What’s your favorite light source for Acropora?

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

Smite · Nov 28, 2020

That's a tough one. If heat and usage costs are no issue I'd go for a hybrid of all three, but it is, specifically with my current smaller tank so I'm voting LED. The cost is much higher up front, and for sps you're going to need supply more units than manufacturer's recommend but in the end I feel they grow and color sps just as well, are more controllable....and ALMOST get that natural look and shimmer of MH.

SDchris · Nov 28, 2020

I'm liking a combo of led/halide ATM. Maybe led only some time in the future.

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

Smite said:
That's a tough one. If heat and usage costs are no issue I'd go for a hybrid of all three, but it is, specifically with my current smaller tank so I'm voting LED. The cost is much higher up front, and for sps you're going to need supply more units than manufacturer's recommend but in the end I feel they grow and color sps just as well, are more controllable....and ALMOST get that natural look and shimmer of MH.

LED’s have come a long way. The controllability is nice, but can’t say I’d use it much. I do like to dim/ramp my lights up/down dawn to dusk. Although the corals might not care, I just enjoyed the low light ramping up in the mornings and the same in the evenings. It’s good coffee light.

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

SDchris said:
I'm liking a combo of led/halide ATM. Maybe led only some time in the future.

Very nice sir!

infinite0180 · Nov 28, 2020

Ive only ever run Radions. I had mild success with sps till i moved to a new tank. Now im restocking and decided to go with an ATI Sunpower instead. Ill probably add reefbrites but not sure yet...

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

infinite0180 said:
Ive only ever run Radions. I had mild success with sps till i moved to a new tank. Now im restocking and decided to go with an ATI Sunpower instead. Ill probably add reefbrites but not sure yet...

That is a great fixture. I’ve had a lot of success with it and it’s priced well too. They put out some nice PAR too.

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

I ran a generic fixture one time with KZ & ATI bulbs sitting high enough to give me about 250 PAR and that tank always seemed healthier to me. The corals looked better and seemed to grow better in less light. I know that sounds crazy.

infinite0180 · Nov 28, 2020

Reefahholic said:
That is a great fixture. I’ve had a lot of success with it and it’s priced well too. They put out some nice PAR too.

Im really hoping the set it and forget it aspect pays off. Leds are hard to fine tune...

Smite · Nov 28, 2020

infinite0180 said:
Im really hoping the set it and forget it aspect pays off. Leds are hard to fine tune...

Very true. I ran a 8x54w on my 120g with great success. I used the 2 channel for actinics for ramping up and down until I added a reefbrite tech to the setup. It is great to rule out lighting when starting with sps.

KrisReef · Nov 28, 2020

I like metal halide 250w 14K, but the sps really like natural sunlight.

I dream of a green house.

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

infinite0180 said:
Im really hoping the set it and forget it aspect pays off. Leds are hard to fine tune...

It will man. I used to be an OCD tinkering fool. I’ve learned that merely blowing the rocks off has an affect on stability. I don’t clean my sump as much as I used to. I’ll siphon a pile of detritus, but that’s about it. I don’t want to disturb the tank too much. If you mess with major things like lighting, it can take a month or more for the corals to acclimate to that change (depending on how much you >/<).

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

Smite said:
Very true. I ran a 8x54w on my 120g with great success. I used the 2 channel for actinics for ramping up and down until I added a reefbrite tech to the setup. It is great to rule out lighting when starting with sps.

Here’s the generic fixture I ran with KZ and ATI bulbs. Had it at about 250 PAR and the corals looked super happy.

Smite · Nov 28, 2020

Reefahholic said:
Here’s the generic fixture I ran with KZ and ATI bulbs. Had it at about 250 PAR and the corals looked super happy.

KZ purps are awesome. I know TGC would run 2 purple and then all blue + and I tried to mimic that for awhile. I just liked the giesemann pure actinic lamps in there. Not par monsters but I felt added some great pop.

infinite0180 · Nov 28, 2020

Reefahholic said:
It will man. I used to be an OCD tinkering fool. I’ve learned that merely blowing the rocks off has an affect on stability. I don’t clean my sump as much as I used to. I’ll siphon a pile of detritus, but that’s about it. I don’t want to disturb the tank too much. If you mess with major things like lighting, it can take a month or more for the corals to acclimate to that change (depending on how much you >/<).

Its arriving today! Very excited to set it up!

TX_Punisher · Nov 28, 2020

I voted MH, T5, with LEDS.

WAIT. THAT WASN'T A CHOICE

G5 with T5 would be my second choice.

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

TX_Punisher said:
I voted MH, T5, with LEDS.

WAIT. THAT WASN'T A CHOICE

G5 with T5 would be my second choice.

That will be a crazy fixture! ;Hilarious

Reefahholic · Nov 28, 2020

Did anybody notice in the first pic that my T5 bulbs are dated?? I'm surprised nobody commented.

One thing I've learned over the years is that if somebody is selling a T5 fixture and you ask how old the bulbs are, you will always hear them say..."Ohh they're brand-new." "Only 3 months old" "T5 fixture for sale with brand-new bulbs!!"

Reefahholic · Dec 1, 2020

Looks like T5/LED is taking the cake.

Metcho · Dec 1, 2020

I’ve been using led T5 B+ but now I built my own led light bars to go away from T5 bulb it’s (40) LED four different blue spectrum and (10) LED 4K white still wiring them up but should have plenty of spread like T5 no lens all ran on WiFi and at 700ma two channels blue/white