Incredible Corals September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 I think you both mean 39w bulbs (36" fixture)...? As for how many, the canopy is pretty shallow, so they'd only be 8" from the surface of the water... So I was thinking more like 12 or 16 to get full tank coverage? At first my hesitation was the annual bulb cost; but would $240(12)-$320(16) a year, really be that much, in this hobby? That's $20-$27 a month, it's not THAT much. We'll see. As soon as I can get my hands on some 36" T5's to supplement my radions, we'll see how I feel. I just have a feeling I could go 100% T5 in the end. Chris Tran has been Radions+T5 supplements for a while now and he is happy, so maybe that's all I'd need. No, I think you should go with 24" fixture not 36". You don't need the fixture to go to the end of the tank. I have the ATI 36" fixture and my tank is 50". You would have 6" gap on each side which is not much at all. I have 7" on each side and still have corals all the way on the edge that look great. Steve Outlaw just picked up his Red Table that looked awesome and it was almost in the shade in for the last 7-8 months. Not a lot of growth but looked amazing. Or just get some 10K MH and go for growth. I always think that would be fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 17, 2012 Author Share September 17, 2012 See the large torch coral at the front left, on it's own island? I am thinking about removing it and taking another step closer to my SPS dominant tank. I think my fiancee, roommate, friends and family that visit (everyone else) - would be disappointed because it's always everyone's favorite b/c it moves around I guess. But this is MY tank, and I have a vision in my head of all that empty space being full of colorful SPS branches everywhere... SO... With that said, can any of you think of a coral that would go nicely on that island rock where the torch currently is? I was thinking I could get a mini sps colony to place there (maybe even trade the torch coral even for the piece). There are 2 that I don't have yet, that might work there? 1. Palmers Blue Millepora 2. Red Dragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbgen12 September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 I would keep the torch and just put it on the sand bed...that way you can just add that nice blue mille Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 17, 2012 Author Share September 17, 2012 I would keep the torch and just put it on the sand bed...that way you can just add that nice blue mille Well, another reason for removing it is that it's tentacles are long and they will sting all of the SPS nearby. Even on it's island, they are already dangerously close to my SPS pieces near it. Once they grow a couple inches, the torch coral will sting/kill them... It's a really beautiful torch though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 I say keep it, just find a spot in the sand for it. You got to have some motion in your ocean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 Just give it to me. I'll give a beer and a high five for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 Ill give you a case of beer for it... Doesnt look good in your tank anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 17, 2012 Author Share September 17, 2012 Doesnt look good in your tank anyways. I agree. Here is a photo from the previous owner (Aaron) so you can see how purple this torch is supposed to be: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 He probably had MH and or T5s.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 17, 2012 Author Share September 17, 2012 He probably had MH and or T5s.. Here is his FTS. Can you tell from the photo? I think it was 100% T5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 How big is that tank.? It looks great.! Looks like all T5s to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 It was T-5 with 2 Reef Bright LED strips. Beautiful tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 Ryan- If you like, you can have all of my SPS that I have on hand. Super Unknown Dr. Macs Pink Limeade Tyree Tri-color Valida Oregon Tort Unknown smooth skinned acro. I'll take that torch off your hands to make room though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds September 17, 2012 Share September 17, 2012 I think you both mean 39w bulbs (36" fixture)...? As for how many, the canopy is pretty shallow, so they'd only be 8" from the surface of the water... So I was thinking more like 12 or 16 to get full tank coverage? At first my hesitation was the annual bulb cost; but would $240(12)-$320(16) a year, really be that much, in this hobby? That's $20-$27 a month, it's not THAT much. We'll see. As soon as I can get my hands on some 36" T5's to supplement my radions, we'll see how I feel. I just have a feeling I could go 100% T5 in the end. Chris Tran has been Radions+T5 supplements for a while now and he is happy, so maybe that's all I'd need. Ryan, There is no need for 12-16 T5 bulbs. You could easily get away with 8, i would go with 10 just because it gives you more color and if your going to retro it into your canopy, you could spread them out a little more. There is also no need for 36" bulbs, you could go with the 24" for two reasons. One is cheaper and two you rockwork gives you the ability to do it that way. You don't have the coral growing right in the corners, its all spread around the center. With my tank (72x30x22), i went with a 5' fixture with only 8 bulbs. I think it measures 60" long and 20" across. With my rock work, its going to be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 18, 2012 Author Share September 18, 2012 (edited) Eric and Steve, I am very hesitant to get 24" bulbs. I want to have complete light coverage on the 36"x36" square, with no shadows. I also read online that 24" T5s have a very low penetration. I should caveat that I have never used T5s. I used to have MHs; and then the Radions. However, I have always been intrigued by T5s because I can't count how many TOTM's I've drooled over that were lit completely by T5s. They seem very easy to use. As long as you have enough bulbs, your color combination choices are endless, and you can grow the most colorful SPS ever. So I am doing online research, as always, and I appreciate your inputs (as well as everyone else). Everything you say, or I read online, goes into my head and helps when figuring out what to do. So again, I appreciate it! Now, I do have questions or thoughts. Please correct me if I am wrong (which is often!) I don't want 16 36" T5s if I can avoid it; however; others have said that to get 27" of penetration (which is generally 400w MH territory), I need them very close together, not spread out. Chris Tran, former totm with my same tank, recommends 14 36" T5s for a SPS tank. Now, if a retro reflector is 2" wide, 16 would be 32" of width, which almost covers the entire tank; thus giving me maximum penetration and complete coverage without shadows? Perhaps I could pull it off with 12 and ATI II reflectors, which are 2.75" each, which would be 33" of coverage... As for fixtures, I also considered an ATI Powermodule. Here is a link to the 10x39w fixture. It specifically states "SPS dominated tanks up to 130 gallons. Recommended Tank Depth: up to 30" with carefully planned placement of corals." My tank is 150 gallons, and I am trying to avoid "carefully planned placement of corals." I want to grow SPS at the top or on the sandbed, you know? (Technically, if you look at my FTS above, you can see the only 3 main places I want to/can grow SPS.) With that said, however, the fixture is 34.5" x 21.5", if hung 8" above the water like the radions, would that cause spotlighting? Everyone always raves about ATI units. I see them sold used on RC from time to time, which would save me a ton of money. But would 10 bulbs be enough for a kick-butt SPS tank? I want this thing to be totm-worthy in the future. Tons of bright, colorful sps colonies filling in all over the place... Moving on, I HATE spotlighting. Here are 3 old FTSs with the 2 radions over my tank. (They are hung 8" above the water, which is what ecotech recommends. I couldn't hang them higher because of my shallow canopy, plus they'd have even less PAR if I did that anyway.) Front: Right Side: Left Side: I don't want 2 MH's over the tank, because they would spotlight the same way the radions are. However, 1 lumenarc (400w, 20k) over the top, at the right height, could provide 36"x36" coverage without spotlighting, right? What would my PAR be in the 4 corners of the tank? Could this single light/fixture grow SPS anywhere in the tank? I would just "try it and see" but I'd need to cut a 20"x20" hole in my canopy to try it out, which would effectively ruin my canopy; so if it didn't work, then I'd be stuck with a canopy with a giant hole in the top! So, bottom line, I appreciate everyone's input. I really like to think things through and ask lots of questions before making such a big decision. But it's safe to say I think at this point, that the radions will likely be replaced within the next month or two. It's just a matter of figuring out what I'll be replacing them with. Edited September 18, 2012 by Ryan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals September 18, 2012 Share September 18, 2012 (edited) As far as light penetration goes, almost all my corals are at least 20 under the water and the colors are awesome with T5s. Bruce came over and used his par meter on my tank and my red planet, montis and almost all the SPS were growing and looking amazing at 250-300par and some even in the 150-180 range. I also had Steve Outlaws Milli on the sand bed where the par is around 100-80 and it looked amazing. The SPS isnt growing out of control but there is visible growth even when I go on vacation for a week. Blasting corals with light isn't really all there is to it and you can get great results with much less par. You should just add some reef brite strips between the radions to fill in those gaps you are talking about. Edited September 18, 2012 by forrealb50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT September 18, 2012 Share September 18, 2012 if your not sold on the MH dont cut the canopy...make a makeshift one and put it in place of the current canopy...could do it for 30 bucks in lumber i would think...wouldnt be a long lasting one but i bet it would be fine for 6months or more....basically 1in square frame with skin to block light leakage... i think what eric is saying is the 24 bulbs will give yuo good coverage and the shadowing will be minimal because of the reflections off the tank etc...so you should be just fine..i always thought 24in bulbs were the same cost though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella September 18, 2012 Share September 18, 2012 How about getting 2 photon cannons. No depth issue there, you can supplement with some actinics. Those Lights BA. Novi had them on his DD tank and it looked great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 18, 2012 Author Share September 18, 2012 How about getting 2 photon cannons. No depth issue there, you can supplement with some actinics. Those Lights BA. Novi had them on his DD tank and it looked great. That reminds me Travis. Here is another guy with a 150g DD. Look at what he did for lighting. (Wouldn't work for me b/c I want to use the canopy): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT September 18, 2012 Share September 18, 2012 yeh those arent cannons....cannons probalby would work for you with some t5s in there....Novi had them on a 200DD and it did look nice, look up his name and youll see pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 18, 2012 Author Share September 18, 2012 yeh those arent cannons....cannons probalby would work for you with some t5s in there....Novi had them on a 200DD and it did look nice, look up his name and youll see pics. I remember the pics. They were very powerful, but they did spotlight (how couldn't they with how powerful they were). Plus they wouldn't fit into my canopy. I am pretty sure T5 or MH is my next choice. I think LEDs are awesome, just not for this tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadgets September 18, 2012 Share September 18, 2012 Glad you came to your senses and got rid of the LEDs. LOL MH is the way to go, especially with SPS. I have yet to see an all T5 tank rival the colors produced by MH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf September 18, 2012 Share September 18, 2012 Glad you came to your senses and got rid of the LEDs. LOL MH is the way to go, especially with SPS. I have yet to see an all T5 tank rival the colors produced by MH. +1 There is a member on here that has 2 400 watt MH over a 70 gallon cube and it looks awesome!!! He only has both at the same time for a little while, but the SPS colors are amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S September 18, 2012 Author Share September 18, 2012 Thanks guys. I am going to start with a 400w 20k Radium in a Large Lumen Bright Reflector. I am thinking 4hrs/day to start; then raise the time 30 minutes per week. Not sure when to stop. 8 hours/day maybe? I won't be supplementing T5's for the time being, but will likely add them in the near future. (Though, ridetheducati doesn't supplement his 400w MHs and his tank is super awesome, so maybe not). The plan is to cut a hole in the top of my canopy to place the reflector on, and add some fans for ventilation (1 on each side drawing air into the canopy, and 2 on the top, drawing the hot air up and out). Hopefully the fans will be enough to avoid needing a chiller. The reflector will be 10" from the surface of the water if I set it on my current canopy. I'm thinking I may need to modify the canopy to raise it higher, maybe to 12" or 14" from the surface, for the best spread on the 36"x36" tank underneath, so we'll see. I'm also considering getting a 400w 10k XM bulb and running that for 1 year, THEN switching to the 400w 20k Radium for coloration. All of frags could use a year of growth under a 400w 10k XM, that's for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 September 19, 2012 Share September 19, 2012 Doesn't that article I sent you say to have that reflector 16" off water surface? Even high par. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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