Top down shots

Thanks SPS911, ups did not remember were it was and couldn´t find it.


Ed,

I have a doubt, earlier in this thread you mentioned:
"but most acros color up best under my lights in that 350-450 range. Some of it's species specific.............Millis like more intensity especially reds/ pinks. Most smooth skinned acros will color better at 250-350 range."

I thought that 6 hours of of full light was more than enough for acros, but I read that you give acros a full 8 hours of light. I understand that it would be 8 hours of 350 par . What would be the effect of only giving 6 hours or 8 is better?

I thought you could give more than 6 hours of light but you had to decrease the par.
would acros color up better with 8 full hours at high par ( high beging the range you gave above 350-450)??

What would be the effect of supplying more than 450 par? less color?

Sorry for asking to much
 
sensei said:
Thanks SPS911, ups did not remember were it was and couldn´t find it.


Ed,

I have a doubt, earlier in this thread you mentioned:
"but most acros color up best under my lights in that 350-450 range. Some of it's species specific.............Millis like more intensity especially reds/ pinks. Most smooth skinned acros will color better at 250-350 range."

I thought that 6 hours of of full light was more than enough for acros, but I read that you give acros a full 8 hours of light. I understand that it would be 8 hours of 350 par . What would be the effect of only giving 6 hours or 8 is better?

I thought you could give more than 6 hours of light but you had to decrease the par.
would acros color up better with 8 full hours at high par ( high beging the range you gave above 350-450)??

What would be the effect of supplying more than 450 par? less color?

Sorry for asking to much
Click to expand...

Hopefully this will cover the questions...........first off---

A combination of intensity, spectrum and nutrient levels all play a role. Flow is also important, but most people don't struggle with that.

You can do less than 6 and probably be fine. I do eight hours full on because it works for me as far as enjoyment of viewing the tank for a certain amount of time and what still works for growth and color.

I'm not a fan of the dominant blue dawn/dusk look, so I don't use it. When I've run any type of dawn/dusk, I just would not turn all the lights on at once. It's really more for the fish, they prefer to acclimate slower to the light, but if you have ambient lighting from windows or whatever, that serves the same purpose"¦"¦"¦"¦.corals don't need dusk/dawn in our tanks.

Another reason for 8 hours is again for the fish"¦"¦..I don't think they'd do as well long term only getting a short duration of light. In the end you do what you like, works for your schedule and still accommodates the animals in your system.

On natural coral reefs in less than a half hour the sun is hitting the corals at full intensity and at much higher levels"¦"¦"¦..the important thing to remember is the earth is moving, so each section of a coral gets a lot less (time duration) of that intensity"¦"¦"¦"¦ it's a reason they grow in such nice perfect shapes. It's very similar to how a tree looks that is in an area open enough to get all angles of the sun.

Our tank lights are static so you don't need anywhere near that same amount of par.

Also remember, what I'm relating is my experience with T5 and par levels. They can be used as a guideline for other light forms but aren't exact rules.

It's really more important to look at the corals and how they are visually affected. You don't need a par meter and are probably better off without one, but since LEDs have been out everyone thinks they need to know exact par numbers.

A par meter is good for defining a top and bottom area to place the corals. I gave you that range"¦"¦between 500 and 200. The rest is a matter of looking at the corals and how they respond, color and grow when placed in that range.

For example, the smooth skinned acros will bleach or pale if I set too them too high in my tank and a milli at the bottom of the tank will brown out.

Sorry for being so long winded above"¦"¦.in short, for acropora the point is to use a lighting system that creates consistent spectrum across the whole length and width of the tank. You then just need to set the coral at a level in the tank where it does best"¦"¦"¦"¦the par levels I gave you can suggest a good starting point.

If you get those variables nailed down it's much easier to work out a duration that fits your livestock and personal enjoyment.
 
Bratyboy2 said:
Hey big E was wondering what Leds you use for bling on your tank?

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I don't use LEDs.........I"ve suggested that if you want to mimic what actinc VHO bulbs used to do to use a 460-420nm combo strip, which since BML is out of the aquarium business you have to make on your own.

There is also the issue with the violet LEDs failing or blackening if not driven right

Straight 450 blue LEDs can create some bling, but it's easy to make the look too harsh or blue & in extreme cases damage SPS, A dimmer can help.

I've seen enough tanks in person with the Reefbrites that it's not something that I want or need.

I still look around and may eventually experiment with something, but for now I'm happy without LED supplementation.
 
I dont have sps currently but mostly zoas and lps. I love the combo you have going and have implemented that on my tank but would like to add just a bit of bling effect.

Current tank is stamdard 75 gallon with 4 t5 ho bulbs of coral + an blue +

Any recommendations for a little bling effect rhats not much but gives me just enough extra glow from the corals?

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
 
Big E said:
Hopefully this will cover the questions...........first off---

A combination of intensity, spectrum and nutrient levels all play a role. Flow is also important, but most people don't struggle with that.

You can do less than 6 and probably be fine. I do eight hours full on because it works for me as far as enjoyment of viewing the tank for a certain amount of time and what still works for growth and color.

I'm not a fan of the dominant blue dawn/dusk look, so I don't use it. When I've run any type of dawn/dusk, I just would not turn all the lights on at once. It's really more for the fish, they prefer to acclimate slower to the light, but if you have ambient lighting from windows or whatever, that serves the same purpose"¦"¦"¦"¦.corals don't need dusk/dawn in our tanks.

Another reason for 8 hours is again for the fish"¦"¦..I don't think they'd do as well long term only getting a short duration of light. In the end you do what you like, works for your schedule and still accommodates the animals in your system.

On natural coral reefs in less than a half hour the sun is hitting the corals at full intensity and at much higher levels"¦"¦"¦..the important thing to remember is the earth is moving, so each section of a coral gets a lot less (time duration) of that intensity"¦"¦"¦"¦ it's a reason they grow in such nice perfect shapes. It's very similar to how a tree looks that is in an area open enough to get all angles of the sun.

Our tank lights are static so you don't need anywhere near that same amount of par.

Also remember, what I'm relating is my experience with T5 and par levels. They can be used as a guideline for other light forms but aren't exact rules.

It's really more important to look at the corals and how they are visually affected. You don't need a par meter and are probably better off without one, but since LEDs have been out everyone thinks they need to know exact par numbers.

A par meter is good for defining a top and bottom area to place the corals. I gave you that range"¦"¦between 500 and 200. The rest is a matter of looking at the corals and how they respond, color and grow when placed in that range.

For example, the smooth skinned acros will bleach or pale if I set too them too high in my tank and a milli at the bottom of the tank will brown out.

Sorry for being so long winded above"¦"¦.in short, for acropora the point is to use a lighting system that creates consistent spectrum across the whole length and width of the tank. You then just need to set the coral at a level in the tank where it does best"¦"¦"¦"¦the par levels I gave you can suggest a good starting point.

If you get those variables nailed down it's much easier to work out a duration that fits your livestock and personal enjoyment.
Click to expand...

Ed,
Thanks a lot for the explanation!
 
Ed,
I am reading your other thread were about leds and the apropriate spectrum for corals and their colors. can you please elaborate a little on polip extension?

is polip extension only a function of nutrients? what else comes into play for having great polip extension?

I have noticed how the same coral in one tank can have very nice PE and in another one can have no PE.
a lot of your coral photos show beautiful PE, so I would like to know what comes into play for that.

Thanks a lot.
 
I think most of it is nutrient levels if the corals are relatively healthy. A lot goes into that though...........a starving coral can have extended polyp extension as well.

If you look at most ULNS type systems(pastel colors) they're going to have more polyp extension. In my opinion though they want more food and it's not necessarily a sign of a coral thriving, but wanting more.

The additives, amminos, ect are more likely to trigger a response in those type of set ups.

Here is my frag I got from Dan......his nutrients are generally lower than mine. Both tanks are healthy---

On left is right after I got the frag on 10-11-15 and on the right is in my tank on 12-02-15. The corals both look good but mine on the right is how it adjusted to my tank.

I think flow can have an large effect as well.......a coral that is getting plenty of flow from all angles will have better extension too.

We both have t5,

I couldn't say for sure why the extension is different.........may be a combination of factors. I've never had the same polyp extension as Dan gets.

Orange Passion 012717 redux by Big E 52, on Flickr

Now in this case below it's obvious the coral is starving and the other is satiated. Here, that extended extension doesn't mean health as much as bleached coral wanting more. That came from a Zeo tank years ago.

Coral on 2-8-06

red pink table 020806zeo by Big E 52, on Flickr

Put it in my tank and here it is on 3-30-06...notice the extension is less than the above picture.

red pink table my tank033005 by Big E 52, on Flickr

In the end if a coral is colored and growing I wouldn't be too concerned with how extended the polyps are compared another system. It's when they are closed up completely and the coral has that dry look to it is when something is really off.
 
Last edited:
Great explanation Ed, this thread is such a great resource and we all appreciate the time you take to explain how you see things.

I'm going through this with a milli that has good color but very little extension. At the same time I have a horrida that I wish would have less polyp extension but it seems to always be hungry.
 
Ed,
it has been 3 weeks since I aimed to balance my Cal to my alk according to a reef calculator and let me tell you that it is easier to keep alk more stable. I had to decrease the dailly dose of alk because I have been decreasing Cal and and alk is the same. After what I read, I conclude that this balance keep it more stable because less precipitation occurs. Great tip, thanks a lot.

I did not remeber reading in this thread how do you dose alk and Cal?
do you have dosing pump?
how many times per day do you dose?
 
markalot said:
Great explanation Ed, this thread is such a great resource and we all appreciate the time you take to explain how you see things.

I'm going through this with a milli that has good color but very little extension. At the same time I have a horrida that I wish would have less polyp extension but it seems to always be hungry.
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

I think some corals are just always bushy, like you mention those meaty polyps on horridas........I love those.

Another interesting observation is that you can sometimes notice polyp extension only on a coral in the shaded areas.........where it gets more light the polyps aren't out as much.

I was tracking your Cousin It and that one does seems to be off for some reason.
 
sensei said:
Ed,
it has been 3 weeks since I aimed to balance my Cal to my alk according to a reef calculator and let me tell you that it is easier to keep alk more stable. I had to decrease the dailly dose of alk because I have been decreasing Cal and and alk is the same. After what I read, I conclude that this balance keep it more stable because less precipitation occurs. Great tip, thanks a lot.

I did not remember reading in this thread how do you dose alk and Cal?
do you have dosing pump?
how many times per day do you dose?
Click to expand...

I'm currently dosing 78mls a day 6 times over 24 hours with a dosing pump.
 
Hi Ed,

I changed my bulb combo several weeks ago from 5 B+ and a ABS to 4 B+ and 2 C+. I lowered my ATI fixture also. Man what a difference!! Most of my SPS have increased growth rate and darker colors. I plan on added the 3rd C+ very soon. Thank you for sharing your ideas and photos.
 
Ed, thank you for sharing your experiences with us! Very impressive and inspiring! You've got some gems to be proud of.
 
Ed,

can you please comment of flow for acros.
they like a lot of flow but, to be more specific do they like direct flow into the coral.
ie like aiming a powerhead to the coral.

I have read that corals grow diferently depending of how flow is hitting them.

how should we plan flow in acro dominant tank?
how how you done it in your tanks?

thanks a lot.
 
Dmantz1 said:
Hi Ed,

I changed my bulb combo several weeks ago from 5 B+ and a ABS to 4 B+ and 2 C+. I lowered my ATI fixture also. Man what a difference!! Most of my SPS have increased growth rate and darker colors. I plan on added the 3rd C+ very soon. Thank you for sharing your ideas and photos.
Click to expand...

That's great to hear it's working out for you. The 4/2 seems to work well, but I think your reds/pinks will brighten more with the 3/3.

tfp said:
Ed, thank you for sharing your experiences with us! Very impressive and inspiring! You've got some gems to be proud of.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

sensei said:
Ed,

can you please comment of flow for acros.
they like a lot of flow but, to be more specific do they like direct flow into the coral.
ie like aiming a powerhead to the coral.

I have read that corals grow diferently depending of how flow is hitting them.

how should we plan flow in acro dominant tank?
how how you done it in your tanks?

thanks a lot.
Click to expand...

Use a much flow as you can without ripping the skin off the corals. Wider flow works best. Try to get it throughout the display to avoid dead spots.

You also want to try to set up your aquascape as open as possible. Try not to have rock walls. The pedastel rock work some people use looks great after the corals grow in and keeps the area open for flow.

To me the best setups are ones that have 2/3 negative space, but that can be hard to do because we all buy too many corals.

It's hard to dictate shape but you can do some of that by pruning and direction of flow.

What I'm doing with this tort is an example..........I pruned the left side for room for corals and on the right that branch started to extend from the flow & I haven't cut it. I want it to keep extending out.

navy tort front 020917 by Big E 52, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
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