What is your lighting of choice for optimum acropora color and growth
- Thread starter Mr. Brooks
- Start date
Radioheadx14
New member
I love my 250w MH and 4 Blue T5s on my 40g breeder. I have tried everything over the years, and this is my favorite. tried to switch to radions but it didn't make it past the initial test phase. worth the extra electricity and heat.
dadummy
Active member
they told me when I was getting the fever you cannot grow SPS under VHO. That was my favorite lighting. I forget the exact bulb config., however, I do remember running two NO Aqua-D Blue bulbs along with the 4 VHO bulbs over a 90g. The NO bulbs had an amazing blue pop for that time frame. Pics are all on a crashed hard drive and it makes me want to cry. Maybe it's euphoric recall, but I know for sure the Monti Caps were amazing and the A. Aspera grew branches out of the water. Sure, easy SPS, but for a beginner it was fantastic.
The excess of Monti frags paid for the lighting upgrade to T5. Which at the time they came out the Halide guru's stated you cannot grow SPS under T5. Wrong again know it all!. Seven T5 bulbs over a 90 gallon grew everything. I then absolutely had to have a bigger tank and switched up to a 150g with T5 and was very successful.
Holy Cow, then the blue LED hit the street, I had to have it!!. Once again the SPS guru's were wrong stating you can't grow SPS under LED. With the DIY RB, CW LED combo I was still able to sustain the sps they just grew differently. While Red Planet and ATL Mirabilis continued to grow up and table, the ORA blue Mille and other corals would just encrust and not branch. Eventually pulled the white LED and added back some B+ T5, life was good again. Except for the dreaded AEFW.
A few years ago we replaced the tile flooring in the house, set up a holding/ frag system broke down the tank treating corals for AEFW. Finally, I got to try the ultimate lighting, Metal Halide. Picked up three used 250w DE pendants with M80 ballasts and supplemented with blue LED. Man those things are bright. I think the blue LED ruined it for me. I was never happy with the Halide bulb colors and the LED sucked for supplementation to the bright lights. I was either going to get new pendants and run Radiums or put the T5 back in. I feel the Halides have not gotten a fair shake and are in the attic. For the last two years, I have had nothing but issues with the system, Compromising myself that once all the SPS finally die I will go back to a mixed reef, I switched out to T5. Still not sure what's wrong, ICP test came back OK but that's another long boring story.
SO, with all the nonsense the best *growth and coloration* for me has been with T5 LED.
The excess of Monti frags paid for the lighting upgrade to T5. Which at the time they came out the Halide guru's stated you cannot grow SPS under T5. Wrong again know it all!. Seven T5 bulbs over a 90 gallon grew everything. I then absolutely had to have a bigger tank and switched up to a 150g with T5 and was very successful.
Holy Cow, then the blue LED hit the street, I had to have it!!. Once again the SPS guru's were wrong stating you can't grow SPS under LED. With the DIY RB, CW LED combo I was still able to sustain the sps they just grew differently. While Red Planet and ATL Mirabilis continued to grow up and table, the ORA blue Mille and other corals would just encrust and not branch. Eventually pulled the white LED and added back some B+ T5, life was good again. Except for the dreaded AEFW.
A few years ago we replaced the tile flooring in the house, set up a holding/ frag system broke down the tank treating corals for AEFW. Finally, I got to try the ultimate lighting, Metal Halide. Picked up three used 250w DE pendants with M80 ballasts and supplemented with blue LED. Man those things are bright. I think the blue LED ruined it for me. I was never happy with the Halide bulb colors and the LED sucked for supplementation to the bright lights. I was either going to get new pendants and run Radiums or put the T5 back in. I feel the Halides have not gotten a fair shake and are in the attic. For the last two years, I have had nothing but issues with the system, Compromising myself that once all the SPS finally die I will go back to a mixed reef, I switched out to T5. Still not sure what's wrong, ICP test came back OK but that's another long boring story.
SO, with all the nonsense the best *growth and coloration* for me has been with T5 LED.
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