Help on light opinion for sps in nano tank

[ReefAddiction34]

Hey Fellow reefers,

I’m looking for some input, opinions, advice for ways to improve my acro coloration. My SPS tank is a 14 gallon bio cube that’s been up and running for several years. Parameters have been very stable and all corals are currently healthy. I have very good coloration but not great and want to try and improve this. The light I’m currently using is a kessil a360x, which is already a pretty strong Light for that size tank. Ideally I would love to do a T5 and LED combo, but I believe the smallest fixture out there right now is 24” which may look a little bulky and large for my tank. I’m also considering maybe reefbrite strips to help supplement my Kessil.
My Kessil has a ramp up period and a ramp down. I run it mostly blues in morning and then evening with a photoperiod of white that I just personally like in the afternoon. Right now the intensity peaks at 70% in the afternoon for a few hours with a schedule that is 45–>60–>70–>70–>60–>45 then ramps down from like 7pm to 10pm.
The light was at about 6-7 inches from the water but is now more like 8-10 inches because it seems to be more spotlight like.
Any advice would be appreciated. Like I said the tank is doing well and corals are healthy and have good color.... but I want to achieve those crazy coral colors we see in the bigger stores and some reefers on R2R.

 

[Phil D.]

Hey! My daughter had a Kessil A80 Tuna Blue on her nano and it didn't perform well, same as yours. We upgraded to a Red Sea tank which came with the Reef LED. Red Sea researched and found corals use the 360-480nm spectrum the most. So I highly recommend you get the Red Sea Reef LED 50 which would be a good size for your tank.
It's controlled by their Reef Beat app which is very easy to use.

 

[AJsReef]

Honestly, your coloration looks good. The light you have fits your tank and still has room to increase PAR. Remember, a lot of what you see online has been heavily edited prior to uploading.

I would play with your intensity, time spent at peak and nutrient levels to see what you can optimize.

 

[ReefAddiction34]

Hey! My daughter had a Kessil A80 Tuna Blue on her nano and it didn't perform well, same as yours. We upgraded to a Red Sea tank which came with the Reef LED. Red Sea researched and found corals use the 360-480nm spectrum the most. So I highly recommend you get the Red Sea Reef LED 50 which would be a good size for your tank.
It's controlled by their Reef Beat app which is very easy to use.

I’m running a Kessil 360x over the tank, not an a80... the 360 is a 90w light which I’m almost certain is more than enough light for a 14g biocube. Probably like killing a fly with a shotgun lol. But I’m wondering if I need some actinic strips or need to bring some T5’s into the mix.

 

[Phil D.]

Yes, just a little bit of overkill. As I stated, the spectrum on the Reef LED is suited for SPS. If you add T5s, then they would need changed every 6 months or so to keep the proper spectrum.

 

[ReefAddiction34]

Honestly, your coloration looks good. The light you have fits your tank and still has room to increase PAR. Remember, a lot of what you see online has been heavily edited prior to uploading.

I would play with your intensity, time spent at peak and nutrient levels to see what you can optimize.

Thank you. The picture isn’t that great with just an iPhone and no filters/lenses. Colors do look nice, so I hate to be the guy that complains about a healthy sps tank. Just wish I could get some really awesome vivid colors. Nutrients are pretty good in terms of nitrates and phos. I’m wondering if I should increase intensity, but worried about cooking them lol.

 

[AJsReef]

Thank you. The picture isn’t that great with just an iPhone and no filters/lenses. Colors do look nice, so I hate to be the guy that complains about a healthy sps tank. Just wish I could get some really awesome vivid colors. Nutrients are pretty good in terms of nitrates and phos. I’m wondering if I should increase intensity, but worried about cooking them lol.

Increase intensity slowly over time, 5% every few weeks for example. Remember, you may be limited by the strains of coral you have. I can’t stress enough that more often that not corals are “misrepresented” online in that they are under heavy blue light and also edited after. Essentially, you’d likely be throwing money at a nonexistent problem