Do I have too much light?
- Thread starter Jmunk
- Start date
Oh really? Cool. Everything but his tips are very well colored.
Forgot to mention my tank is mostly softies and leathers, with three SPS.
ATI bulbs, had them for maybe 5-6ish months.
Had these corals for all about a 6 months,some more, some less. No supplementing.
That's the thing, I can't really tell. I mean they look fine and my frogspawn is growing, but I'm not sure what they're supposed to look like when they're really thriving and colorful since this is my first tank, you know?
pledosophy
Active member
a 6 bulb on a 90 is not to much light. Nor is a 12 bulb. The sun is like really freakin bright. Corals can hang.
DubiousMaximus
New member
FWIW there are blogs here you can search, mabe by 6xt5 setups as possible guide? Some folks add their setups to tags
If you post pics of your coral im sure the community will help guide furtther. after all, the hobby is nota hobby without the captives
If you post pics of your coral im sure the community will help guide furtther. after all, the hobby is nota hobby without the captives
Dkuhlmann
New member
Why would you suggest adding Kalk to the top off water if you don't know what the parameters are? Since the OP only 3 SPS and sounds like one LPS they should have no need for dosing anything, water changes should take care of any nutrient needs since there isn't much in the system that would use kalk.
Your lights are fine with the exception that it's probably time to change the bulbs. I would suggest getting one of these LED's for $83 includes shipping. I've got one and a buddy of mine that has a side business of raising corals has several. You will need one for every 24-30 inches of tank. They say that they cover 24"x24" area but it's actually a bit bigger. They also have a 36" 300w that you will see when you go to the link a bit further down the page. Same lights just covers more area.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/251495773757?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82
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SeedlessOne
Member
Come on, bulbs 5-6 months old are just fine. No need to to trash those.
And also suggesting throwing away his t5 fixture. Great advice for the thread.
twon8
Formally registered membe
I don't need to know his parameters to suggest topping off with Kalk, since Kalk shouldn't be used to raise levels, only maintain them, which I what I would be trying to do. And the levels I'm taking about are not nutrient levels such as PO4 or nitrate, but rather alkalinity and calcium which can be used very quickly by sps corals and water changes alone will not be enough to keep them up after a certain point. Kalk topoff has many benefits besides maintaining alkalinity and calcium; I wouldn't run a tank without Kalk topoff, even my qt has it.
twon8
Formally registered membe
I suggest an alkalinity test kit and some baking soda to bump up your alkalinity once you find out where it stands.
Dkuhlmann
New member
Actually they're not and need to be changed between 6-9 months so to sell the lights with 4 or 5 months is actually a smart thing to do since they are about half life. And the reason I suggested getting the LED is it's cheaper to buy the LED setup than to buy replacement bulbs. It actually was good advice, I'm sorry you didn't comprehend what or why I was posting it
AND I just bought an LED to replace my T5s so I practice what I preach.
SkullV
They Got My Number
If you find the necessity to replace bulbs in a T5 fixture every 6 months you must have been running a horribly designed fixture with some very inefficient ballasts. A quality T5 bulb with proper cooling and power supply can run 12-15 months, although over 12 is beginning to push it.
As far as te individual above blindly recommending kalk, where do you posit the additional calcium and alkalinity goes of it isn't being used by corals or bonding to rock/sand? Adding "kalk" (quotation marks were used because you also didn't recommend a saturation level) to a tank that isn't going to need it is a good way to raise alk levels to a dangerously high point. Sure at some point it will precipitate out adding unnecessary wear to pumps and other moving items, but until then, a good way to crash a tank.
Dkuhlmann
New member
It's actually a very good quality fixture and works very well. Its AquaticLife T5 HO 24" 4 Lamp Fixture w/ Lunar Lights. I've done extensive reading on the T5 bulbs and it's recommended to change them in the 6-9 month period. Could that be because ATI wishes to sell more bulbs? Maybe, but they have a good argument as well. It's sometime during that period that the lights start degrading so instead of having issues with corals it's the time recommended to change them. And it's cheaper to buy the LED's that I suggested than to purchase the T5 bulbs in most cases.
I'm not saying that I had to change them and I know that some people let them go longer than I was suggesting, again it was my opinion on what I've read from ATI.
I agree with you as to why I said not to blindly add Kalk without testing. Never add anything that will affect the parameters unless you test for it as the levels need to be monitored when making any changes. Also the OP doesn't sound like he has enough corals to diminish any of the parameters that wouldn't be taken care of with an every two week WC. Again IMO and IME with my own tank. I've however recently added many more LPS and a few SPS so I'll monitor levels more closely to make sure they're not using it up too quickly between my 20% every two week WC.
I'm not saying that I had to change them and I know that some people let them go longer than I was suggesting, again it was my opinion on what I've read from ATI.
I agree with you as to why I said not to blindly add Kalk without testing. Never add anything that will affect the parameters unless you test for it as the levels need to be monitored when making any changes. Also the OP doesn't sound like he has enough corals to diminish any of the parameters that wouldn't be taken care of with an every two week WC. Again IMO and IME with my own tank. I've however recently added many more LPS and a few SPS so I'll monitor levels more closely to make sure they're not using it up too quickly between my 20% every two week WC.
