Top down shots

[reefmutt]

Ed, I have two questions- one is related to Greg's and the other is a request..
-if you were running 20k mh bulbs like radiums or ushio or Phoenix, what would your choice be for 4 supplemental t5? And would it change for 14 or 10 k mh bulbs?
I guess what I'm getting at is how would you put MH bulbs into your equation of 50/50 b+/c+? Would the mh simply replace the coral plus?

-and second.. pics, man! It's been months since you've put up new pics. Things must have changed in that fantastic tank of yours.. Would love to see an update.

Forgot a part of my question.. Would the use of MH or having lower par levels than you currently have alter your photoperiod?

 

[Quiverfull]

Only the ones near the front. I feel like the 2 blue+ bulbs don't get enough spread to the front. I think they May be in the shade of areas above them. Unfortunately I have more of a "rock wall" architecture to my scape. I guess my question is if only 2 t5s are sufficient for my set up?


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[Big E]

Sorry for the late response, but I've been too caught up in this to pay much attention to my thread-------



NBA World Champs

 

[Big E]

Only the ones near the front. I feel like the 2 blue+ bulbs don't get enough spread to the front. I think they May be in the shade of areas above them. Unfortunately I have more of a "rock wall" architecture to my scape. I guess my question is if only 2 t5s are sufficient for my set up?


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It wouldn't hurt to add two more T5's to the front..........you can angle the reflectors to aim more at the corals. With the halide bulbs you have, a Blue+ and Actinic combo may work better.

I looked at your tank thread and it seems most of your acros are up high. It makes it hard to appreciate the colors when the corals are so close to the surface. You want to try create some direct reflection from the lights to your eyes looking from the front of the tank.

Your corals overall look pale to me................you need to get some nutrient readings. They look beyond the pastel look some people prefer.

 

[Big E]

if you were running 20k mh bulbs like radiums or ushio or Phoenix, what would your choice be for 4 supplemental t5? And would it change for 14 or 10 k mh bulbs?
I guess what I'm getting at is how would you put MH bulbs into your equation of 50/50 b+/c+? Would the mh simply replace the coral plus?

A lot depends on what ballasts are used to drive the MH bulbs, but to put it in more simple terms I try to copy the 400w Radium on an HQI ballast.

radium by Big E 52, on Flickr

The added T5's is where you try to emulate the VHO Actinics that supplemented the Radium and gave the overall visual pop as well as adding more in that 420 range. To get the added bling to mimic the VHO's you can try a blue+ and actinic combo or use 400-450 LEDs as I have mentioned earlier.

The coral+ and blue+ combo do a good job of recreating the 400w Radium spectrum. I don't pay much attention to the narrow spikes in the coral+ as they are more to accentuate what our eyes see.

Again the use of LEDs or blue+ and/or atinic combo is what I would use to get that extra pop.

Would the use of MH or having lower par levels than you currently have alter your photoperiod?

I would only alter the photoperiod based on my nutrient levels. The par level issue can usually be changed by the height of the fixture.

---------------------------------

I'll get some pictures up soon..........most of my time has been focused recently on expanding my frag system so I can thin out some colonies and remove some completely from the display. My display has been a glorified frag tank for way too long.

 

[007Bond]

Love that third pic,...what a series :celeb3:

 

[reefmutt]

Sorry for the late response, but I've been too caught up in this to pay much attention to my thread-------



NBA World Champs

[IMG

This shot is crazy.. I can't believe the height!! It's like he's jumping off a springboard.. That's adrenaline and super human jumping ability for you..
Are these your shots?

Ed, thanks for that info on t5 supplemtal for mh. That's in line with my most recent t5 changes..

 

[zaireguy]

Nice the organ tort is nice

 

[Quiverfull]

It wouldn't hurt to add two more T5's to the front..........you can angle the reflectors to aim more at the corals. With the halide bulbs you have, a Blue+ and Actinic combo may work better.



I looked at your tank thread and it seems most of your acros are up high. It makes it hard to appreciate the colors when the corals are so close to the surface. You want to try create some direct reflection from the lights to your eyes looking from the front of the tank.



Your corals overall look pale to me................you need to get some nutrient readings. They look beyond the pastel look some people prefer.

Thank you for the response. It's a bare bottom tank so it is nutrient poor. Both PO4 and NO3 have never been above 0 not matter what I do. I guess need to add more fish.



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[Big E]

I guess need to add more fish.

People highly underrate the role of the fish population and how important they are to coral health.

Just do some searches of ammonium and urea uptake of corals and you'll find a ton of scientific studies.

Fish are the perfect dosers of nutrients and they provide it in the most useful forms........dosing liquid from a bottle is not the same.

 

[seanb19]

Big E, did you mention in your post how many fish you have in your tank? and what kind?

 

[AD87]

You should see Ed's new table he has cooking.....

 

[sahin]

Ed, I am planning a new system. I would be grateful if you can provide a fish list and total water volume of your system, as well as which return pump you are using? Many thanks.

 

[Big E]

Big E, did you mention in your post how many fish you have in your tank? and what kind?

Right now--

Bellus angel 5"
Watanbei angel 5"

These fish all in the 2.5-3" range--
2 Randalls anthias
Ignitis anthias
Cooks Island Canary damsel
Purple firefish

I had more anthias but over the last 6 months 3 died. I feed the fish a lot.......I don't worry about overfeeding.

Ed, I am planning a new system. I would be grateful if you can provide a fish list and total water volume of your system, as well as which return pump you are using? Many thanks.

Total water volume is 90g--------- sump 20g display 70g

I'm using a Lifeguard 3000 for the return. I've never been a big proponent of high volume returns. I get around 300gph. For larger tanks, I go higher just to add extra flow to the display as the larger tanks need it.

 

[seanb19]

Thanks Big E


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[paal]

Hi Ed.
I have been following your thread for quite some time. Love your pictures!
I just started my new reef tank a few weeks ago, and finally got my lamp this Monday.

Lamp is a Pacific Sun Pandora Hyperion 8x39W T5 + 2x145W LED.
The LEDs will primarily be used for fine tuning the overall ambient color. Now I am running them at 10-15% (Still playing around a little bit - hard not to with a brand new toy )

I have been going through soooo many T5 combinations in my head the last few months and ended up buying quite a few bulbs just to be sure. To my surprise, I ended up using way more "white" bulbs than I thought I would. (Spectra+, PS' equivalent to C+)

S+
B+
S+
S+

LED

S+
S+
B+
S+

The LEDs are set to almost all blue, and this gives me an ambient look I am very happy with at the moment.

If we are focusing strictly on SPS health/growth, do you think it would be better if I replaced 2x S+ with 2x B+ to get the 50/50 combo you typically recommend, and then shift the LEDs to a much less blue spectrum in order to get the overall ambient look I prefer?

...or does it really matter either way?

Hopefully the question made sense.
(and please add more pictures )

 

[Big E]

Yes, I would swap out to some blue+ for the S+. Remember, if you're just using the blue LEDs you're basically just spreading some 450-470 spectrum.

The blue plus bulbs put out a lot more than just that narrow range, so a lot of your other acro pigments will benefit for color and it will also help growth.

I'd only use the LEDs to add some bling.

 

[Aslam Abraham]

Hi Ed, just completed reading your thread, very informative and beautiful corals.
I have a 6 bulb 24 watt sun power, would appreciate your opinion on a bulb combo front to back.
Also which bulbs for a dawn, dusk effect.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Big E]

Hi Aslam,

Thanks, regardless of the number of bulbs I like the blue+ coral+ combo for all six bulbs.

This covers all the pigments for color and also enough par for growth. The look is also bright and white enough for your eyes to see all the colors.

I want the same spectrum and par across the whole tank. Look at this chart, it shows all the pigments and chromo proteins and what spectrums they need.
The blue+ and coral+ cover this whole spectrum range.

Because of this ,all you have to do is put the coral at the correct level in the tank.

Pigment chart by Big E 52, on Flickr

 

[Aslam Abraham]

Hi Aslam,

Thanks, regardless of the number of bulbs I like the blue+ coral+ combo for all six bulbs.

This covers all the pigments for color and also enough par for growth. The look is also bright and white enough for your eyes to see all the colors.

I want the same spectrum and par across the whole tank. Look at this chart, it shows all the pigments and chromo proteins and what spectrums they need.
The blue+ and coral+ cover this whole spectrum range.

Because of this ,all you have to do is put the coral at the correct level in the tank.

Thanks for the response, much appreciated.