Green poly toadstool leather color fading

[Rayho]

My Green poly toadstool leather color is fading a bit since I had it for a week. It was greener...and seems to fade a bit. I have 6 Giesemann T5 (4 Aquablue plus & 2 Actinic Plus)

My question is:

Should I place it higher or lower to get back the lime green color that it orginally have?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

Well first, what type of fixture do you have? Obviously a 6 bulb t5 setup, but what brand, what type of reflectors, how deep is the tank, etc?

I used ATI brand bulbs w/SLR reflectors over my 40b and my green toad had awesome color. This pic is like the week i got my toadstool, and apparently i didnt take any more pics after that to show a comparison, but it turned even more green than this pic after about 3 months or so, and the colors popped a lot more after a while, and the base turned a lot more purple, rather than that brownish/yellow base that shows in this pic.

However, now i've got that same coral under the exact same bulbs (actually 2 more bulbs...i got a 6 bulb fixture now, with the same exact bulbs) about the same height in the tank, and its lost lots of color. I'd say its more of a yellowish green now, not that nice metalic green it was before. My fixture now is the nova extreme, and even though there's 2 more bulbs, it doesnt light up nearly as well as the other w/the SLR reflectors

So basically, i'm trying to show proof that with t5's, you need to make sure you've got the right reflectors...otherwise they arent so great. Unfortunately, i dont have the comparison picture of what it looks like now under the new fixture, but i'll work on getting that up in the next day or so.

 

[Rayho]

Thanks for the info.

However, would it be possible that your changes are due to more light, rather than the reflector?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

nah, i dont think so really. The tank is noticeably dimmer than when i had just the 4 bulb SLR retro. Its the nova extreme 6 bulb fixture that i have now, and its just not as bright, even visually. IMO, the nova reflectors are just junk compared to the SLR ones.

That, and toads like lots and lots of light. MH or very good t5's is like ideal for them as far as getting the best colors (obviously, either of those light types have to be matched with a decent lamp too...just because its a great t5 or MH, if you put just a 10K bulb, you wont have the best colors).

I've had probably 5 different types of leathers now, and they all looked considerably better the brighter the light. Brown toads turned a nice golden/honey color for me under the right lights, fiji yellows, green toads, devils hand, etc... Brighter the better for them IMO