Montipora spp. prop. questions

[bprinehart]

Ok, question for all the monti lovers/ growers out there. What color temp do you guys find is the best compromise for growth and color? In my display my superman and rainbows are exhibiting outstanding color, growth is slow, however it is steady, I'd say approximately 1/4 inch in all directions, per month. I will say that I've taken some pretty ugly looking browned out frags, and after a short time under the T5s they color up beautifully. My lighting in the display consists of 4x54W T5, 2 Blue +, 1 Aquablue special, 1 Aquasun, and 2 VHO actinics. For circulation I have a closed loop pushing 1200G/hr, 2 nanostream 6025s, and 1 6045, and a Sure-Flow MJ1200, pushing about 1600G/hr, so I should be around ~70 x turnover/hr. Probably more so, if I knew the actual water volume of just the display, but regardless, sps do very well so far.

 

I'm going to be tying in a frag tank to the system, as I'd like to be able to propagate my corals for trade, grow out new arrivals, and also to have a backup in the event of a tank disaster. I had to start over once already when my heater imploded, and want to be better prepared this time. I would also be able to contribute to coral conservation in some small way.

 

For the frag tank, I have a 250W SE MH, Icecap Ballast and spider reflector. I'm figuring on keeping higher light montis in the main portion of that halides effective area, and lower light demanding species to the outside supplemented by a pair of 24" T5s. What I'm looking for are suggestions for the Metal halide bulb to use. I currently have a reeflux 10k, which has a few more months of good life left in it, but would like to switch it in the very near future.

 

Looking forward to your input!

Edited August 6, 2008 by bprinehart

[reefmontalvo]

Wow sounds pretty impressive do you have photos? I was thinking of doing the same thing. But right now I have to finish payn the truck off first, then I will expand and grow larger tank first then use the old 75 as a frag tank.

[bprinehart]

Wow sounds pretty impressive do you have photos? I was thinking of doing the same thing. But right now I have to finish payn the truck off first, then I will expand and grow larger tank first then use the old 75 as a frag tank.

 

Thanks, but its not as impressive as it sounds. I basically had to start over from scratch when my last tank crashed. Thanks to the generosity of many Wamas members, it's well on it's way to being better than before. I'll be starting a dedicated thread eventually. Once I feel it's show worthy.

[reefmontalvo]

Yeah I feel ya there. I noticed the best corals come from WAMAS members. I hope I can one day give portions of my corals to members getting into the hobby. It feels good to give and watch

[newfish]

GO WITH RADIUM BULBS. They are great. I have one in my Aquapod and the color is great.

[Integral9]

14K 150W HQI over a red monti. cap. in my 30 gal. Bulb is now 6 months old.

 

10K 150W HQI over a red monti. cap. in the same 30 gal. 10 months ago.

[bprinehart]

GO WITH RADIUM BULBS. They are great. I have one in my Aquapod and the color is great.

 

Aren't the Radiums relatively low par? I was always under the assumption that they do not encourage fantastic growth, but give good color. Also I've heard they have to changed frequently. Any truth?

[Highland Reefer]

I had the clubs quantum meter & was testing the par under different lights. I am currently using 14,000 K bulbs (two 400 W. bulbs over a 110 gal. tank). They look good, but the par is not up there to where it should be compared to the 10,000 K bulbs. I have been reading about lighting for corals & I agree with what Copps said about lighting in His Tank of the Month Interview for Reef Keeping Magazine several years ago: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/totm/index.php

 

When I buy new bulbs, I will buy 10,000k & am contemplating 6,500 K bulbs which gave me the best par readings. I will go back to adding actinics for appearance. I don't know if Copps is still using the lighting scheme on his current tank.

Edited August 7, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[GaryL]

Thanks, but its not as impressive as it sounds. I basically had to start over from scratch when my last tank crashed. Thanks to the generosity of many Wamas members, it's well on it's way to being better than before. I'll be starting a dedicated thread eventually. Once I feel it's show worthy.

 

isnt the dedicated tank thread supose to show the progression of a tank...not just what show quality is...its to help people learn..

 

show them pics!!!

 

enquiring minds want to know!

 

 

go with 10000k for growth. if you want color go with the radiums.... you can make em grow and color them out later.

 

6500k bulbs will make em grow really fast but you need alot of actinics to wash the yellow out.

[reefmontalvo]

So then 12000k should be a nice median for kelvin values? I' mean 6500k is fast coral growth and 14oook is stunted coral growth. And that is from what I gather.

[dtfleming]

14K phoenix will give you both. color and grow. Not too blue and not too white. Ushio 14K isnt bad either. I run a 14K ushio along with 4x24W T5HO's.