Jackson's 115 Gallon Custom Cube 32x32x26

[jackson6745]

I think your on the right path with your lighting schedule. I used to run all 8 bulbs for 8 hours per day and things didnt grow well. Dropped it to 6 full bulbs and 10 hours 2 bulbs now much greater color and things are growing again with better PE.

Good to know. I substituted the old metal halide photoperiod with the peak t5 photoperiod (which is 6 hrs). Seems to be a good place to start. I'm seeing corals react positively already. Better PE on some pieces and I see some increased growth in just 2 days.

Looks great Rich, shipping that thing had me crazy stressed!

Thank you Tyler. I can't believe someone didn't pick this up sooner. I would get from time to time for a 10 bulb ATI but pretty much gave up looking.... well, almost The packing was perfect. :thumbsup:

Tank is looking great Richard. This will most certainly be a VERY good test; seeing how the ATI T5 stacks up against the mighty 400w 20K Radium.

I've been having crazy thoughts of going 400W Radium with T5 and LED over my 47G...:hmm4:

But deep down I dont think the results will be all that much different. And I will have to deal with crazy heat.

Can you take down top shots, as well as a long video (pausing a second or two above the corals) to get an idea of the state of corals now. And do a similar video in a couple of months. You have a similar video or two somewhere on your thread so it would be great to compare. :thumbsup:

You would definitely have to deal with more heat from a 400w, but not to bad from a single halide. I still love the 400w radium, and have no plans on selling my giesemann fixture. I just think the t5 will grow the SPS quicker and more densely than the halide. I've had this experience with halide vs t5 before on smaller tanks, and I have always admired good t5 tanks since (even though I ran halide). I may use the radium over a frag tank to bake crazy colors from some pieces.

You are getting primo colors on your SPS right now, and your pieces are getting larger. I wouldn't switch if I were you :clown: I'll get a video up soon

Good to see things coming back around Rich

You're going to love the T5's..............the only thing I miss about my halides is the shimmer lines. As mentioned be careful, they are more potent than 400w halides.

Thanks Ed. The tank is so evenly lit now. It's not as bright as the directly under the 400w obviously, but it's bright everywhere. I see SPS on the outskirts of the tank already waking up with more PE and growth.

 

[MetroKat]

Still rocking it Rich.

 

[jackson6745]

Tank is looking great Richard. This will most certainly be a VERY good test; seeing how the ATI T5 stacks up against the mighty 400w 20K Radium.

I've been having crazy thoughts of going 400W Radium with T5 and LED over my 47G...:hmm4:

But deep down I dont think the results will be all that much different. And I will have to deal with crazy heat.

Can you take down top shots, as well as a long video (pausing a second or two above the corals) to get an idea of the state of corals now. And do a similar video in a couple of months. You have a similar video or two somewhere on your thread so it would be great to compare. :thumbsup:

I did this for you lol Not happy about the way the tank is now, but happy about the progress it made over the last 6 weeks since at some point the entire tank was stning
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hEho13s3Zus" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Still rocking it Rich.

Thanks Kat

 

[JB NY]

Great Video, loved it, the tank is looking great!

 

[reefmutt]

Great video! Corals are looking super vibrant!
Got me a little sea sick in spots but I'll forgive you tossing the phone around like that!
Also loved the gratuitous pinch o flake feeding at the end.
How long have you had the Hawaiian flame? Did I see a female in there as well? Love that fish..

 

[echopiece]

Nice video... I like your borbonius anthias

 

[jackson6745]

Great Video, loved it, the tank is looking great!

Thanks Joe. I appreciate it.

Great video! Corals are looking super vibrant!
Got me a little sea sick in spots but I'll forgive you tossing the phone around like that!
Also loved the gratuitous pinch o flake feeding at the end.
How long have you had the Hawaiian flame? Did I see a female in there as well? Love that fish..

Sorry about the seasickness Using an iPhone 6 for the video and walking around, climbing my step ladder = shaky video. I have a Flame pair in the tank for 19 months now. I almost lost the male several months back because of a labouti wrasse that became aggressive all of a sudden. I actually picked up the flame with my hand and placed in my sump for a more peaceful death. The next morning he was up and about ready to eat I ended up catching the labouti and getting rid of him.

Nice video... I like your borbonius anthias

Thanks Marty. 15 months with that one so far. It's doubled in size since I got it.

 

[jackson6745]

I took Par reading with the new light. Reading are very comparable to the 400w radium + t5 Giesmann that I had on there. With the ATI 10 bulb I am getting 750 at the water surface, 400-550 mid level, and 280-350 in the lower third. 280 was the lowest reading that I got anywhere in the tank. The nice thing about the T5's is that these numbers remain the same width wise in the tank. No dim spots anywhere. I noticed colors getting little lighter so I raised the fixture an inch and shortened PP to 5 hours with all bulbs on.

 

[cFloor]

I really enjoyed your video. Your colors are really looking good and I LOVE your fish selection. Great work!

 

[reefmutt]

Man.. I just ungraded from 150w radium a to 250w... Now I want to go t5!

 

[echopiece]

Thanks Marty. 15 months with that one so far. It's doubled in size since I got it.

Nice! I know you have mentioned in the past somewhere in this thread... But what temp do you keep the water? From what I've read, those fish like slightly cooler temps. I'm not sure how successful I would be with one as my tank stays around 79-80.

 

[markalot]

Loved the video Rich, I especially liked the fact you kept it running while turning pumps off and such. It's just like being there.

 

[sahin]

I did this for you lol

Really appreciate the video. :thumbsup: Corals look great, I hope the deep colours are retained long term.

You can easily rewire the unit so 4 tubes come on a dawn/dusk rather than 2.

Love your fish selection, was awesome seeing them in feed mode.

Look forward to video no. 2 in a couple of months. :celeb1:

 

[Big E]

Awesome:thumbsup:

I especially liked that Palmers( if that's what it was?) colony

 

[jackson6745]

I really enjoyed your video. Your colors are really looking good and I LOVE your fish selection. Great work!

Thanks

Man.. I just ungraded from 150w radium a to 250w... Now I want to go t5!

Nah, 250w radium on a small system will be just fine. I still have my giesemann fixture and don't plan on getting rid of it. Even if I don't use it over the display again, I'm sure it will end up on a frag tank.

Nice! I know you have mentioned in the past somewhere in this thread... But what temp do you keep the water? From what I've read, those fish like slightly cooler temps. I'm not sure how successful I would be with one as my tank stays around 79-80.

my tank runs from 77-78. I'm not sure if this is consider cooler. I think a lot of guys keep blotchys successfully with higher temps?

Loved the video Rich, I especially liked the fact you kept it running while turning pumps off and such. It's just like being there.

Glad you like the effect LOL That's mostly from my lack of editing skills

Really appreciate the video. :thumbsup: Corals look great, I hope the deep colours are retained long term.

You can easily rewire the unit so 4 tubes come on a dawn/dusk rather than 2.

Love your fish selection, was awesome seeing them in feed mode.

Look forward to video no. 2 in a couple of months. :celeb1:

I think initially colors will fade, and like with anything it will be a balancing act to get them deep again. We'll see. :hmm5: I'll report back in November.

Awesome:thumbsup:

I especially liked that Palmers( if that's what it was?) colony

Thanks Ed. That big blue/green colonyis actually my rainbow tenuis. I lost most of the red on it. That coral is a PITA! I'll get the color back eventually. :headwally:

 

[markalot]

Sorry you lost color, but the documentation is awesome. I've never had anything look that good so seeing a high quality and obviously unedited video, with corals that have great color, but not the best according to you, is a huge help.

My wife pointed out my blue stag and remarked how she loved the blue. That's not blue, it's brown with blue highlights. It's supposed to be almost solid blue. She says she likes it just the way it is. :strange: No, it must be solid blue or I fail.

I'm working on a nice solid color, you're working on rainbow colors. That's where the extra years of experience comes in. :lol:

 

[jackson6745]

I'm working on a nice solid color, you're working on rainbow colors. That's where the extra years of experience comes in. :lol:

:lolspin::lolspin: We all had tough times getting colors at times. Eventually you'll know exactly what you have to do to lighten or darken colors... As for the rainbows, I really have no idea what to do lol

 

[ReefWreak]

My wife pointed out my blue stag and remarked how she loved the blue. That's not blue, it's brown with blue highlights. It's supposed to be almost solid blue. She says she likes it just the way it is. :strange: No, it must be solid blue or I fail.

Someone commented on how they liked the color of my SSC frag, and it just made me :facepalm: because it's currently mostly brown with a little bit of red and green here and there. I know it'll color up, but I made sure to tell them that it's still very much a work in progress.

Still nice when people appreciate what they see, even if we're not happy with it!

 

[JB NY]

Even with the setback you had recently it looks great Rich! Still can't believe you went to all T5.

 

[reefmutt]

My mother in law, who knows nothing about aquariums and cares less but tries to be nice, used to always come over and say 'oh, your aquarium is so.... Clean!'
That's about all she ever saw.. God love her!! At least I had a clean front glass............