Lighting help - LED / T5HO combo

[Slayer33]

Hello,

Needs some advice... I have a 60 gallon tank. It's 18" deep. I have a reed tank with fish and soft corals and LPS corals.

I have been using a Current USA Orbit IC light.. not marine not pro. It's a 36" unit. I was told that I should add a T5HO light to my setup cause the Orbit IC is weak.

So I got a dual t5ho fixture and added 1x Fluval 39W atinic and 1x Fluval 39W power spectrum bulb.

I use the Orbit IC peak day setting at 100% blue 30% white 50% green and 30% red. The t5ho runs for 6 hours during the peak time..

My issue is the color of my zoas at the bottom of the tank.. they've turn brown but are still growing.. color is minimal..

Should I change the settings on the Orbit IC? Or maybe it's too much white and I should change the t5ho to 2x atinic blubs a d crank the white on the Orbit? Maybe a different t5ho bulb from a different manufacturer?

Thanks in advance

 

[jayball]

I can not comment on the quality or spectrum of fluval bulbs but I will throw out the general suggestion of using ATI or Geisman bulbs, it is entirely possible that those bulbs are equivalent. What is your tank dimensions, I can not find a 60 gallon 18" deep?

 

[pisanoal]

I wouldnt even count that orbit fixture as useable light. Id consider it supplementation only. T5s are your main light source. I second the opinion to go ATI as well. I would probably add at least 1 more bulb too.

18 inches isnt overly deep, but its not shallow either. What t5 fixture did you add? Id pretty surprised if you were getting 75 par on the sand bed.

 

[jayball]

the orbit strip is worth roughly one t-5 HO bulb, if it is turned up to 100% on white and blue.

keep in mind this will be directly below the fixture, not off to the sides of it where the par will drop off significantly.

https://current-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Orbit-Marine-PRO-PAR.pdf

 

[Slayer33]

It's a power glo dual t5ho fixture.. made by hagen. It's a custom tank (58 gallon actually) that I bought used. It's 20" tall but I have a 2" sand bed.

It takes 34" 39W t5ho bulbs... not sure if ATI makes 34" t5ho bulbs..

I could replace the Orbit IC with a second dual t5ho fixture.. but I do like the control with the day, sunset and evening settings

 

[Slayer33]

I can not comment on the quality or spectrum of fluval bulbs but I will throw out the general suggestion of using ATI or Geisman bulbs, it is entirely possible that those bulbs are equivalent. What is your tank dimensions, I can not find a 60 gallon 18" deep?

My mistake, the tank is 58 gallons and the measurement is 36L x 18W x 21T

 

[jayball]

It's a power glo dual t5ho fixture.. made by hagen. It's a custom tank (58 gallon actually) that I bought used. It's 20" tall but I have a 2" sand bed.

It takes 34" 39W t5ho bulbs... not sure if ATI makes 34" t5ho bulbs..

I could replace the Orbit IC with a second dual t5ho fixture.. but I do like the control with the day, sunset and evening settings

That is the standard "3 foot" t-5 bulb. all the normal t-5 tubes available will fit.

can you fit a second t-5 with the led strip in between? then you will have appropriate lighting power for the tank and you can retain the dusk to dawn from the LED.

This will still not be appropriate for keeping the highest light SPS but you will be good for most coral.

 

[Slayer33]

That is the standard "3 foot" t-5 bulb. all the normal t-5 tubes available will fit.

can you fit a second t-5 with the led strip in between? then you will have appropriate lighting power for the tank and you can retain the dusk to dawn and a little extra light from the LED.

getting a second dual T5 fixture will be hard while retaining the LED..

I don't see how the existing setup is so bad.... I had a Fluval EVO 13.5 tank with the stock LED light and I never had any issues with vibrant colors, tho the coral growth wasn't as fast as it is now with the T5 on the bigger tank.. Guess its hard to tell without a PAR meter.. the tank is still young.. only been running for a couple months now... perhaps this is why? I had the zoas near the top before and that's when they lost color after moving them from my Fluval tank.. I moved them down to the sand bed a month ago and added the T5HO and the color is slowly creeping back in "I think"..

All my other corals are nice and bright..

 

[jayball]

Lots of people keep coral successfully under less than textbook perfect conditions. Some coral may take thoughtful positioning, some May grow slower than under higher light. It is not a big deal, but you will be limited in some ways.

Your original idea of using 2 blue bulbs and cranking the white LED's is a good one. I would suggest ATI blue+ or geissman actinic blue for maximum par while keeping in mind what you stated as far as aesthetic goes. Run the T-5 for 8 hours instead of 6 and ramp the led's outside of this time so you have a full 8 hrs of max light


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[Slayer33]

Lots of people keep coral successfully under less than textbook perfect conditions. Some coral may take thoughtful positioning, some May grow slower than under higher light. It is not a big deal, but you will be limited in some ways.

Your original idea of using 2 blue bulbs and cranking the white LED's is a good one. I would suggest ATI blue+ or geissman actinic blue for maximum par while keeping in mind what you stated as far as aesthetic goes. Run the T-5 for 8 hours instead of 6 and ramp the led's outside of this time so you have a full 8 hrs of max light


Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Done! I picked up 2x AT Blue Plus bulbs tonight.. I've installed them and changed from 6 to 8 hrs for the T5s. I've cranked the white and blue on the Orbit to 100%.. next question would be what do I put the green and red to? I set them at 80% for now..