My T5 55g tank....and coral lightening

I put one of the 3000k bulbs in my tank this morning. The 'color of the tank' is slightly less blue, but it's nowhere near the difference I thought it would be. I don't think anyone would even know that I have such a low K bulb running unless I told them.

The color of the lamp itself, when lit, is similar to the color of a typical household lightbulb. Right now I'm running it w/o a reflector in order to provide a little acclimation.

My goal is to keep it in there at least 2 weeks. If I see an algae problem develop before then I'll have to yank it and work on getting my nutrients down some more. If I see signs of serious stress on the corals I'll yank it. If there are no ill effects after 2 weeks I'll keep running it. I have a second bulb that I'll introduce to the mix later if I see positive results, or if nothing seems to change.

So my current bulb configuration is:

B+
AB
B+
3000k
B+
AB

updates to follow...
(ps happy 4th!)
 
The UVL lamps are nothing special on their own. The key is going to be using a combination of lamps that you like. A Blueplus and UVL Super Actinic combination seems to be a tasty combination.
 
Reefgeek has been carrying the UVL bulbs. Awesome Mothra, someone actually changing something rather than talking about it... I hope you dont have algae or ill effects on the coral no matter what..doubt you will see ill effects, but maybe a little dusting on the glass of some micro. As I said before I dont think we are going to see a real color change because it is perception and how your eyes view it through that particular light rather than an actual color. Maybe I am getting at an abstract thought or a little philosophizing but we will see. I am sure that at the very least you will notice some kind of change over time(I would wait longer than 2 weeks to put the 2nd on...that way we get a real idea of what is happening)and I am very interested to see what the K change will bring. Keep us posted and good luck!!!
 
Thanks bro. You have a valid point about the perceived color vs. actual color of the coral. Both come into play, and both can be tinkered with. So far I'm surprised by what I've seen (in a good way). The perceived color of the pink and green is noticably different. I can understand the pink being more vibrant with the spectrum and all, but my greens pop a little more too (I expected them to become more of a yellow).

In 2 weeks time (or sooner) I know I'll see some color shift in the pigments, hopefully for the better but not knowing is all part of the fun :bum:

I'm really anxious to try a bulb combo like

B
3k
B
B
3k
B

..... but I'm in no hurry to stress out my tank - which a lot of effort and time have gone into
 
For the record, I have already noticed my green stag starting to "green up" a bit since the change to the Phoenix bulbs. I can not say 100% that the switch is the cause, but it certainly seems likely to me.

I have not noticed much difference in my green cap yet, but I am hoping to see that start to change as well :)
 
Guys....I am seeing marked improvements in my corals....alot has happened to my tank though.

-Changed lighting period from 12hrs all for T5's to 12hrs actinic+ and 7 hours aquablue+. (more blue spectrum)
-Had auto top up accident. Lost one acro. Rest not looking so hot. (This was just over a month ago and now I'm seeing better color then before the accident and the tank is still recouperating).
-Removed one SLR completely.
-Removed SSB and went BB
-Added more fish to the system as well as feeding more.
-Using seachem concentrated vitimans and aminos. (I got it free)

I will update with pictures in a months time. I want to show positively my advances.

I'm like'n my T5's again. :)
 
Hey dvanacker,

are your icecap SLR reflectors touching each other? like each one right beside the next? or is there a space between each reflector?

I've noticed that the teklight fixture has relatively narrow reflectors in comparison to euro reflectors (and even the icecap slr). As a result, the fixture has serious "hotspot" directly under the bulbs.

Perhaps the reflectors should to be a wider to spread the light a little better?
 
Horace,

Do you like the phoenix/RO3 combination?

Would you say you get more even lighting in your tank?

I find that with the Teklight T5's the tops of corals get a lot of light, where as the sides of corals tend not to be nearly as well lit. I dunno if you got that with your T5 setup, but which do you like better so far ? (only in terms of light spread)
 
DVAN, i bet you will see some kind of change with all that....I think when I move next week(just set up everything because I couldnt wait with all that new equip just sitting there) I might go BB but I might detest the look of no sand. Anyways--------------------I really suspect the reduced daylight period will have a very beneficial effect on your coral(the sun is only brightest for so long yada yada) Also, I think SLR's on a 20 inch tank like yours and mine is just too much...Its gonna be hard to know what has the most beneficial effect if you see it because you changed so much....I guess we get eager to get change.What fish did you get?
...Additives???????i guess if they are free give em a whirl.
-sorry to hear about your loss with the auto top off incident...should get a Nautilus II from IA like i was saying in that other thread and it wont ever happen again...i think that unit is gonnna give me peace of mind when im gone especially


-Mothra...keep us posted with your change...I wish DVAN just changed his photoperiod so we could compare the bulb change vs. the photoperiod change, but it will still be interesting. You could blaze the 3K's for like 5 hours a day(with 2 of em) and the actinics on for like 11/12 hours....i think this may be interesting....We will see in due time.Oh and yeah...do it slow so we can know what is happening and also like you said you want cause undue stress on your hardwork.

-Horace, glad to hear you are pleased with your change........eager to T5 it up...hopefully i wont have to drop the dough for a change over a year from now.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7686075#post7686075 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Large Polyp Dave
Horace,

Do you like the phoenix/RO3 combination?

Would you say you get more even lighting in your tank?

I find that with the Teklight T5's the tops of corals get a lot of light, where as the sides of corals tend not to be nearly as well lit. I dunno if you got that with your T5 setup, but which do you like better so far ? (only in terms of light spread)
Click to expand...

Yes I like the combo, it looks great. I would not claim that they light the tank more evenly than T5 though. I dont think MH will ever light a tank as evenly as T5 can. With that being said, I still much prefer the new look to the old one.

Also I would like to state that I also reduced my photo period on my T5s to the exact same thing that DV did above (12/7) but all this did was slow down the growth of my corals substantially. I know this not only by viewing the growth changes, but my uptake of calcium and alk has dropped by 50% since that change, which also included the swap of one GE for a UVL SA. The ending result was 2x AB, 2xB+, 2xUVL SA rather than the prior 2xAB, 3xB+, 1xGE
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7684711#post7684711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Serioussnaps
Reefgeek has been carrying the UVL bulbs.
Click to expand...

I did not know URI became UVL. I need to keep up with these forums more often.


I tried 13000K, 14500K and now I ordered Giesemann 20000K Megachrome bulb for the 230 and two UVL super actinics. This is first time for me with the MHs and even 14500K gives some yellowish tint to everything. If 20000K is too blue I might try one 6000K D&D and UVL 420nm with the 20000K bulb.

Anyway, my frogspawn is turning brown already under MH light after only a week or so and my zoas are turning darker browns. The frogspawn started to turn brown right before I changed to MH, after I replaced one of the Aqua Blue with a 6000K sun. So I'm thinking that it might be the Aqua Blue, those super white bulbs, are the cause or the corals simply needs more red/yellow specturm. So Mothra, you might see real results from those 3000K bulbs, I hope.

I'll post some pics of my frogspawn and other corals if I see more changes. I just got a acropora hoeksemai, too, to see if the corals really don't loose colors, now that I have MH going.
 
What is causing your Frogspawn and Zoa's to brown is this: They are not very light hungy....both can be kept well under pc's and thrive even lower in the tank. Those MH's are causing them to expel there zooxanthellae....to them it is too much light....what is the depth of the tank?250 Halides? I suspect they will do well even in somewhat of an overhang or further down in the tank. Didnt you say under T5's your corals "lightened" but now under halides they brown? i cant remember...you did say the Fspwn was browning before the change so it may just need a lower placement no matter the light...I hope Mothra does see some change....but i think it may be a browning of the coral rather than a lightenin....no telling yet


Let us know what happens with that Acro...it may need to be acclimated well so it is hard to make a real determination on what it does at the outset no matter the light on it....let us know though...should be interesting........

Also, I am trying to keep this thread alive.....once a week probably i go through all most of the main 3 or 4 discussion forumns to see if there is anyone I can help(im no expert...but there are some people on here that really need help) and yesterday there were about 4 or 5 people with new threads posted saying they have T5's and see some "lightening" or "slight bleaching" of their SPS under them....I directed them to here so I am sure you all arent the only ones and maybe they can do some tweaking and contribute something to this issue.
 
snaps, browning does not indicate expelled zoox (zoox itself is what causes the brownish color), that would be the case with bleaching. The browning is probably due combination of big change in lighting plus the low PAR rating of the 14k Phoenix. I think he just needs some time to acclimate the corals to the new lighting. Frogspawns can do really well under low light, but they can also do just fine under MH once acclimated.

yesterday there were about 4 or 5 people with new threads posted saying they have T5's and see some "lightening" or "slight bleaching" of their SPS under them
Click to expand...

There are also several on the LPS forum with the same issue and T5's.
 
Update on my 3000k progress.

So far no massive algae bloom :cool: ...fingers crossed.


It's pretty early still to see a color shift in the corals but I have not seen any browning out - which is good. The biggest difference is the perceived color of the pink. When the 3000k light is on that pink looks much more rich, even the blue does (blue tipped pink mille) maybe just because of the contrast.

To make a comparison, when just 2 bulbs are running (3000k and B+) the corals look much better (still talking about perceived colors, not actual pigment changes) but when any other combination of bulbs that has an AB is lit the appearance becomes washed out again. IMO/IME so far the AB bulb is definetly not helping the visual appeal of the corals. I don't know if it is actually a contributor to lightening/bleaching or not (now referring to the actual pigment of the corals).

A little confusing probably, but I just want to differentiate between the visual effect lighting has and the physical effect it has on corals. In case I'm still muddling words - think of a tank with only actinics, the visual effect is obvious, but the true pigment of most corals under actinics does not match what your eye sees. That's the extreme example but all bulbs have some visual effect whether it's brown, yellow, white, pink, blue, actinic, etc....
 
Last edited:
Yeah, sorry Mothra...that browning is due to the zoo..if zoo is expelled there is no color at all(sorry it was late) it could actually be excessive zoo...cut back on that daylight photoperiod

good, your tank is probably so clean that no matter what you do in terms of light change you wont have an algae bloom...do keep those fingers crossed though

I am surprised the blue is more rich under the 3K, it would seem the blue would richen up if you increased the K rating....

Mothra...you arent muddling thats exactly what i was talking about...say you put actinics on an acro and the colors are one way...then you put a 3K bulb on it.....the colors may look different to a veiwer, but the color is actually the same just the perception has changed....however, what you are doing with that 3K bulb is great....over time we will actually see if there is a physical change in color with that bulb....also, it will be interesting to see that when the color changes if you pop on an AB over it after a few months what the color would be perceived as then with the actual pigment change....we shall see huh?
 
Also, is there an assumption by all of us that the possible problems arent associate with the blue plus or actinic t5 bulbs?
 
Got pics Mothra? id like to see what a 3 K light looks like regardless of the effects on the coral(in other words if you dont see change id still like to see what a 3k bulb looks like)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7697555#post7697555 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mothra
The browning is probably due combination of big change in lighting plus the low PAR rating of the 14k Phoenix.
Click to expand...

I HIGHLY doubt the browning is being caused by low PAR. The phoenix has a fairly high output, not as much as an XM 10 or anything but its ~80+ which is awesome for a 14k bulb. There are plenty of SPS keepers that have amazing colors with these bulbs, so the PAR is more than sufficent, especially for any LPS. Frankly I have not seen any major shift in coral colors over the past 2 weeks of running the Phoenix bulb. My slimer has greened up slightly, but not substantially. I have noticed no change in color on anything else, including my frogspawns.
 
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