toofrigginswt
New member
Joe,
What bulb combination do you have in each of your fixtures?
What bulb combination do you have in each of your fixtures?
Whats the most dominant successful Light fixture for SPS? Metal Halide or ATI T5 ????
- Thread starter luk81a
- Start date
trueblackpercula
New member
I would to see your set up as I have spoken with three off the top led makers and all have advised me to install two of ther fixtures to achieve good dept penetration. I do think they will work in time but right now I will wait it out.
Looking forward to seeing your set up.
trueblackpercula
New member
Not a photo of a 36 inch tank, but . . . .
Here's a shot of my tank. It's only 24 inches, but I would note that I moved my lights up from 4 inches above the water to 10 inches above the water because the light was too intense on the bottom, reaching 400+ umol/m2/sec before turning on the 4 x 150 watt MHs and I prefer readings of 100 to 200 on the bottom. Given that I was easily able to generate 400 at 24 inches and the fact that on average PAR readings drop from 400 to 100 with about 12 inches in depth change, I am fairly confident that this fixture with 16 T5 lamps could easily hit 100 umol/m2/sec at 36 inches of depth. I'm actually planning a totally new tank for this spring so maybe I'll go back to a deep tank and test this theory for myself
Joe
Joe do you have a build thread as I would really like to learn more about your amazing setup. Very inspirational to me.
JPMagyar
New member
Two corals at the top of my tank, not visible in the photo above, including ORA Strawberry Shortcake and ORA RedPlanet, began to turn white. At that time my Apogee meter was reading about 1000 at that particular spot now it's more like 700. Since moving the lights higher they are recovering nicely. :celeb2:
Each fixture has 2 150 watt Radium HQIs and 8 T5s including 4 ATI Blue Plus, 2 ATI Coral Plus, and 2 KZ Fiji Purples.
Thanks! I don't have a build thread, but I do have a long running tank thread:
JP's 240. A Decade of Work.
Sadly I have found that this is not a cheap hobby :eek2: but my tank is 48 x 48 x 24 so one fixture simply can't cover 48 x 48 not to mention I think surrounding corals with light on all sides helps them grow more "natural" formations rather than bending and turning towards point source lighting which helps make the overall appearance better.
Your Reefin' Buddy,
Joe Peck
Joe I understand about the 2 fixtures after I seen your Tank dimensions. I remember reading your tank thread, the new lights must have thrown me off. Sorry but I think your tank looked better when you were running the 250's and 400's radiums. Your tank still looks good just think it looked better back then.
karsseboom
New member
How could his tank look any better then that? The colors are spot on, I hardly see any room for improvement.
Sorry not sure how to quote from his thread with pic. look at post #30 karsseboom.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2019225&page=2
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2019225&page=2
REEF SMAC
New member
I do as well.
Maybe not, but it kinda does give some more merit to my original post that MHs are the dominant fixture for deeper tanks though doesn't it?
So you are amending your original post now to at least exclude 1000w MHs? That is good.
If you would have said equal to 250 MH I would be in full agreement with you.
400 MHs, I not so convinced yet. Sorry.
I really hope you are not talking about six 24W T5 bulbs either...?
I do agree it will grow coral at 36" but this is the SPS forum. So we're not talking about some LPS and softies are we? I would even guess that you could keep some montis and some really brown acros. If that's what want, You bet.
Is that enough to keep anything but brown acros?
There are probably some over in the LPS forum.
As you are well aware there are way too many variables inside a reef tank regarding what makes an acro grow besides light. My tank would hardly be considered a controlled environment. All I can tell you are my personal observations for what that is worth. Never have my Radiums, no matter where I run them in my tank, resulted in some kind of growth explosion. I just assumed this had to do with the fact that they have lower par than the other bulbs I've run them along side of. Maybe running lower PAR bulbs helps with the growth rate of some acros but IME it's not many of them. Again it's not like the growth under Radiums is that much slower and they do have a cool look.
I'm gonna have to look up "smarmy".
You're gonna keep me learning just with that new word.
Doesn't seem to change much while it's going on but when I look back how much this hobby has changed over the years it really is amazing.
You and I have a lot in common right here.
This graph was in the red light quote from post #33 but the link got lost so I am reposting it here as I feel it is critical to understanding the discussion for anyone trying to follow along.
Cheers,
Joe
Here is a graph from Sanjay's site showing the colors of the bulbs I've used over my tank. I don't honestly see where this mysterious red light thing even come into play here. Do you see some kind of difference in red that I'm not seeing? Sorry but this detrimental red light doesn't seem to be harming my corals too much that I can tell. Maybe my corals love red light for some reason. Lol.
I don't doubt those number at all really.
I will go on to say that I believe a 250W MH in a Lumenbright mini reflector, 4" off the water and 10" off the water would give you the same numbers.
I also believe a 400w MH in that same Luminbright mini would give you numbers that are higher. I would be interested to see what kind of numbers you would get 4" above the water in a 24" deep tank. I'm sure someone will chime in that knows.
Just like the individual reflectors on T5s improved their game immensely, the reflectors availible for MHs have improved as well. There are ones that can focus their light more directly towards the bottom. They are basically spotlights. Something I just don't personally see happening with T5s.
I'm actually planning a totally new tank for this spring so maybe I'll go back to a deep tank and test this theory for myself
You could just raise your fixture up another foot and save yourself the trouble.
So with all that said.
Let me say that your tank is beautiful. I've been an admirer of your tank for a long time. An admirer of your basement for even longer.
I would also submit to you that the reason your SPS look so amazing is because they are getting a hell of a lot more than 100 PAR. Even at the bottom.
Let me also state for the record that I'm a firm believer in T5s. I have a 8X39 ATI Powermodule over my 24"X36"X20" frag tank right now. Had it for several years now. They work extremely well. A ton of light. The way T5s spread out there light evenly to a large area is a great thing. I personally have a few acros that to me seem to have better color under my T5s than my MHs. Others do not for whatever reason. Then again I also have some acros that seem to do better under Plasma lighting. (maybe they have some extra red, who knows).
FWIW I hung my 8X39w ATI over my 34" deep DT once back when my LEDs crapped out the first time. Sorry but I HATED it.
Even at 4" above my water, the light at the bottom of my tank wasn't gonna cut if for me personally. It might have been a 100 PAR. I don't really know honestly. 100 PAR at the bottom doesn't cut for my taste personally though. I think even my clams would have turned brown had I left it there long. The salt build up on it from salt spray and fish splashing water on it was a nightmare to keep clean for even the short time I ran it there.
I love it over my frag tank though.
Reef on! :beer:
JPMagyar
New member
LOL. I actually have to agree with you
I even said in my own thread that I think my tank is past it's zenith, BUT . . . . . . . . personally I feel the differences are due to factors other than taking out 400 watt Radiums. I think the loss of my 2 giant tort colonies plus the loss of 2 huge zoo colonies plus the fact that I haven't taken the time lately to shoot a "professional photo" really are what is making the difference.More on point to this thread regarding dominant fixtures, I would say that ATI T5 fixtures SHOULD be the dominant answer. They are plug and play, come with dimming for sunset and sunrise simulation, have excellent cooling which helps your tank stay cool, and can grow colorful SPS like no other fixture I've seen. Hopefully in the coming weeks and months I can put together a nice set of before and after photos to show the positive benefits I have seen in my own tank and my daughter's new 38g from using T5s.
:beer:
Joe
JPMagyar
New member
I do as well.
Reef on! :beer:
Here! Here! Well said, and I agree with everything.
What I really want is a 6 bulb T5 from ATI with 3 banks of LEDs on the edges and middle to provide shimmer and penetration during noontime and moonlight with moon phase at night all the above with an onboard controller and quality cooling.
Now that would be my ultimate fixture!
Joe
megadeth72
New member
MH IMO, I've seen very few T5 tanks that had the same color, the growth is also different under t5
aqua80
New member
how much in australia for these ?
(8x54w)
It is the kind of fixture I'm looking for, but sadly it seems a little bit overpriced...
IMO a T5/mh combo is best for colors (love my spectra unit)
but adds heat and evaporation...
so this led/t5 combo is really appealing to me...
biggles
Premium Member
The dimmable 8x54W fixture runs at about $950- with no bulbs so well over a grand ready to run. The new model with LED's is going to be a lot more i expect but on a positive note there will be a large number of second hand ATI fixtures going cheap as soon as the new models are available.
karsseboom
New member
Best fixture hands down is an ati powermodule. Now that is only talking fixtures. There are so many amazing systems running that fixture, I don't think any other fixture is more proven.
This isn't t5 vs mh we are only talking the powermodule vs ???? So if you bring up t5 that are no incorporated into the ati fixture your off topic.
This isn't t5 vs mh we are only talking the powermodule vs ???? So if you bring up t5 that are no incorporated into the ati fixture your off topic.
jadette
Member
I've done them all:
1) 250W DE MH + T5 (Icecap Reef illumination fixture)
2) 8x54w T5 (Tek Fixture)
3) Half LEDs (48x3W Crees) and Half T5s (4x54w)
3) 400W MH only (Radiums in luminax elite fixtures)
4) LED only ( DIY 96x3W Crees)
5) and currently 2x400W MH radiums + 48x3W Cree LEDs over my 60"x30"x18" tank
I love my current set-up, which gives me the good growth of metal halides which I have on for 6 hours a day, and a very lovely sunrise/sunset affect with the LEDs.
I hated the LED only set up. I was getting too many hot spots that made coral placement difficult.
I didn't like my T5 only set-up, since I really missed the shimmer, and my tank looked very 1-dimensional with it. Admittedly, my fixture wasn't the best.
Half LEDs and half T5s looked very dim in my tank. I only used this setup for about a couple of weeks b/c I really didn't like the look, so I didn't really get a chance to see how my corals responded to it.
The MH+T5 setup worked great for the corals. I had really good growth for the 1.5 years I had this light combination. I had heat issues with this though, and only kept the MHs on for 4.5 hours in the summer time to keep the heat under 83.5 degrees. I didn't want to use a chiller and only used fans.
Here's my current setup:
Tank has been up for a little more than a year.
1) 250W DE MH + T5 (Icecap Reef illumination fixture)
2) 8x54w T5 (Tek Fixture)
3) Half LEDs (48x3W Crees) and Half T5s (4x54w)
3) 400W MH only (Radiums in luminax elite fixtures)
4) LED only ( DIY 96x3W Crees)
5) and currently 2x400W MH radiums + 48x3W Cree LEDs over my 60"x30"x18" tank
I love my current set-up, which gives me the good growth of metal halides which I have on for 6 hours a day, and a very lovely sunrise/sunset affect with the LEDs.
I hated the LED only set up. I was getting too many hot spots that made coral placement difficult.
I didn't like my T5 only set-up, since I really missed the shimmer, and my tank looked very 1-dimensional with it. Admittedly, my fixture wasn't the best.
Half LEDs and half T5s looked very dim in my tank. I only used this setup for about a couple of weeks b/c I really didn't like the look, so I didn't really get a chance to see how my corals responded to it.
The MH+T5 setup worked great for the corals. I had really good growth for the 1.5 years I had this light combination. I had heat issues with this though, and only kept the MHs on for 4.5 hours in the summer time to keep the heat under 83.5 degrees. I didn't want to use a chiller and only used fans.
Here's my current setup:
Tank has been up for a little more than a year.
Moser
Active member
trueblackpercula
New member
Hope everything works out with your tank,
How does one know the difference from bleaching from to much light or of the sps is bleaching because its not getting enought light?
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