t5 spectrum optimum for LPS reef

[csb]

Regarding LPS lighting ... (this question pertains more to the LPS corals themselves, so I'm posting here rather than the lighting forum)

I'm now planning an upgrade from my 30g to a 65g tank (24" tall). (yay!) It's an LPS dominated reef currently lit by a single 96w PC bulb dual 10k & actinic. The coral coloration is awesome (no brown corals). Growth is a little slow, but steady.

On the 65g, I'm planning to use t5's in the hood. Icecap 660 ballast to overdrive 4 36" t5 bulbs with individual reflectors. This should be plenty of light to penetrate the full 24".

Regarding the LPS corals... I understand that blue spectrums are preferred for LPS. What bulb arrangements are most of you running in order to achieve a nice blue spectrum (overall) for optimum LPS coloration?

I don't want the corals to turn brown or bleach from the change in lighting... I want to achieve the optimal spectrum and intensity necessary for LPS health, coloration and growth.

I also have the 96w PC light which I was considering for additional actinic.

I'm thinking about something like this...

96w actinic (utilizing the existing setup)
4 bulb combination of t5 10k, 14k and actinic.

Thoughts? Ideal bulb arrangement for LPS dominated reef? Opinions? Hate mail?

thx
--csb

 

[MSU Fan]

I don't know the answers, but I am going to tag along since I have the same questions.

 

[csb]

sweet ... we're in this together. Glad I'm not the only one

 

[HydroMan]

I have the same tank (24") 65 gallon and recently switched from VHO to T5. I'm pretty much exclusively LPS and I'm running 3 normally driven T5's and have been able to keep everybody happy. Brains and echino's are thriving on the bottom although some of the echino's I need to hide under ledges to keep them from bleaching. I'm using 1 actinic, 1 GE daylight, and 1 aquasun. It's pretty much white so if I was going for more of a blue color I would go with 2 aquasuns andthe actinic. If you're getting individual reflectors, I don't think you'll need four bulbs and you certainly wouldn't need to overdrive the bulbs. I've also read that overdriving the bulbs can cause the color of the bulb to appear to change.

 

[Serioussnaps]

Browning isn't always attributable to lighting in part or in whole. I have been running T5 since last July and have found that you can use a wide range of bulbs for LPS and mine thrive at the smack bottom of the tank. I havent tried any higher than the bottom third as I keep alot of SPS and they just dont need that much light.

I WOULD NOT OVERDRIVE THE BULBS UNLESS YOU PLAN ON KEEPING LOTS OF SPS AND EVEN THEN I MAY NOT OVERDRIVE...if you are planning on it being LPS dominant dont overdrive and if you do maybe leave off a reflector or 2

I would just do what is most aesthetically pleasing to you and target feed your LPS well. I will give you some 4 bulb suggestions though(let it be known that the ATI blue plus is the best T5 bulb in terms of versatility IMO as it has essentially the same par as 11 and 12 K bulbs and is stark *** blue):


3 ATI Blue plus
1 GE Daylight or ATI Aquablue

2 ATI Blue plus
1 UVL Super Actinic
1 ATI Aquablue or GE daylight

4 ATI blue plus(if you dont like blue then dont even try this)

2 UVL Super Actinic
1 ATI Blue plus
1 GE Daylight or ATI Aquablue

The super/pure actinic bulbs are more purple than blue and are PAR losers, but if you are overdriving this may mitigate the fact that you will have ALOT of light for LPS. These are just some suggestions. I would run 3 ATI blue plus and 1 GE daylight and this is what I do, not overdriven, and I maintain clams and SPS quite well with this arrangement, much less LPS. I have assorted blastos, lords and chalices on the bottoms and sides of the tank.

 

[csb]

Wow, interesting re: the idea to NOT overdrive the t5's. Basically, that's the difference between the icecap and workhorse ballasts. If I go with the workhorse ballast, I'd just have regular output t5s.

I was concerned about 4 t5's (plus the 96w PC) being able to provide enough light for the 24" depth.... now it might all be too much? Very interesting.

Might the 96w PC light not be necessary? My original plan was to run the 96w actinic (for visuals mostly) and use a combination of 10k and 14k (blue) lights on the t5's.

Based on your advice, maybe focus more on the blues and perhaps use 1 10k bulb? (is "GE Daylight" 10k?)

Maybe normal output is the way to go instead of overdriven. If normal output doesn't provide enough, I can later upgrade the ballast without needing to change anything else. Workhorse ballast on the retro kit makes it cheaper anyway.

 

[csb]

Did some more reading on the suggested bulbs... how about this ...

2 Aquablue
2 Blue plus
1 10k PC in the middle for mid-day effect

I want it to be White/blue, but not absurdly blue. Are the aquablue bulbs fairly white in appearance? (12k from what I read)

--csb

 

[csb]

Sorry to keep adding my own posts to the discussion Hyjacking my own thread? Hmmm

Check out this tank...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=813873
Same tank with more pics...
http://www.reefland.com/rho/0106/feature8.php

It's all aquablue and blue plus t5's ... looks blue-ish, but not overly so.

 

[HydroMan]

With just three bulbs I can grow LPS at the surface as well as at the bottom.

From personal experience, to my eyes, the aquablue looks to be whitish with a hint of blue. 12k would be about right. The 2 aquablues, 1 blue plus, and a daylight sounds about right but the daylight is pretty overpowering and will make it look very white.

I checked the other pictures and if you like that look, go with the 3 aquablues and 1 blue plus. I have a feeling that a daylight bulb would make it look quite a bit more white.

 

[Serioussnaps]

The GE daylight is 6500 K and is pee yellow...lots of PAR though and very cheap. The ATI aquablue is 12k whereas Giessman is 11k...i havent touched the Fauna Marin bulbs yet, but may in the future...there are many new bulbs coming out or are out, but between the time it takes to replace bulbs you miss em. Maybe overdrive two or 3 or 1, but I wouldnt overdrive all of them.

I think what is really going on is you are overestimating how much light your LPS need...they really dont need much.

3 blue plus with 1 daylight looks more natural than 2 blue plus and 2 aquablue and has more par....I dont like the look of 2 aquablues...too white(IMO)

Thats Iwan's tank....old news...and lots of rumors about it to FWIW. I dont like the whiteness of the bulbs...I like it to be either more yellow or blue or a mix. White just makes me think of hospital lights.

I wholeheartedy disagree with hydromans suggestions.....3/(2 with a sunlight) aquablues and 1 blue plus would look like poop IMHO.

Keep in mind with a retro fit you can get the bulbs awfully close to the surface. For example, the lowest I can get my bulbs with the fixture to the water is 5 inches and my tank is 20 " instead of 24, but you may be able to get yours a couple inches closer, but this has to be done diligently due to salt/water spray and things like that.

 

[csb]

Yeah... I'm planning on the lights being 5" or 6" from the water (in a hood).

This is all excellent info. I think I'm going to 4 t5's, NOT overdriven. I'll skip the Icecap 660 for now. I'll start with 2 aquablues and 2 blue plus and see what it's like. I can always change bulbs if I don't like it.

I'm going to forget about re-using my existing 96w PC light... so this tank will run on the 4 t5's only. By the sound of it, this is going to be plenty of light.

 

[Scythanith]

I have just upgraded from 4 X55 watt PC's to 6 X39 watt T5HO. I have 4 running off an IC 660 and the other 2 on an IC 430 (dawn/dusk). I used individual IC reflectors for all the bulbs. I have 3 aquablues and 3 blueplus and it looks like a nice cool blue to me, but that also depends on how you arange the bulbs over the hood. Oh yea, my tank is 36" deep. I keep trach's, lobs, blastos, zoa's, acan's and some mushies on the bottom. Hammers, frogspawns, alveo & gonio, echino's and some favias & zoos middle to top of tank. My echino bleached a little but it's coming back now.

First off let me tell you you'll never want to touch your PC's again, it's a whole new ball game once you get the T5's on there. Second, overdrive those puppies! Make sure you have proper ventialtion and a fan running along the length of the bulbs (watch out for higher evap rates) to ensure a proper life span on the bulbs. That way if you ever so choose you can add some SPS.

My light cycle is 11 till 11 with the IC 430 and I started out with one hour of the IC 660 from 5 to 6, as I was sure my corals could take it I'd add another hour. I still haven't reached the full amount of lighting time I want, but patience is the key!

tank with PC

tank with 6 T5HO (same camera settings as above)

tank with adjusted settins and T5HO

Cheers, Hope that helps!

 

[csb]

Nice looking tank... and thanks for posting some pics!

I already have 1 acro under the 96w PC, but it's not doing very well. It'll probably do better under the t5's... but I"m still mostly shooting for LPS. (which I find a heck of a lot more interesting than sps, but that's a different discussion

 

[bohlke]

This is my light setup, I have a 65G tall.

a 6x39W Tek T5 light (not overdriven) with this configuration (all ATI bulbs except for the GE daylight):

FRONT
B1: Blueplus
B2: Aquablue
B2: GE 6500K
B2: Blueplus
B2: Aquablue
B1: Blueplus

Here is some pics of my LPS

Bubble - close to the bottom of the tank

Galaxia - on the sand

Frogspawn in the middle

Here is a full tank shot (not the best)

 

[yeldarbj]

Great thread! I've got a 65g (24" h) as well and just switched out my 2x96w PCs for T5's - there is a big difference. I've got a mix of softies, a few LPS, and a few monti caps & digis. I bleached out an orange digi with the switch, but it is coming around now. I'm running 3-39w bulbs on an IC660 and 2-24w (Tek retro), all 5 bulbs with IC reflectors.

front
24w UVL SuperActinic (purple)
39w Gman Midday (white with slight yellow hue)
39w Gman Actinic Plus (blue)
39w ATI Aquablue (white)
24w ATI Blue Plus (blue)

I'm using the 24w Tek retro for the dusk to dawn effect (great bulb combo for this - UVL SuperActinic & ATI Blue Plus). When the IC660 turns on, the tank goes from a very blue look to an overall white appearance.

I went with the IC660 to give me more choices later, if I want a clam or move into more SPS. I had to go with Tek 24w, because I just upgraded my skimmer to a Tunze 9010 and running it in the tank, cut down my available space for 36" lights.

 

[bohlke]

How close are your lights to the water? I had my tunze 9010 in the tank for a bit and I just slid the lights to the front of the tank to remove the collection cup. Mine were about 5" off of the water level.

 

[yeldarbj]

My lights are 3-4" above the water, they don't clear the Tunze collection cup. My canopy just barely clears the collection cup. I don't have a sump so I have to run the Tunze in the tank.

 

[Kissfan79]

Scythanith....I like your series of pictures with the different lighting. What adjustmesnts did you make for the 3rd picture to tune it in?

Jim

 

[Scythanith]

I always put my camera on program mode, that way I can change any of the settings I want. In order to get PC lighting to look decent, I needed to open my apature up and prolong the shutter speed some. It was a fine balance to not get dark colors or too much shake (I always use a tripod). I'll have to go and look at the photos and I can tell you exactly what settings I used. I know I would have manually adjusted the white balance against the black background, adjusted the apature so that it wasn't letting in too much light. And then played with the shutter speed so i could get good color but keep the picture sharp at the same time. I usually use manual focus as well.

Hope that helps, but if not I will find the camera settings from the photo files!

Cheers

 

[Scythanith]

first pic:

File Name IMG_6329.JPG
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot A610
Shooting Date/Time 24/05/2007 4:53:47 PM
Shooting Mode Manual
Photo Effect Off
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/50
Av (Aperture Value) 4.0
Light Metering Evaluative
ISO Speed 400
Lens 7.3 - 29.2 mm
Focal Length 8.5 mm
Digital Zoom None
Image Size 1600x1200
Image Quality Superfine
Flash Off
White Balance Custom
AF Mode Single AF
AF Range Mode Macro
Color Space sRGB
File Size 1352 KB
Drive Mode Self-timer Operation
Owner's Name

second pic:

File Name IMG_6335.JPG
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot A610
Shooting Date/Time 24/05/2007 5:42:14 PM
Shooting Mode Manual
Photo Effect Off
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/50
Av (Aperture Value) 4.0
Light Metering Evaluative
ISO Speed 400
Lens 7.3 - 29.2 mm
Focal Length 9.6 mm
Digital Zoom None
Image Size 1600x1200
Image Quality Superfine
Flash Off
White Balance Custom
AF Mode Single AF
AF Range Mode Macro
Color Space sRGB
File Size 1476 KB
Drive Mode Self-timer Operation
Owner's Name

third picture:

File Name IMG_6343.JPG
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot A610
Shooting Date/Time 24/05/2007 6:19:54 PM
Shooting Mode Program AE
Photo Effect Off
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/25
Av (Aperture Value) 3.2
Light Metering Evaluative
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed Auto
Lens 7.3 - 29.2 mm
Focal Length 10.8 mm
Digital Zoom None
Image Size 1600x1200
Image Quality Superfine
Flash Off
White Balance Custom
AF Mode Single AF
Color Space sRGB
File Size 1351 KB
Drive Mode Self-timer Operation
Owner's Name

So it looks like I closed my aperture from 4.0 to 3.2 and increased my shutter speed from 1/50 to 1/25. Looks like I messed with my white balance from the first pic to the second. If I remember correctly you couldn't see anything it was so blue.

Hope that helps!