FarmerTy 215-gal No Water Change SPS Tank
- Thread starter FarmerTy
- Start date
Thanks bud! I feel like you're the only one on Reefcentral that does anymore! [emoji23]
Yeah, they definitely give the corals a good pop but I feel like the GE 6500K bulb also brings out a ton of complimentary colors too that usually get washed out by too much actinics.
Yeah, they have your regular 450 royal blue diodes and then 420 violets in a 3:1 ratio.
Thanks bud! The last two months have been a growing frenzy!
reefmutt
Active member
It’s funny, when I started in thisnhobby, there was no such thing as metal halide or high output fluorescent.. just food ol’ T12.
The first bulbs I ever used were ge 65k and Phillips actinic. 50/50 combo.
It’s amusing that after vho, then t5 and mh mogul base and de and then leds... and now back to ge 65 k.
Do they make a t5 version now? It’s interesting... I’d give one a try... maybe for
A while..
The first bulbs I ever used were ge 65k and Phillips actinic. 50/50 combo.
It’s amusing that after vho, then t5 and mh mogul base and de and then leds... and now back to ge 65 k.
Do they make a t5 version now? It’s interesting... I’d give one a try... maybe for
A while..
Haha, great summary of the history of the lighting technologies and way to date yourself. [emoji12]
You can buy the 48" GE 6500k easily online but the 60" is like near impossible to find sold singly.
reefmutt
Active member
Ha! It's true... I ain't no spring chicken anymore!
I'll check out that bulb online...
jjoos99
New member
I too started with 60in vho bulbs. Had 4 overtop a 120 gallon berlin style tank with a spinner head bioball sump and an all glass skimmer that used wooden air stones. Had great success with lps, didnt know what sps was back then.
You pictures are really fantastic. True coloration without all the actinic/ filters and editing. Nice job
Jeff
You pictures are really fantastic. True coloration without all the actinic/ filters and editing. Nice job
Jeff
Thanks Jeff! Its fun to get back to more natural shots and not just closeups of frags and Actinics/filters, etc.
I started with a nanocube and PC lighting. I made the jump to a larger tank and got MHs and 2 Super Actinic VHO tubes. It was awesome!
Came time to finally remove my giant cyphastrea rock that has been in my system for 6+ years and in 3 different systems.
Here it is back in 2013 and 2014 in my old 125 gallon... Two systems ago. Yes, I did at one time enjoy my zoas. [emoji16]
It has completely covered both sides of this massive rock and was a home to my Midas blenny.
Lately it has just looked out of place in a predominantly acro tank and I made the decision to finally pull it. It is currently in my frag tank until I have time to take a saw, hammer, and chisel the thing and pass it along to my fellow reefers.
Before:
The carnage in the middle:
After:
FTS After:
So much better now that there is an open chasm and not a giant cyphastrea rock just jutting out of nowhere.
Here it is back in 2013 and 2014 in my old 125 gallon... Two systems ago. Yes, I did at one time enjoy my zoas. [emoji16]
It has completely covered both sides of this massive rock and was a home to my Midas blenny.
Lately it has just looked out of place in a predominantly acro tank and I made the decision to finally pull it. It is currently in my frag tank until I have time to take a saw, hammer, and chisel the thing and pass it along to my fellow reefers.
Before:
The carnage in the middle:
After:
FTS After:
So much better now that there is an open chasm and not a giant cyphastrea rock just jutting out of nowhere.
I guess it would make more sense if I mentioned why there was so much carnage in the middle. Everyone was probably thinking... Uhhh... You just picked up a giant rock and removed it... How did all the corals get slimey and why is it so cloudy in the tank?
I took this opportunity to remove my Colorado Sunburst split, which was attached to a rock at the bottom of the tank. So I removed 6 rocks and then picked up the bottom rock and removed the anemone. Then replaced everything and bolstered the right side of the left rock scape now that the cyphastrea rock was gone. I reglued my Slimer to the middle of the scape and moved my Vivid Aquariums Rainbow Delight colony since it was coloring up nicely lately and getting horribly shaded by my unnamed pink mille growing gangbusters to the right of it.
I took this opportunity to remove my Colorado Sunburst split, which was attached to a rock at the bottom of the tank. So I removed 6 rocks and then picked up the bottom rock and removed the anemone. Then replaced everything and bolstered the right side of the left rock scape now that the cyphastrea rock was gone. I reglued my Slimer to the middle of the scape and moved my Vivid Aquariums Rainbow Delight colony since it was coloring up nicely lately and getting horribly shaded by my unnamed pink mille growing gangbusters to the right of it.
Removing the giant cyphastrea rock was just the first phase on my transformation of the tank. There are some colonies that I will be looking to move into the frag tank or move along entirely and some frags/mini colonies I'm looking to put in the display.
I've circled in RED colonies/frags that'll be leaving the display.
I've circled in HOT PINK the ones that will be moved to another location but staying in the display.
I've circled in ORANGE the ones I'm a bit undecided on still. They may stay a bit longer to fill space but once more frags are ready to be added to the display, they may get booted.
I've circled in RED colonies/frags that'll be leaving the display.
I've circled in HOT PINK the ones that will be moved to another location but staying in the display.
I've circled in ORANGE the ones I'm a bit undecided on still. They may stay a bit longer to fill space but once more frags are ready to be added to the display, they may get booted.
Send me a FTS and I'll pull out my circling fingers. [emoji12]
jhammond
New member
How much impact do you're led actinic bars create when running along w the t5s. Will the 8 t5 bulbs overpower the effects of the led strips? What do you believe the benefits of running them? Is it better viewing, added shimmer or maybe moon lighting/late night viewing? I'm about to setup a new tank and really considering going 8-t5s. Trying to figure out if I did go all t5s what the real benefit of adding the led strip.I think I finally did it! I think I found the perfect T5 bulb combo over my tank when matched with two SBREEF actinic bars. The look I was going for was nice white with a hint of blue from the T5s (12k to 14k) and the pop of LEDs. Adding the GE 6500k bulb really helped balance out all the blue actinic pop I was getting from the two SBREEF actinic bars and preserve some of the warmer tones that get lost in a lot of reef tanks.
That way I can still enjoy more natural looking colors during daylight with the extra pop from LEDs. During dusk/dawn, I can appreciate all those blue light specials like all the rainbow tenuis that seem to be all the rage these days but look pretty ordinary under normal lighting.
Here's the bulb combo:
SBREEF actinic bar
-B+
-C+
-P+
-Actinic
-GE 6500k
-B+
-C+
-B+
SBREEF actinic bar
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They are quite impactful... Enough that I can run a much warmer spectrum with the T5s and then once the two actinic bars are on, it balances it out to my preferred 12k-14k look. Without them and with my current bulb selection, its got a good yellowish tint to the color.
Benefits are increased flourescing pigments, dawn/dusk, ability to tune color since they are dimmable, and being able to take those fun actinic shots people go nuts over.
