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Thread: New Lighting Question

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    Apprentice mcastfalk's Avatar
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    New Lighting Question

    I have a 30 gallon tank and have mostly fish and live rock, but I did start to introduce corals. I added a rock with Star Polyps on it about a year ago.

    I was using two 96W hi intensity bulbs, one 10,000k and one actinic. The other day my wife accidentally dropped the light fixture in to the tank while adding fresh water. Needless to say, the whole fixture was blown. Wife is ok, tank is ok - tripped the breaker on our socket.

    I went to the fish store today to purchase a new light kit. At the recommendaton of the sales associate, I purchased a fixture with two 39W bulbs, T5 HO, one 10,000k, the other actinic. Now, this is 78W total. When I asked him if that was enough, he said it was since they were HO bulbs.

    I'm not so sure of this recommendation and wanted to post it here to get some answers. Did I buy too little lighting or does the T5 give out more at lower wattage? Seems to me like I should have 4 to 6 bulbs rather than two. Isn't the rule of thumb 3 watts per every gallon? I want my polyps to grow, they've been dying off lately.

    Any advice is helpful. Thanks.

    Michael

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    Crispy Reef Monkey **MOD** Phurst's Avatar
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    The "Watts per gallon" rule isn't really very helpful, given the wide variety of lighting tech out there today. Do the T5 bulbs have a reflector for each bulb, or one big reflector for both? If they're individual reflectors, you''ll be OK for lower light stuff like your GSP, button polyps, mushrooms and stuff like that. If it's one big reflector, I'd be a bit nervous. Knowing what you ultimately want to keep will give us a better idea of how well this light will suit. Oh, and yes, T5s with good reflectors will beat PCs any day.
    **KEEP ME AWAY FROM SUPER GLUE ... i tend to glue my lips shut !!**

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    Apprentice mcastfalk's Avatar
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    I bought an AquaticLife fixture that I can expand to 4 or 6 lights later on. This is what I bought:

    http://www.aquaticlife.com/t5ho_dual/420140.pdf

    How do I determine the wattage I need/will need for my tank with this type of light fixture?

    I'd like to start with easy to keep soft corals and could use some direction on those as well. I initially had in mind that I'd have some star polyps (purchased one year ago, but 75% have died off) and some mushroom corals. I'm open to suggestions on others. I've always liked the brain corals, but I'm not sure if they are easy to keep or if they need more intense lighting. I found an "easy corals" page on About.com:

    http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/cor...5-Easy-Corals/

    Which of these corals would work well with the T5 lighting? Any suggestions? I'm just getting my feet wet with these and the star polyps haven't been doing good. I'm afraid to invest more money.

    Is there any other info you need from me to make a reco?

    Michael

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    Crispy Reef Monkey **MOD** Phurst's Avatar
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    It looks like they have individual reflectors, which is good. Anything on the first 2 rows of corals would probably be OK under that fixture. Honestly, I'd add another set of 2 bulbs sooner rather than later. That will open up a much larger range of possibilities. I am a little concerned that the star polyps aren't doing well though. if ever there was a bulletproof coral, GSP is it. What other equipment are you using? How are your water parameters, including temp and salinity?
    **KEEP ME AWAY FROM SUPER GLUE ... i tend to glue my lips shut !!**

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    Apprentice mcastfalk's Avatar
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    Are the two lights (i.e. new fixture) that I just added, well enough for the GSP and maybe some mushroom corals? Eventually I will upgrade my tank, but not in the current location - this is all in my dining room right now and I am not ready to go to a larger tank, although I may be able to. I just want to move the tank eventually to another room (currently unfinished) and make a smooth transition. At that point, I can add more lighting and different corals. Will the two lights work for what I have now though? I am uploading a photo of the set up. Here is what I suspect:

    My parameters have been steady and just about textbook for the past two years, not wavering too much. The only thing that moves a bit is the PH, Nitrates and Phosphates are within range. However, I only test for the basics. I do not have a coral reef test kit, just the basic saltwater kit.

    Temperature and Salinity:

    Due to a long time algae problem, I adjusted the temperature down a bit but not much. It is at 72 degrees without the lights on. Lights come on for about 12 hours a day. Salinity is at 1.026.

    The issue with the GSP dying off started about a year ago when one of the two 96W bulbs did not work anymore (the actinic, I had 10k daylight and actinic in the previous fixture). It turned out the ballast was shot, so I only had one ballast to use. I continued for about 6 months with just the 10k bulb and that is when I noticed the die off of the GSP starting to happen. This was last March. I switched to one 50/50 bulb at the time.

    I also kept my eyes out for nudibranches. I had seen one when I first bought the GSP and did not know to pick it out. Have not seen it since and I have not noticed any egg sacks on the bottom of the rock. I really think what happened was the lighting issues I had, but then again this is my first time trying corals.

    Attached is a photo of the tank setup. I have a Penguin filter hanging on the back of the tank, not much I can do with the flow of water from this, but it goes right over the GSP. Also have a Koralia 1 fan/pump to circulate water. Recently had to fix this due to a snail getting inside and breaking the propeller. 65 gal Coralife Protein Skimmer is also part of the set up, along with my heater. Everything in the tank is a bit tight and it is all situated in the tank, I do not have a sump or anything else except a QT.

    Any suggestions? Do you need me to clarify anything?

    I appreciate the help.

    Michael

    Below are two photos of my current set up showing the position of the GSP in relation to the light & rest of equipment. Any suggestions? I've wondered if I just need to move the GSP up higher somehow?


    Last edited by mcastfalk; 10-02-2010 at 10:01 PM. Reason: Post photos

  7. #6
    Master Reefer SaltyDawg's Avatar
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    Try Photobucket. http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/ge...t-picture.html . Carmie put together a good tutorial on how to use it.

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    Apprentice mcastfalk's Avatar
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    Thanks. That worked.

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    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    Here is a little secret, I can't keep GSP. For me, they are like that other bulletproof cora,l xenia. That being said, lets see if we can get to the bottom of why you are having trouble.

    Is your tank 36x12x12? What are your nitrate, phosphate and pH levels? I actually think your temperature is a little too cool but doubt it is the reason for the GSP dwindling. I also don't think it is your lighting, I have seen people keeping them under a freshwater NO fluorescent setup.
    Carmie


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    This is the company I got my lights from http://shop.aquatraders.com/T5-High-...-Light-s/9.htm I replaced two of the stock bulbs with Giesmann AquaBlue and PureActinic lights. more detail in my Craigslist 55 thread under members projects. Anyway, GSP has been great there. Also, I keep my salinity at 1.023 to 1.025. Anyway, the GSP grows like wildfire. Temp is generally about 78-79. If the lighting you had was insufficient, it may take a few weeks under the new T5's to come back, but once it does, it should start growing like wildfire.
    PapaMcEuin
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    Apprentice mcastfalk's Avatar
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    Carmie:

    Here's my most recent parameters:

    Saltwater is at 1.026
    pH 8.2
    Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phospate all at 0
    Calcium 440

    I do have some clear algae that is in the tank and getting on the rocks, including the GSP rock.

    Tank size is 30X12X19

    I've also had my eyes open for nudibranches, but I haven't seen one at all since I bought the rock.

    Let me know what you are thinking.

    Michael

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    Apprentice mcastfalk's Avatar
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    Thanks.

    These kits are a fraction of what I paid (about $98 for my 2X39W 36 inch fixture).

    Do they come with the bulbs and legs to support it?

  13. #12
    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    I was thinking you could be having some nitrate issues from the HOB filter but unless you have a ton of algae that is sequestering the nutrients that is not so. Are you running any carbon?
    Carmie


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    Apprentice mcastfalk's Avatar
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    The only carbon is in the filter packs I put in the filter. I change those out when I do a water change.

    Also, there is a ton of clear slime like algae in the tank - it is on the bubble diffuser and skimmer pump, the HOB filter, the live rock and the rock with the GSP. You can't see it in the photos I took.

  15. #14
    Grand Master Reefer CarmieJo's Avatar
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    Sorry, I missed this when you posted it. How's the GSP now? I think if you have a lot of algae it is probably locking up nitrate and phosphate. What and how often are you feeding? How frequently are you doing water changes?
    Carmie


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