What Zoas look good under your T5 light?

[PupChow]

I have 6x39w SunTek T5 fixture over a 65g, and I am tired of Zoas turning color on me! What was vibrant and great looking sometimes turn pastel-like... -sigh-

So, fellow T5 owners, which Zoas worked out for you in retaining their color (pix would be great), or morphed to something better?

 

[msman825]

Don't know much about T5's but Thats a 24 inch deep tank right. I have a 90 and fire it with MH's and wonder sometimes . I have trouble with pinks and purples

 

[FormulatedFire]

i've got t5s and everything i've gotten has either kept its color or gotten brighter.......i know you from md and most lfs around us use mh to light their tanks......i kno the tek has individual reflectors so that could be 2 much light for them

 

[IZZY'SREEF]

I had the same problem with my zoos too. Even my star polyps changed a nasty color . Everything started looking see-through. So, I changed a few bulbs. I had 2 aqua blues and 2blue+. I now have 3 blue+ and 1GE6500k. Then got some new zoos, re-acclimated them to the light with screen over three weeks and, KABOOM!!! everything exploded with color like someone injected them with color.
I learned one very impotant lesson. Aclimate very slowly to T5s and keep things on the blue side, and colors will pop.
That happend to me with only 4 bulbs. Six may be excessive for what you are keeping, Pupchow. With six bulbs you may want to add some more blue+ orURI super actinics or both and or shorten photoperiod. Maybe even raise the lights up a few inches off the water. Six T5s is alot for what you are keeping. I also keep zoos, Rics, and LPS and I have the same tank with only 4bulbs.

 

[TWallace]

I've never noticed any of my zoas change color (for better or worse) under my T5s. My favorite ones in my tank are fire and ice, green dragon eyes and this one:

 

[The Beaut]

I have tek t5s also. You need to take your time with acclimation. They are very bright, mine went a little pale also when i first put the t5s on, but now the colors are amazing. Remember most zoas love very bright light. But not sudden bright light.

 

[PupChow]

Ahh, thanks guys... I kept thinking maybe I wasn't giving them enough light... =(

Maybe I will put in one more actinic when I swap out the lights later on! Btw, does photo-period make a difference?

 

[TWallace]

Dunno if it does. My photoperiod starts at 7:45am (actinics on) and ends at 9:00pm (actinics off). I think my daylights come on around 10:45am and off at 7:45pm.