show me your 6x54 watt t-5 SPS tank

[TNTREEF]

Any one running a tek 6x54 watt t-5 setup on SPS tanks? If your out there can you please post some pics and your peramiters. I'm having a hard time with bright colors. All the other t-5 SPS tanks I have seen are running 8 bulbs or more. And theirs looks awesome compaired to mine. What do you do to get brighter colors? Or do I need to up my wattage?

Thanks,

 

[dvanacker]

I dont know...if anything I have a problem with bleaching corals.....its more then just light you know. I have 4 x 54 on my 55g.

 

[TNTREEF]

true, true. But I just got a efflo. frag from a buddy and he's been busy and has not been able to keep up on his tank. And his SPS have great colors. The only difference is he has 8 bulbs over a 90 and I have 6 bulbs over a 80gal. And I've been maintaining mine good. The only thing is I'm having trouble dialing in my Korallin 3002 reactor. That can't be it though. Unless it's both the light and the reactor togeather.

 

[schmcc]

imo the color comes from hi k bulbs, lots a water movement,and skimming. The biggest improvement in my tank was the calerpa in the sumps. After about six months my sps corals started to sprout there real colors and stopped growing brown. The nitrates disapeared and the ph got very stable. with 20k and 14 k bulbs and water movement over time the color will come back.

 

[TNTREEF]

i'm running 3 actinics and 3 10k bulbs, which is close to 12-13k. i have a refuge cheato and plenty of flow. it's gotta be something else.

 

[Ricardo Pinto]

Hi there,

I don't believe you need to improve your lightning. It depends on the size of the aquarium.

Here is a pic of my aquarium

This is not a 6x54w, but a 8x39w (4 10 000K and 4 actinics bulbs).

Hope you enjoy it :bum:

Regards,

 

[dvanacker]

Well .. ...is the color light or dark...if its light in coloration its most likely not lack of light.

Here is Frank Essers 80g TOTM on advanced aquarist. He runs 4 x 54w bulbs.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/2/aquarium/view?searchterm=None

 

[dvanacker]

and this is my 55g with 4 bulbs

Not quite as nice as the last two tanks...but its coming along.

 

[CeeGee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8321333#post8321333 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dvanacker
and this is my 55g with 4 bulbs

Not quite as nice as the last two tanks...but its coming along.

right now I am trying to figure out why my tank with 4 HO T5's looks about 40X as bright as yours. If my tank looked that good I wouldn't be considering the switch to halides.

 

[Chuck H.]

Very nice T-5 tanks! Do you guys use acrylic or glass shields between your fixtures and tanks? I just had tempered glass cut for my 6x36w Tek and plan on putting it on tomorrow so I can lower my fixture. I'm just curious about any heat issues you may be experience with the fixture. I plan on having fans blow across the fixture, I don't think the design of the Tek will allow to much air to flow across shielded bulbs though. Let me know what you think.

 

[Serioussnaps]

I am running a 4X54 tek fixture with standard ballast and standard SLS reflectors...no shield and 5" from the surface on a 20" deep tank...

I think DVAN has just his ATI blue plus's on there!!! and also a very nice camera or at least better than mine

HEY DVAN----HOW HIGH ARE YOU KEEPING YOUR FIXTURE OFF THE SURFACE????

whats your bulb combo now....

oh yeah btw to the thread starter sorry to hijack and got a question/suggestion

---What 10 K bulbs are you using?? i didnt know there was a 10K...DandD is 11k and ATI is 12 k...maybe drop one of your 10K's and add an ATI blue plus!!!

 

[dvanacker]

My camera sucks (old cannon elph)....that photo looks really dull because the exposure is set to the lowest setting. On some montiors it's really dark...looks decent on an LCD monitor though.

In the past I have stuggled with light colored corals...even bleached a few. Since then I've taken the SLRs off the aquablue's to reduce the par and I only run the aquablues for 5 hrs. That and some more fish and colors are quite a bit better.

 

[jackson vile]

Don't you use ozone also?

 

[TNTREEF]

Ok so what do you guys think is my problem then if not lighting.
Could it be the CA reactor flux on PH and Alk? I'm having a hard time dialing it in. Here's my tank. All of yours are popin with color compared to mine. My bulbs are 3 60/40 d&d and 3 actinic+ d&d.
PH goes from 7.7 to 8.0 all the time. Nitrates and phosphates are 0. So what do you think it is.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8320682#post8320682 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ricardo Pinto
Hi there,

I don't believe you need to improve your lightning. It depends on the size of the aquarium.

 

[CeeGee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8324120#post8324120 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TNTREEF
Ok so what do you guys think is my problem then if not lighting.
Could it be the CA reactor flux on PH and Alk? I'm having a hard time dialing it in. Here's my tank. All of yours are popin with color compared to mine. My bulbs are 3 60/40 d&d and 3 actinic+ d&d.
PH goes from 7.7 to 8.0 all the time. Nitrates and phosphates are 0. So what do you think it is.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8320682#post8320682 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ricardo Pinto
Hi there,

I don't believe you need to improve your lightning. It depends on the size of the aquarium.

Your tank looks pretty good to me. I hear time and time again how great T5's are but I have seen VERY few tanks that prove it. Every time someone mentions T5's Iwans tank pops up. I am surprised that it is absent this far into this thread. I am just not buying the T5 hype.

 

[TNTREEF]

yeah I get compliments on it alot but. I want the corals to look as bright as all the other t5 tanks. could it be bulb color?

 

[mrbncal]

Theres another t-5 thread on here that might be helpful.

Ah but I see you have already found it

 

[mrbncal]

BTW did you get all that growth with the t-5's?

 

[TNTREEF]

yeah i get good growth just want the popin color.

 

[Wiskey]

In the past I have stuggled with light colored corals...even bleached a few. Since then I've taken the SLRs off the aquablue's to reduce the par and I only run the aquablues for 5 hrs. That and some more fish and colors are quite a bit better.

Huh, glad to see I am not the only one to pop off a couple of reflectors in the hunt for deaper colors. Worked for me too, though the T5 setup is now over a softie tank.

Whiskey