Rendos' new SPS corner tank

[Rendos]

Thanks to Jason Ormsby! He donated 11 frags from his tank yesterday. I promise to care for them well, and if you lose anything in the move, I will gladly reciprocate!
I'll post pics of the frags soon. They are all Jason Fox, Tyree, Vivid Aquariums, and WWC corals. Awesome!

 

[Rendos]

A few pictures taken with our underwater camera.

 

[Rendos]

 

[gflat65]

Nice, Richard.

You can't beat underwater photography. A local guy came by and showed me a case he bought for his iPhone 4 and proceeded to put it in the tank. I want one now. Pics taken underwater in your tank look like pics taken diving...

 

[OneReef]

Great pics

 

[Rendos]

A few more I took today with the underwater camera.

 

[Rendos]

 

[OneReef]

Good looking stuff. I need to take some more pics of my SPS. They usually photograph very well. Can you tell if your getting better growth and coloration from the coral under the LED or the T5, or coral that are getting light from both?

 

[gflat65]

What is that funky thing in the pic above the Favia?

I need to either get a waterproof box for my DSLR, or one for my phone. These underwater tank shots are killing me. Just builds the jones for diving, too.

 

[OneReef]

Tenuis maybe...

that is nice. Save me a piece..... :0)

 

[gflat65]

The tenuis is nice, too, but I was talking about the one that looks like some sort of dollop o' Monti, maybe? Two pics above your post.

 

[Rendos]

A few things have happened. My Hawaiianensis anthias never ate very well and finally died. The Dot Dash Flasher was awesome but kept harassing the cardinals. He jumped out of the tank...I found him as a crispy critter on the floor. I guess that is part of having an open top tank. I have a few new faces in the tank these days.

Parvirostris and Aurulentis anthias. Here are a few pics...

 

[Reef264]

Lookin Sharp!The Anthias Are Top Shelf!

 

[BassandReef]

What is the pink lps in the bottom left corner?

 

[OneReef]

Looks very nice

 

[Rendos]

Red goniopora.

 

[OneReef]

We need to trade some frags when our stuff grows out. I need some Miracle Gro

 

[ronreef]

How's the Octopus CR100 working for you? Any challenges with keeping Ph in check? Looking good.

 

[Rendos]

On this size tank the CR-100 is doing a great job. pH stays around 8.04-8.10.

 

[Rendos]

In preparation for tonights meeting, I took some PAR readings on my tank. Results are:
Blueline 120 watt LED pendant:

White LED's only

Out of water - 600
1" under water - 300
5" under water - 200
10" under water - 120

White + Blue LED

Out of water - 800
1" under water - 480
5" under water - 330
10" under water - 185
The LED's are over the high part of my rock work. Can't take a measurement in the sand.

TEK Light 4 bulb T5 fixture:

White bulbs only (Giessemann Midday and AquaBlue+ bulbs)

Out of water - 400
1" under water - 195
5" under water - 145
10" under water - 100
Sand bed (22") - 67

White and Blue bulbs together (Actinic + and Pure Actinic + white bulbs)

Out of water - 410
1" under water - 275
5" under water - 187
10" under water - 125
Sand Bed (22") - 100

All lighting together - LED's and T5's:

Out of water - 600
1" under water - 420
5" under water - 335
10" under water - 245
Sand bed (22") - 138

My conclusions are this LED has higher initial PAR but loses intensity faster when going deeper in the water. T5 has lower inital PAR but loses intensity less when going deeper in water.

Here's another thing - the type of LED makes all the difference. Lisa's tank has Mazarra LED's. Here are her readings:

At 100% intensity:

Out of water - 1400
1" under water - 850
5" under water - 650
10" under water - 400
Sand bed (22") - 190

Much higher readings, but as you move the PAR meter left and right in the light field, the numbers jump all over the place. Directly under the LED there is great PAR, but move 3" to the left or right at the same water depth and the PAR gets cut by more than half.

Lisa's anemone tank has Current USA's TruLumen LED strips over it. The PAR out of water is 200, 1" under the water - 80, 5" under the water - 45. But the Par is relatively the same when you move the meter to the left and right due to the diodes being in a row instead of focused in a small footprint.