thank joe, also another question how does Giesemann Super Actinic compare to Ati true actinic or are they really similar?
Sorry for the uber slow update . . . As an old time US aquarist I started the hobby using UVL Super Actinics for dawn/dusk viewing and still think that is the nicest "blue" lighting out there. The Giesemann Super Actinic is identical in appearance (at least to my eyes) where as the ATI True Actinic induces slightly less fluorescence.
Great looking tank, nice purple chirstmas tree you have there :inlove:
Tragically the Christmas Tree or Purple Monster got hit with something. I managed to frag it and so far 5 frags have survived. If I lose all the frags I'll be truly heart broken as that is my favorite coral of all time.
Good question! I have wondered the same.. Probably a mix of both..
But rows and rows of t5 really help fill in the shadows.. Makes the photo you are starting with (before editing) much easier to play with. More information, more well lit areas..
Deborah is taking some pretty amazing pics as well... If you're interested..
Loving your tank, Joe!
Thanks!
Overall Update:
So I'm about 4 months into using the ATI LED Powermodule and I feel I have seen some interesting results both positive and negative. Overall I feel the colors in my tank are outstanding, but I was struggling with getting reds and pinks to really pop, plus my stylophora that was directly under an LED cluster was "burning" on the top, and my strawberry shortcake was brown in one small area where it lay under an LED cluster, and I was having trouble with diatoms on my sand, and I felt my OT (Oregon Tort) was ever so slightly paler than I like. I therefore turned the LEDs off except for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. I had been running them 14 hours but only at 35% peak power. I didn't think they would have much effect at such low power.
It has now been a month without fulltime LED and I have noted several changes all for the better.
1) The brown area on the strawberry shortcake is almost all gone and the colony is regaining full color.
2) My purple humilis which was pale purple is turning radiant and deep purple.
3) My OT is regaining a deeper blue.
4) The pink birdsnest is turning to a glowing pink and a red coral that I have been growing from a tiny frag is suddenly changing from just dull brick red to a bright glowing red.
5) The top of the stylophora is healing.
6) A deep water suharsoi that was green is turning glowing white with radiant yellow tips.
7) The diatoms on my sand are gone.
Bottom line: 14 hours of LED light at 30% was not good for some of my corals. If I had to guess I would say that PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is not as harmless as folks think. Although the LED looks dim to our eye the coral is feeling a firehose of photons that are turned on and off and this negatively impacts some zoox.
Not scientific at all just the observations of a long time aquarist.
Will try to get some photos later
