and only running at 40%, lighting things AMAZINGLY well. The radion may not be the way to go for you (expensive) but it IS dimmable. I would either raise your LEDs for a while (couple of weeks) and then slowly (weekly) lower them again to acclimate the tank to the higher intensity lighting. LEDs do well for reef tanks...but you MUST acclimate them.
 
This will probably sound really silly but if you have a 120 gallon with a 48inch marine land and the tank being 2 feet high will it survive better if the rbta is at the bottom?
 
I do not think it is the lights. The marineland "reef capable" have a bad rep of being an inferior LED.What about your other Parameters?
 
regardless of lights, any time you have a BTA, I'd put it at the bottom of the tank. It'll walk up higher no problem if needed.
 
I will disagree with most of the people who are responding in this thread. What the stock lighting the 2x32w PC bulbs? Although the fixtures are made by Marineland, throwing 2 of them over a 29g at full blast (10-12 hours a day) will totally bleach those bubble tips. 2 fixtures will put out the same amount of par as a 4 bulb T5 fixture of equal size(I've tested them).

Did you slowly adjust them to the intensity of the fixtures?

I have 2 of the 18-24 fixtures on an Oceanic 30 cube and my bubble tips are doing great(along with all my other coral) I only ran both for 4-5 hours a day for the first week. Every week I added an hour on until I got to 10 hours a day.
 
Last edited:
What is the flow like? You say your Trach is doing fine, they like significantly less flow than a bta likes. Btas LOVE flow...if they don't have it, they shrink, gape, then melt.
 
killerbubbles said:
nah, i have some that get almost no flow and they do just fine.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree that some individuals will prefer less flow, I'm specifically responding to the op's question of a declining bta. In my experience (just mine) flow is an important factor on bringing a nem back from the brink. I've even brought them back with torn oral discs and mesentries exposed.

But as for sustainment, as killer bubbles stated, they MAY prefer less flow.
 
Dr foster and smith keeps gen under metal halides i doubt your getting tooo much light, you may not have strong enough light to keep it alive. They can bleach from not havin strong enough lightening.

Do you run carbon your lps can also cause your nems to get stresed?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
First SPS coral. Is this bleaching?
Replies
6
Views
371
apavlik2
A
rrrrob
Thoughts on Purigen?
Replies
11
Views
565
alejandrodia
A
AZBigJohn
What is my RBTA doing?
Replies
4
Views
988
AZBigJohn
AZBigJohn
F
Icp high iron phosphate and iodine help
Replies
4
Views
295
wvned
wvned
B
Ritteri Swollen Mouth
Replies
8
Views
598
Bakeman
B
Back
Top