Whats a good light combo for SPS? Right now i have a Tek T5 24" fixture on my 30g tank, with 3 Ati Blues and 1 UVL White bulb. In about 2 months i will be replacing the blulbs and was wondering what i should go with for SPS. Right now my SPS dont have the colors i want, they look dull and i think its because of the 3 ATI blues, might be too much low spectrum and not enough high spectrum. Any suggestions?
Tek t5 Lighting for sps
- Thread starter Manwolf
- Start date
Allmost
New member
Hi, the light set up you have will pull maximum coloring and minimum growth ! so if you do have coloring Issues, then its most likely water quality Issues, and not lighting.
Id personally go with KZ bulbsd caue I think they have higher par readings. 3 blues, and 1 white.
do you test your no3 and po4 ? how do you export nutritions ?
Id personally go with KZ bulbsd caue I think they have higher par readings. 3 blues, and 1 white.
do you test your no3 and po4 ? how do you export nutritions ?
phenom5
Member
Nutrients can, and often do cause browning, but lighting can also contribute to color issues.
Are the bulbs Aquablues or Blue Plus? Either way, all those bulbs should be putting out a decent amount of PAR, as long as they're not too old. The UVL actually has the lowest PAR.
I would probably go with 2 Blue Plus, 1 Aquablue, 1 KZ Fiji Purple for a 4 bulb setup.
Are the colors washed out, or bleached? Or are the corals brown? Two different issues.
Are the bulbs Aquablues or Blue Plus? Either way, all those bulbs should be putting out a decent amount of PAR, as long as they're not too old. The UVL actually has the lowest PAR.
I would probably go with 2 Blue Plus, 1 Aquablue, 1 KZ Fiji Purple for a 4 bulb setup.
Are the colors washed out, or bleached? Or are the corals brown? Two different issues.
Allmost
New member
no3, po4 is your Issue 100%.
water changes, skimm wet, .... get the nutrition out basically
dixiedog
New member
gsoaxionsk8
New member
All that basically means is to adjust the output of your skimmer to produce a more liquid-like skimmate (wet), or a really thick, chunky skimmate (dry).
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
Are you running the acrylic shield on the Tek? Are you using an external fan to cool the fixture?
Take the shield off and buy an external fan to cool the fixture. Not only will your bulbs last longer but you will get a nice increase in PAR.
For a 4 bulb unit I would run 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 KZ Fiji Purple and 1 KZ New Generation.
The ATI Blue Plus still has the highest PAR of any T5 bulb to my knowledge. Sanjay Joshi tested a lot of bulbs and then gave a presentation to a local club and shared his results. The Blue Plus barely beat out the ATI Aquablue. This was a while ago and with the additions of some new KZ bulbs things could have changed. I can say though that if you stick with good bulbs, the PAR isn't that different to warrant which bulb is "better". They all have enough PAR to grow anything you want.
I think it could definitely be a combination of lighting and water quality but I give the upper hand to water quality. Start doing some weekly water changes and feed a little less for a little bit.
Take the shield off and buy an external fan to cool the fixture. Not only will your bulbs last longer but you will get a nice increase in PAR.
For a 4 bulb unit I would run 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 KZ Fiji Purple and 1 KZ New Generation.
The ATI Blue Plus still has the highest PAR of any T5 bulb to my knowledge. Sanjay Joshi tested a lot of bulbs and then gave a presentation to a local club and shared his results. The Blue Plus barely beat out the ATI Aquablue. This was a while ago and with the additions of some new KZ bulbs things could have changed. I can say though that if you stick with good bulbs, the PAR isn't that different to warrant which bulb is "better". They all have enough PAR to grow anything you want.
I think it could definitely be a combination of lighting and water quality but I give the upper hand to water quality. Start doing some weekly water changes and feed a little less for a little bit.
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