Who's running full T-5s with rics

[newtanksmell]

I could have sworn that I saw a thread related to rics and T-5s.

As I recall the commentary was reasonable and objective. It centered around a few experiences in that some rics didn't do as well under t-5 versus MH, PC, or VHO. Does anyone recall seeing this thread ?

Is anyone running full t5 banks ie 8x54 and have any comments on overall ric health, overall oclor, growth, pop, etc ?

I'm doing a major light upgrade for my 120g 48x24x24 this week and am still on the fence on 2x250 mh de's versus 8x54 with individual reflectors.

I have a mixed tank including a few SPS but my rics come first.

Thanks in advance.

 

[puddldude]

I had a lot of bleaching with t5's on m frag tank, but I never had a problem with very high watt MH. I only ran them for a month or so before I switched back. I also found better color under MH

 

[chrisstie]

I have 4x54W T5s with the individual reflectors and I had one yuma that just bleached the heck out (but is still hanging on poor little guy.. not sure what to do with him he's in my aquapod with pc light snow)

but I have 2 other yumas doing fantastic that haven't bleached out.

The difference I have noted so far is Bleached yuma came from a store I don't frequent as often as the source of the other 2. Also knowing where the bleached one came from it is very likely it was a "wild caught" yuma having not been propagated in captivity and probably would rather be home in some totally different ocean than a tank right now.

The other two my usual LFS wasn't sure of their source especially since I asked quite some time after receiving these particular ones. However it has a small farm and I am relatively sure when I got these they had come in on a new shipment so they could potentially be wild or not just from a different location.

They have not bleached out and were under MH at the store and looked just gorgeous and still do.

I hope this experience helps - I have some fl rics and 2 other yumas in my Aquapod 12g with the stock pc lights on it and they are doing great- the color isn't quite what it would be under MH but they expand very big, dont reach up for light, and look really nice in what is slowly becoming nearly a mushroom only tank since my zoos loose a lot of color there.

I am also ordering new PC lights to replace the stock ones since they are nearing a year old and its just regular maintainance

 

[FLricordia]

I guess this doesn't answer your (?) but I have found PC grows rics really fast but they look best under MH, though they will grow under MH, just not as fast. Just my observations though. There are many here with much more knowledge than me on lighting and rics.
T5s I have heard good and bad, but unfortunatly more bad comes to mind, and since PC and MH works for me I will stay with it for now.

 

[MikeD]

Wow, I wonder what it is with the T5's.. Maybe the tubes you are using are too bright/intense at 54watts each? I was thinking about setting up a 'nano' 37 gallon with rics decorating the rock and have a SLS Tek light 24" on there which are 4 24 watt bulbs...

 

[newtanksmell]

Thanks all, for the commentary.

Still no easy answer. I talked to a few people here in town last night. The general answer I received was that rics just do OK. SPS no problem. Heck, guys are keeping clams under t5s.

One of my reefing mentors here in town has rics in a 180 with T-5's. Tank is incredible. Her water couldn't be any better. SPS growth is incredible. Her RBTA just split.

Her ricordea are huge and healthy. Some of the ricordea over 3 years old. Still, she has never had a split or baby show up.

It's times like these that I realize that we still know so little about the ocean and it's inhabitants.

 

[chrisstie]

The setup I run is the teklight version as well. From my understanding because of the nature of the flourescent light, you cannot equate it to a watts\gallon measurement the way you could more hot running lights like PCs and MH.. I can't quite pickle out exactly why and I haven't had enough coffee yet but it was something I came across in researching my lights before I bought them.

With strong lighting like this proper light acclimation is key. You're just kind of screwed if you put something on the bottom of your tank and it bleaches. That one yuma was really finicky- I still don't know why it hasn't come back to full power.. it doesn't evenr eally open up it just hasn't dissolved either. Just is neon yellow now.

The other mushrooms are doing excellent, though. I have some sanctithomaes that're rockin out and a baby rhodactis inchoata that is swell.

I just got a clam too and am thinking of switching one of my bulbs out for a 6500 bulb I have to focus a bit more on growth and its more of the proper spectrum and par for my clam - I am hoping to see little to no change in acclimation for the corals and hopefully some strong growth.

Things that grow fast normally? I have some pink zoos that are like weeds and those green hairy mushrooms.. they keep growing fast under the conditions I have.

If it helps, here's my tank parameters too - I try to keep it consistently at these marks as I can and use Bionic 2 part to supplement (i have a very overrated skimmer either its eating my calcium or my corals are but i'm not sure i have that many to do it)

temp 80-82*
SG 1.025
pH 8.0
Alk 8.5 dkH
Ca 400-420 (it runs a little low but my stonies are doing pretty well)
Mg 1300

0-10 nitrates
no phosphates (i do have phosban in there now for the moment since I have a really really hard time telling those low levels of the blue on the test kit i don't know why that is)

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

FWIW, I had a friend with 6x54w T5 with Individual relfectors house my corals for a while. In a few months, my rics doubled in size. They were being kept at the bottom of the tank mainly because that was the only space available. They were moved higher a couple times and there weren't problems.

 

[newtanksmell]

My sincerest thanks for all of the info.

When it was all said and done, I went the sissy route and grabbed twin 250 HQI's w Phoenix 14K bulbs. I'll retain my 440 worth of VHO and will run it when Halides are off.

It will be here Friday, just in time for the twins arrival ! Woohoo !

I'm creating an oyster shell bed to house the ever expanding family. I post up some pics on Saturday.

 

[BigScott]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9522738#post9522738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
FWIW, I had a friend with 6x54w T5 with Individual relfectors house my corals for a while. In a few months, my rics doubled in size. They were being kept at the bottom of the tank mainly because that was the only space available. They were moved higher a couple times and there weren't problems.

i have T5s on my 75 gallon sitting on the bottom an thier doin sweet..an i got PCs on my 20 long frags tank.. an thier growin like weeds..in my opinion i woudent use MH, because of bleachin..
i havent had any bleachin on either sets of my lights..good luck..

scott

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9524826#post9524826 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigScott
i have T5s on my 75 gallon sitting on the bottom an thier doin sweet..an i got PCs on my 20 long frags tank.. an thier growin like weeds..in my opinion i woudent use MH, because of bleachin..
i havent had any bleachin on either sets of my lights..good luck..

scott

Scott, it was Adam's T5's that my rics doubled in size with. FWIW, I've kept Rics under everything but VHO. And out of all of them, I prefer T5's. Mine do fine under a 250w 14,000ºK SE MH, but they did far better under 6x 54w T5HO.

 

[FLricordia]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9524241#post9524241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by newtanksmell
My sincerest thanks for all of the info.

When it was all said and done, I went the sissy route and grabbed twin 250 HQI's w Phoenix 14K bulbs. I'll retain my 440 worth of VHO and will run it when Halides are off.

It will be here Friday, just in time for the twins arrival ! Woohoo !

I'm creating an oyster shell bed to house the ever expanding family. I post up some pics on Saturday.

Congrats. 14000k Mh are awesome and you will be amazed at the color of your corals. I run PC most of the day and MH 14000k part time. Rics are doing very well. For a few hours I run both.

 

[Twisted]

I am running 6X54w T5's on a 55 gallon, my green ric I have had for a year now has never split, after a couple months under T5s it swelled up really big, then spread it's base out, then it pulled it's base back in leaveing behind little pieces, that are now turning bright green and growing.
My orange ric opened up a bit more, but has yet to do anything else. Hoping it will follow in the green ones foot steps.

 

[cowboyswife]

I have T-5s and all my corals, including shrooms and rics, and clam are doing wonderful. I havent had a bleaching problem, and everything is growing, spreading, and is happy

 

[MrMexReefer]

maybe its not the t5's themselves, but the type of bulbs people are running in their T5's? Im looking into getting T5's, but Im scared for my yumas

 

[chrisstie]

Here's some examples of my shrooms doing well under T5s (notice the cameras crappy white balance making everything pretty blue because of the 03 bulbs