brown acro under vho

[goda]

i have a 130 gallon reef tank with VHO only lighting (770 watts. 2 bulbs are blocked by over flow and those 2 bulbs plus one otehr are on a dimmer most of the day.

then the other 4 bulbs are only on 1/2 the day


well i got an acro at the LFS ( 3 inches tall) at the lfs and put it in the bottom 1/3 of my tank it was brown

well now about 3 weeks later it is a nice dark green ^^ ( color it was when the lfs first got it months ago) currently my system is nutrient rich so i never expected that it would color up

how big of role do nutrients play in coloration of coral.
also who said sps need to be placed near the surface when using vho ^^

anyways happy reefing

( posted in reefdiscousions and was pointed here)

 

[ClownReef®]

Dont expect any growth from VHOs..VHO's play a role of coloration (supplement stronger lighting, i.e Metal Halide).. and nutrient rich water will NOT help at all, so nutrients are a key component in the coloration process.

About "who said SPS need to be placed near the surface when using VHO's"..well, you will want the strongest light available for your coral, and that would be as close to your VHOs as possible.

 

[goda]

double post

 

[goda]

well considering that there is new growth ( 2 new lil nubs with polyps on them .) and the coloration improving .

anyways the things that supprised me is that it is actualy coloring up in the nutrient rich water and taht i didnt expect. ( still working some bugs outa the system skimmer isnt recieving water all the time)

anyways. what are some higher light corals / colors that i could try ( currently have hydnophora, acropora ( green) montipora (red/ ornge) frogspawn ( color is very light . it think its getting to much light)

 

[Shawnts106]

Dont expect any growth from VHOs..

WOW there bud, ya' best back off that "fact"...

I have 4 species of acropora under 440watts of VHO's (2 50/50 and 2 actinics) and my growth is great...

I have a beautiful Tortusa that grows like a weed, I have fragged it just a week or so ago and Its already encrusting and the color is amazing, BTW: its at the BOTTOM of my tank 75gallons...

but the mother colony is at the very top.


I have a Tonga Bonsai, that has OK growth, not INSANE! but good, and its coloring up alright, I got it totally brown, like cardboard brown , but not its a purple with neon green polyps... so its getting there...

I have a frag of Valida, that is coloring up and encrusting very nicely,

and I got a frag of Cerise ( acropora subulata ) that grows like a weed!

I have Monti danaes that grow quite quickly, I have monti caps that grow quite quickly, what a surprise...
digitata, etc......

YES, you can VERY WELL keep acros under VHOS and have good growth!... just keep the bulbs fresh, replacing them every 6 to 8 months...

Im switching to T5's so Im expecting more growth...
Going with a MIDDAY from ATI, 2 BLUE+ one from ATI and one from GMANN and a 12K from ATI...

the Midday really helps kickout the nessesary PAR for SPS

anyways the things that supprised me is that it is actualy coloring up in the nutrient rich water and taht i didnt expect.

Dont be, Some species of acros are pretty hardy when it comes to nutrient buildup... others like Valida are the first to brown out on you...

depends on where they are from on the reef.

 

[ClownReef®]

WHOA "bud"..I meant actinics..

 

[garvondavis14]

lol you guys crack me up

 

[ClownReef®]

..Seriously, i dont think you can expect any reasonable growth under actinics.

 

[jackson6745]

The dark green "colored up" color is typical of system with a high phosphate level. Certain SPS look better in high nutrient conditions such as purple/green polyp bonsai and efflos to name a couple, but he majority of your corals will be green or brown.

Nutrient level is everything in coloring up SPS.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8038870#post8038870 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ClownReef®
Dont expect any growth from VHOs..VHO's play a role of coloration (supplement stronger lighting, i.e Metal Halide).. and nutrient rich water will NOT help at all, so nutrients are a key component in the coloration process.

About "who said SPS need to be placed near the surface when using VHO's"..well, you will want the strongest light available for your coral, and that would be as close to your VHOs as possible.

Clown Reef, contrary to popular belief, the PAR in line source lighted tanks may actually be HIGHER at the bottom of the tank than it is at the TOP of the tank. The light from an individual bulb drops off in a pretty linear fashion (as opposed to exponential dropoff in a point source), but as you get deep, multiple bulbs overlap, so you get additive affects.


770w of VHO is WAY more than enough light to grow SPS in a 130.

 

[adw]

I had 660W on a 75 and I had great growth and color. I had some 250W halides sitting around so I switched over to get the shimmer lines but I'm starting to wonder if it was a mistake.

 

[RichConley]

ADW, a good halide bulb is about twice as efficient as a VHO tube.

The problem is, most of the reflectors people use are crap.

 

[adw]

I don't doubt it. I'm definately interested to see what the long term results are going to be. I'm currently using spider reflectors. The thing that bothers me is when people say that you can't grow acros or other SPS under VHO. OF course you can and with great colors. I had some great acropora growth once I learned to keep my hands out of the tank.

 

[Shawnts106]

WHOA "bud"..I meant actinics..

HAHA! sorry, thought you where referring to ALL VHO bulbs... my bad!

The thing that bothers me is when people say that you can't grow acros or other SPS under VHO. OF course you can and with great colors. I had some great acropora growth once I learned to keep my hands out of the tank.

Ummm-huhhhh I hear that! haha

 

[ClownReef®]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8042792#post8042792 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
Clown Reef, contrary to popular belief, the PAR in line source lighted tanks may actually be HIGHER at the bottom of the tank than it is at the TOP of the tank. The light from an individual bulb drops off in a pretty linear fashion (as opposed to exponential dropoff in a point source), but as you get deep, multiple bulbs overlap, so you get additive affects.


770w of VHO is WAY more than enough light to grow SPS in a 130.

Thats weird..that goes against all my beliefs about "top of tank=high light..bottom=lower" theory..well, hypothesis now, LOL..I learned something new today..but it doesnt really make any sense..