Shoould I add supplemental t5s or a skimmer to improve coloration in 29g reef?

[Turbo snail]

Hi All,

I have a 29 gallon mixed reef which has been set up for a little over a year. My corals have been growing, but I really want to improve coloration, especially on my acans, green BTA, and purple ribbon gorgonian. I am looking at implementing one of two options -- adding a 2 bulb t5 fixture above my tank or adding a small protein skimmer to the system.

Current Lighting:
1 AI Sol blue unit hung 14 inches above the aquarium.

1:00 pm white 23% blue 27%
5:00 pm white 49% blue 54%
8:00 pm white 23% blue 24%
10:00 pm white 2% blue 3%
12:00 am white 0% blue 0%

Water parameters as of today:

Nitrate: 20ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
Calcium: 620 (tested with API test kit, not sure I believe this result)
alk: 11 dKh
Phosphate: 0.25 ppm
Ph: 8.2
Salinity: 36.0 ppt

Several corals which I have put in my tank look beautiful under the AI Sol at first, but gradually become more muted with time. My BTA has changed from dark green with pink tips to brownish-green over the two months I have had it, and acans tend to shift blue and orange relatively quickly. Other corals such as my green fungia look awesome and have thrived in the tank. Are these issues more likely due to nitrate and phosphate being above zero, or the effects of incomplete spectrum LEDs?

I want to purchase either a Tunze Comline Doc protein skimmer 9004, or hang an Odyssea T5 Dual 6500K Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Extendable (24") with the bulbs replaced for saltwater HO ones.

-Which method will increase coral color and health the most?

-if I add the t5 fixture, what bulbs would you suggest to better balance my light for better visual appeal and coloration?

Thanks for the help!

 

[maddmaxx]

i would go skimmer. heres why. if you went T5s. that added light and the phos you already have will greatly encourage the bad types of algae to take off. with your nitrates and phos being what they are thats plenty of nutrients for pest algae to feast.. and if you already have pest algae it will explode through out the tank...

also the skimmer will help clean the water so it will lower those trate and phos numbers naturally, also it will be the greatest way to add a TON of aeration in your system which corals and fish alike will greatly benefit from. your water in general would be much cleaner...

another reason skimmer gets the vote, LEDs are commonly known to bring out the best coloration in corals. and your already running an AI unit so in theory you should have great coloration. now if your water is dirtier then the corals would like. adding a skimmer would clean that up some to the accept zone they like (cause they feed off the same nutrients as pest algae). eventually getting to cleaner water + happier coral = better coloration....

also are you testing your params? cause if they are off that would/could affect coloration also...

SKIMMER FOR THE WINNNNN lol

 

[Turbo snail]

That makes a lot of sense. I've been struggling to keep nitrates lower than 10ppm even doing weekly water changes for a while, so I definitely agree where the skimmer would help. I test all the parameters I listed above with an API saltwater master test kit and reef master test kit every week or two.

My only worry with the led has been that I know it's an older unit (think I bought it in 2011) that doesn't have any serious red, green, or UV light coming from it.


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[maddmaxx]

That makes a lot of sense. I've been struggling to keep nitrates lower than 10ppm even doing weekly water changes for a while, so I definitely agree where the skimmer would help. I test all the parameters I listed above with an API saltwater master test kit and reef master test kit every week or two.

My only worry with the led has been that I know it's an older unit (think I bought it in 2011) that doesn't have any serious red, green, or UV light coming from it.


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from my understanding UV is the most important out of the 3 you listed, and typically the red and green spectrums are used in fresh water planted aquariums. many either change those LEDs or like a unit like AI, they turn those spectrums off...

 

[jda]

Where is it commonly known that LEDs produce the best color? I have never seen an LED tank with color as good as mine.. ever. Besides, if T5 would make algae take off (wrong, but let's go with it for sake of a terrible argument), then it would make the zoox in the corals take off too for better color. If the bad algae is light-limited, then the corals are too. All good, solid light sources have spectrum from 380-700nm and the best are often down to 350nm - this is UV through red.

The SOL were not great lights 5-8 years ago - too many spectrum gaps with just white and blue diodes. Nearly nobody just sells blue/white panels now.

20N and .25P can be Ok for softies and nems. I would not let them get too much higher. Water change with high quality salt and RO would be about $10 - it could cut these in half. I would not sweat these levels, but if they are trending up, then you need to arrest that trend. 10N and .1P would be better.

The short answer is that you probably need both.