Do I need MH?

[DSMcL]

Hi all, thanks for reading. I have a 90 gallon tank with some weak orbit LEDs and 6 t5 ho's. I am replacing the existing bulbs in the t5s with ATI blue plus and ATI actinic.

I would like to be able to keep more than just soft corals, but am comfortable with not being able to keep corals that would require very high lighting. s limitations are ok,but I don't want to have to stick with only low light requiring requirements.

That said, will my current lighting support this, or should I try to get a new set with MHs in it?

Thanks!

 

[acer]

Good LED's or metal Halides work best. Not sure what the Par is on the orbits - but 6 T5's alone can support SPS if they are place high in the tank on rock work with a mix of white and blue/purple bulbs with good ballasts for the T5's . Sure you may get better growth with MH's, but they are not necessary with most corals IMO.

 

[DSMcL]

Thanks acer! The fixture is nova extreme pro, and I've ordered the 54 watt ati bulbs so far. Was thinking of buying a set with t5 and mh, but if I'd be ok without them, I'd rather not spend the money .

Someday real LEDs would be great, but those would come with a costly divorce...

Here's the specs on the orbits, they worked much better on my 55, I'm hoping for the t5 ho's with good bulbs will save the day

http://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Orbit_Marine_Light_Specifications.jpg

 

[acer]

So, basically you have a somewhat low output LED ( par is about 150 at somewhat high rock placement ) - then you adding 6 x 54 watt T5's on top of that? What is the color of the LED's in the Orbit? IF they aren't just white you could mix up the T5 bulbs and use HO white, a blues, and a purple on each side of the Orbit- will that work ? Guess that would require the t5's to be mounted in a canopy and not in a fixture already.

You should be good unless you get a super high light requiring SPS. Some do require 600 PAR with lights that are not just white/red spectrum. Other are not so picky and do fine at 250 par. SO you have to research the specific type of SPS - as that is a pretty broad category.

 

[DSMcL]

I can definitely arrange the bulbs as such. I have only ordered 2 so far, both blues. So I can grab two purples and two whites.

The LEDs are both blue and white.

Thanks for the help! I am pretty excited to be able to keep more than soft corals.

Now to wait for my tank to settle after the move ...

 

[acer]

remember the SPS corals health is not entirely about light- flow/current around them, ca+,alk, PH, etc.all need to be good.

 

[krshlln300]

Montipora is easy to grow successfully in lower light. Mine did fine with stock biocube lighting toward the top. And that was about 5 years ago before they upgraded their canopies.

 

[vlangel]

I have T5 lighting with no supplementary lighting and I keep a crocea clam high in the tank and some easy sps. My LPS do great so you can do a lot with t5s.

 

[DSMcL]

That's awesome news vlangel! Thank you!

I just got 2 ATI Blue Plus, a purple plus and a true actinic. I'm thinking of going with a CoralPlus and maybe another Blue plus for the last two.

 

[DSMcL]

acer: Very true about flow and conditions. Getting that second line ran for the UV filter should help a lot. Attaching it to my return really slowed the flow in my tank

 

[MondoBongo]

i've seen plenty of awesome tanks running T5HO fixtures that support all kinds of SPS and LPS. you just have to be judicious about placement.

on a 90 gallon, you could cover it with two AI Hydra or EcoTech Radion fixtures. that will run you somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000 - $1300, depending on the exact fixture. not too bad all things considered.

and you know what's cheaper than a divorce? buying your wife a very nice handbag from her favorite designer.

it works quite well when you want to upgrade lighting.

 

[acer]

I am soo lucky- the wife supports my reef. - Although she does raise an eyebrow sometimes about the cash.