Top down shots

[biecacka]

Ed thanks! I'm was thinking 36 inch fixtures instead of the 48. I'm going to start looking for some used fixtures I think. Probably ditch my LEDs all together. I feel like (correct me if I'm wrong) but supplementing LEDs with T5 only helps with decreasing shadowing. Most of the time they don't supplement enough bulbs to run the tank and get growth from T5 only. So they still rely on led for growth. I think too much controllability in LED is bad. Do you feel most ppl add T5 to help growth or help Coker?
Corey

 

[biecacka]

Other aspects. (Not Coker?!)
:lol:

Corey

 

[Big E]

Ed thanks! I'm was thinking 36 inch fixtures instead of the 48. I'm going to start looking for some used fixtures I think. Probably ditch my LEDs all together. I feel like (correct me if I'm wrong) but supplementing LEDs with T5 only helps with decreasing shadowing. Most of the time they don't supplement enough bulbs to run the tank and get growth from T5 only. So they still rely on led for growth. I think too much controllability in LED is bad. Do you feel most ppl add T5 to help growth or help Coker?
Corey

If you run four bulbs they will supplement the missing spectrums some LEDs lack as well as filling in shadows and providing overall coverage as the corals grow larger. The T5's also provide the visual effect of a much brighter tank and increase par.

I prefer the opposite.........T5 as the main lights and LED as supplements if you want to add them.

I suppose you could use the 36" fixures but I like a bright tank......it would look better with the 48" and also create better par numbers.

If you're going to DIY maybe you can combo 36" and 48" and match your rockwork to fit that type of design.

 

[Big E]

Been following your thread. You have some excellent acros. Your methods are tried and tested. Simple is best. I run a similar set up but don't dose carbon. Just can't get that extra richness from acros coloring up. They tend to be more towards the green and yellow side. Are you still carbon dosing? If so what do you dose? And have you ever tried BA's Reef Fuel?

Thanks,I haven't been carbon dosing in over 2 years..........just did it short term to knock my nutrient levels down as my nitrates had gotten to 35+ in a 3week time period because I added 6 fish all at once.

My colors were the same whether I carbon dosed or not.

The excessive green tells me you are using too much LED.......duration and settings are off.

My first move if I were you would be to reduce your LED time duration way down to just dusk/dawn and or a short period mid day.

T5's for eight hours and maybe some sort of dawn/dusk an hour on each end.
Keep your main hours of lighting a consistent spectrum. That's what has always worked with traditional lighting.......no reason to mess with all that ramping and changing colors that LED offers.

Too much white LED to try to create shimmer mucks things up. I've seen it over and over on many tanks.

If you start in a ballpark range with just mainly the T5's and get your coral colors in line..........then you can work with the LEDs to supplement for some bling.

 

[bucfan]

Top down shots

Thanks,I haven't been carbon dosing in over 2 years..........just did it short term to knock my nutrient levels down as my nitrates had gotten to 35+ in a 3week time period because I added 6 fish all at once.



My colors were the same whether I carbon dosed or not.



The excessive green tells me you are using too much LED.......duration and settings are off.



My first move if I were you would be to reduce your LED time duration way down to just dusk/dawn and or a short period mid day.



T5's for eight hours and maybe some sort of dawn/dusk an hour on each end.

Keep your main hours of lighting a consistent spectrum. That's what has always worked with traditional lighting.......no reason to mess with all that ramping and changing colors that LED offers.



Too much white LED to try to create shimmer mucks things up. I've seen it over and over on many tanks.



If you start in a ballpark range with just mainly the T5's and get your coral colors in line..........then you can work with the LEDs to supplement for some bling.

I recently switched to no LEDs during the day when T5s on and only LEDs for dawn/dusk with big peak (80%) prior to dusk just before T5s go off. LEDs are mainly blues, no reds or whites. 4 T5s are on 8 hours and 8 T5s are on 3.5 hours. Nutrients are low. In fact PO was 0-0.03 so took Rowa offline. NO is between 10-20. Been running this lighting setup 8 weeks now but can't get the acros to pop. Interestingly one of my LFS here runs T5s and ReefBrite LEDs 9 hours with awesome colors. So not sure what the problem is.

 

[Big E]

I would run all the lights a full 8 hours. I never had good luck with nitrates that high.

You have to have levels consistent and stable so the bacteria population settles in to a steady state wherever you decide to run your nutrients. I would be patient too..........it's taken 3 months at times for my colors and growth to be at a peak after some changes.

 

[bucfan]

I would run all the lights a full 8 hours. I never had good luck with nitrates that high.



You have to have levels consistent and stable so the bacteria population settles in to a steady state wherever you decide to run your nutrients. I would be patient too..........it's taken 3 months at times for my colors and growth to be at a peak after some changes.

All 8 bulbs for 8 hours. Would that not be too much light? I agree with the rest.

 

[Big E]

I can only tell you what works for me.........I run 8 hours of the same spectrum. I don't do dawn/dusk.

You may not have the right bulb combo.
Why the 80% 450 peak?

There are a ton of variables involved...........sometimes it's best to try to reduce/simplify them. It's impossible to try and tell you what to do without knowing the history of your system.

Try just running the T5s only and if things improve, work towards adding some LED for some extra bling. If you're patient and do one thing at a time you'll have a better understanding what works for your setup.

 

[bucfan]

Thanks,I haven't been carbon dosing in over 2 years..........just did it short term to knock my nutrient levels down as my nitrates had gotten to 35+ in a 3week time period because I added 6 fish all at once.

How do you carbon dose to drop nitrates?

 

[biecacka]

I used vinegar/vodka combination for my setup

Corey

 

[Big E]

How do you carbon dose to drop nitrates?

Like Corey mentions I'd stick with the homemade combo or use NOPOX.........it's got a long track record by many users.

There are plenty of threads on this to research before you jump in.

 

[007Bond]

Here is the big thread,...> http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2134105...happy reading

 

[bucfan]

Like Corey mentions I'd stick with the homemade combo or use NOPOX.........it's got a long track record by many users.

There are plenty of threads on this to research before you jump in.

Read the link. Thanks! Can I use vodka for a few days/weeks only until NO drop then stop? Or once I start do I have to continue for good? My NO suddenly spiked unto 25.

 

[Big E]

If you fix whatever caused the short term nitrate spike you can wean the tank of it once the levels are back to where you want them.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Hi Ed,

Can you see any problems in long term organic carbon dosing on a continuous basis?

Thank you.

 

[Big E]

There are a ton of issues..........some are with original system setup, experience level in carbon dosing, not understanding what is actually going on with the bacterial population, chasing numbers, impatience, maintenance practices, inefficient skimmer, unwanted bacterial strains that may wreak havoc, mix/matching of commercial systems.

Some inverts just don't do well with it..........this is my personal experience and I have no exact proof to pin point it other than moving corals to a system not being carbon dosed and seeing recovery.

The most common problem people run into is NO3 goes down to nothing and the PO4 levels being too high or rising.

Many people carbon dose and are fine with it also, so I'm not bashing it, but I think there are certain how to's that should be followed.

One of the basic to me is you have to get rid of the other reduction methods for it to work well...... No refuguims, GFO, ect.

A bare bottom skimmer only system is going to respond much faster than other setups as well a being easier to control.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Ed, thanks for sharing your wisdom.

In my set up, I use a product called Tropic Marin NP Bacto balance, which contains organic carbon, inorganic nitrates, inorganic phopshates, organic phosphates and cationic elements. I think unlike NOPOX or pure organic carbon dosing, e.g. acetic acid, Bacto balance ensures that trace amounts of nitrates and phosphates are always retained in the water column. I think this addresses one of your concerns above (i.e. "NO3 goes down to nothing and the PO4 levels being too high or rising"). I have been using it for over a year now with no ill effects. In fact, my corals have become more and more colourful (obviously nowhere as colourful as yours) and started to grow a lot faster. So far so good, but I hope I will not run out luck one day.

 

[reefmutt]

Hey Ed,
How's that amazing orange passion of yours?
Yours is pretty much the only one I've seen to hold its super orange polyps while being photographed under normal lighting..
Love to see it again..

 

[Big E]

Hi Matt,

Here it is now

I thought this was interesting..........Nordoa star eating an asterina pest. It looks like it extracts it's stomach and just engulfs and swallows the star. When he was done he ate that one pictured near the arm on the right.

It's has shown signs of being an opportunistic feeder and I don't think it will starve to death like Harlequin shrimp once the asterina stars are gone.


nordoa eating 040816 by Big E 52, on Flickr

 

[reefmutt]

Very cool! I have to get one of those starfish. Do you consider them otherwise completely reef safe? How long have you had it?
Your orange passion is looking fantastic and growing well.
Even when I first got mine, it didn't have as orange polyps as that..
Where did you originally get yours?