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

To explain the whole 'why do some people have great color and some don't'... I can think of a couple of explanations.

1) I have noticed some corals 'are happy' under T5's and some 'are not'. Maybe with the right bulb combo that could be addressed, I dunno. Other corals seem to just look much better under halides.

2) What one person considers good color another does not. Living near the Bay Area of CA I spend a lot of time over there and there is no shortage of people who have SPS and LPS with amazing color, and it is all under halides (not saying there are no successfull T5 users around, just trying to make my point). I notice a lot of people in my immediate area, and to the North and South (Sacramento/Fresno) comment on corals that are mostly brown with purple tips, or some average looking aquaculture and say things like 'this has amazing colors!'. There seems to be a smaller group who has some really nice color going. It's all relative.

3) Some people are not acclimating, but as I have stated (probably several times in the course of this thread and in my blog) my tank has been T5 from the beginning, all of my corals were slowly acclimated and even though they have grown quite a bit their color has diminished to a pastel, which a lot of people might be happy with, especially because it isn't brown!
 
I have had T5 light bulbs for 3 years. Earlier this year a friend lent me many different color bulbs to play with. Let me share my experience.

1) 3000k - This bulb really brings out the purples but it also enhance many other colors. I love it and it really makes the corals look more natural. Before I got it My purple Monti Cap looked brown. Now with the 3000k it really does look purple.

2) UVL Actinic White. Another bulb that brings out the blues and purples. I use it with the 3000k

3) ATI AquaBlue - Makes a tank look natural.

Part of the trick with T5 is to try and get a full spectrum. When I mean full spectrum, I am not talking about 1 "Full Spectrum" bulb. What I mean is to get 4 or 6 bulbs of differing colors. Each bulb will bring out certain colors. When you mix these bulbs you will bring out more natural colors.

Before you say anything should should physically try the different bulbs for yourself. I have actually tried many of the different bulbs on the market. Here's the comco I like the best (BTW: the 4 in the center are on a IceCap 660):

Front to back:
1) ATI Pure actinic
2) ATI AquaBlue
3) Helios SuperBlue
4) GE 3000k
5) UVL Actinic White
6) UVL SA


Dave
 
The 3000K bulbs add red to the tank, even though the bulbs look yellow. My tank is very white now, with maybe a hint of red.

Dave
 
Thanks guys, I really like the look of my tank(uvl sa, 2 B+, AB) but you know how it goes, always looking for the best. I do like how the 3000k makes the pinks and reds pop.
 
Back from the dead, any updates?

I'm having problems with LPS, zoanthids, and SPS bleaching. Even when on the bottom of the tank things are not coloring back up. I'm running 6x39w with Icecap reflectors, my bulb combo is 2x blue plus 2x aqua blue 1x GE6500 and 1x Super Actinic. I'm at my whits end and I'm tired of my purple deaths being pastel purple and my RPEs being cleached no matter how much I shade them.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9396553#post9396553 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Try pulling a reflector off an Aquablue, Blue Plus and the GE and see how the corals respond.
Click to expand...

Is it safe to say you don't think there is a problem with spectrum and it's only intensity? Just to give you a full idea of how bad it is, some of the things that are faded are at bottom of a 25" deep tank, and we're talking corals that can take being placed up much closer to a MH light source.

In the past few months I've tried lowering my photoperiod, especially with the GE and one Aquablue. I've let my bulbs and reflectors get coated with saltspray. I haven't run any activated carbon in months. I've increased feeding by a pretty large amount. One thing I've always noticed with heavy intensity of light is coraline not growing as heavily in the areas closest to the light source. Yet in my tank the glass is covered from the very top to the very bottom.

I'm not questioning that you may be on to something, but I guess I was hoping it was something screwy with my bulb combo, something I was missing or had too much of in the way of spectrum. This isn't your typical bleaching, it has been a slow long drawn out fade in color. Some of the corals that are faded even appeared to color up initially only to slowly fade as time went on. I had a Crocea clam that lost almost all color in shipment, I left it at the bottom of the tank for some time and it started to color up. After a couple months I moved it up to the rockwork where it would get more light (still about a foot below the surface) and it started fading more. IME it would take an obscene amount of light to cause a Tridacna clam to fade, a heck of a lot more light than what my T5s can put out.

Again, I don't want to seem ungrateful for the advice. You are just the person I was hoping would respond to this thread. I'm just trying to give you a better idea of what I see going on. For the longest time I though this was a nutrient problem, but after about of a month with dosing amino-life, feeding more heavily, and doing more frequent waterchanges I'm starting to doubt it. However, my nitrate and phosphate levels are undetectable and I do have a lot of sources of nutrient export.

I have a 20 gallon refugium as part of the system and another thing I want to do is try putting a MH over that and see if some of these corals will color up. But I need to buy an engagement ring and I should not spend the money. I have an old 48" Energysavers hood that I could rig up to light the 20L if I just used one bulb. If anyone has a 10-20k 175w metal hallide bulb with some life left in it that they would sell for cheap in the interest of experimentation please let me know. I'd like to get a MH pendant for over it but I'm having a hell of a time finding one for a good price before it's snapped up.


Thanks for your time Grim. If you still think I should still try removing the reflectors if you still think that's the direction I should go. Also, if you think I should change any bulbs out altogether I will drop the money for it. I think I'm panicking a bit right now because I have some very expensive palys on the way (not that they will die, I just want them to retain their color). Part of me is thinking I should have gone with a MH light for the refugium to experiment with or maybe even gone back to a tried and true MH system for my display instead of dropping more money on livestock.

Thanks Again,
Peter
 
Hey this was my thread. I did see a good improvement with more feedings and removing a aquablue for a super actinic.....also cutting the photo period.

I would try removing a couple of reflectors for a while too. Zoa, palys and LPS don't really need a lot of light. I have quite a few zoas in my tank that have to go either on the bottom or in some shade. I don't really have a color issue after that.
 
oh ya...I want to mention that the only LPS that does really well in my tank is my green hammer. Its color is brillant....but my bubble and frogspawn could not take the intensity.

Remember T5 is an even lighting. So there are no high light hot spots like MH but with MH the farther away from the light the less intense which means inbetween bulbs/front/back may all be less intense then a good T5 system. So this may be the reason you find it hard to place you polyps. Like I said mine are all on the bottom.....
 
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mini-IMG_1473.jpg
 
Just wanted to drop by once again and add my little tid bits. As many of you know, I switched from T5 over to dual 250w Phoenix + 210w of VHO super actinics. Moving over to those new lights DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM!

Over 6 months later I still have issues with a few of my greens in peticular. Many of my corals look exceptional but I still have a ways to go on a few green corals.

So it is my opinion that we need to stop looking at the lights as well, except for perhaps lowering the intensity by using lower PAR bulbs or shortening the photo periods. I think intense light, along with other issues only makes the corals even worse.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9397303#post9397303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dvanacker
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mini-IMG_1473.jpg
Click to expand...

My Dragon eyes (I hate these names yet I still use them...) look great, oranges in general seem to be holding pretty well. Pink and green also seem to fare well. It's the browns/reds, blues, and purples that seem to be the biggest problem.

I've been aware from the start that this tank would be a crazy balancing act and maybe that's my biggest problem. I've always had a pretty easy time in the past with mixed reefs but that was with 175w MHs with less than spectacular reflectors.
 
I pulled a reflector off an Aquablue and the GE 6500. I also realized my Actinic is the ATI Actinic Blue and not the Super Actinic. So any other suggestions for bulb purchases since I'm going to be a bulb, and what bulb should I take out in order to add the 3k? Do you think I should add the reflectors back and try a spectral shift first?

Thanks Again,
Peter
 
I would just leave it with the 2 reflectors pulled for a month or more...... I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the result.

If that doesnt do it for you maybe then try the 3000k bulb but I havent read of anybody getting better results with this??...and I've read most of the T5 threads. It was a theory which there might be a tiny truth too...but I know a 3000k bulb is not a make or break situation in a good T5 lighting system.
 
A couple people have tried the 3000K and if does make a difference in the color of the corals, especially pink and purple ones. I really doubt intensity is the problem if the affected corals are 25 inches under the water.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9408342#post9408342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
A couple people have tried the 3000K and if does make a difference in the color of the corals, especially pink and purple ones. I really doubt intensity is the problem if the affected corals are 25 inches under the water.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was thinking... I really think it's a spectrum issue or a nutrient issue. I want to get that MH over the fuge so I can at least rule out spectrum being the problem.

I just dropped thousands of dollars two nights ago on a ring. I'm trying to figure out which way to go with that. I just spent all that money on a ring so what's another $300 for a MH pendant, or I just spent thousands of dollars and have no business spending money on a MH light :lol:
 
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