**** Major Lighting Questions ****

[Newbi_Damsel]

Hey, fairly new to reef tanks and i havemultiple questions....
Since were in lighting i wanted to knowwhen the spectrum of a MH bulb decreases over time, does it help to produce brown and green algea?

Also... If i were to keep just soft corals such as mushrooms, is it nessisary to go for a MH bulb in a higher kelvin? like 20k.... only because i see and read that people use multi bulbs, like one actinic light along with a 10k MH.... And BTW i have a 170w MH 10k running on a 30 gallon tank....

[graphixx]

that lighting that you have on your tank currently is just fine for soft coral. mushrooms and zooanthids for example will grow just fine under a PC light, they ae not as light demanding as your sps corals.

[Newbi_Damsel]

Ok, i figured... but my green striped mushrooms dont glow like they should... i know my light is old and needs to be replaced, but they look dull and red most of the time.... I want to liven them up to see the colorful aray that they produce....

[dakar]

To brighten up the coloring, get the fluorescing colors try adding a bit of actinic lighting... even just a single 55-65w Power Compact (actinics being in the 420-460nm range or Blue) will make a substantial change to the appearance.

Most average 12-14 months out of halide bulbs, and definitely as they age and shift spectrum you will likely see an increase in nuisance algaes and overall health of your coral may be adversely effected.

[Newbi_Damsel]

awsome, thnxs alot guys....

[davejnz]

U might try shading your shrooms a bit,175wMH is alot of light for most shrooms

[Newbi_Damsel]

Yah, their in the shade... no worries... and with the lighting, could i be fine with the atinics if i get a 20k bulb instead of buying another retro kit?

[davejnz]

175wMh is fine for your 30gal tank IMO.I would not use a 20k bulb with a 175wMH,they are very dim compared to a decent 10k bulb.If it were me,I'd add a pair of T5 flourescents to supplement your 175MH.A 2x39w T5 retro can be bought for $115.As for flourescent actinic bulbs,i prefer a T5blue(ATI blue,CV actinic) or a PC blue.The wavelength(450-460nm) of those bulbs really bring out some wicked colors IME

[Newbi_Damsel]

Awsome, ill really take that into consideration... Thnxs again

[davejnz]

BTW,i was researching some of the 175MH bulbs last night,most all of the commonly used 20k bulbs in the hobby have about 50% less PAR(useable light for phtosynthesis)than the 10k bulbs.If you tell me the ballast you have,I could give u a recommendation for a 175MH bulb that will perform the best on your specific ballast

[Newbi_Damsel]

awsome! this is why im asking.... i have a 175 watt metal halide pendant....

Heres a link of what it looks like:

http://www.petmeister.com/usrimage/cat4774.jpg

[davejnz]

that link doesn't say about the ballast,what brand of bulb are you currently useing?

[Newbi_Damsel]

lol sorry... currently im using a Ushio 10,000k bulb
http://coralreefsupply.com/images/ushio_175w_10k.jpg
the bulb
sry i dony have any other specs.... i bought it from my bio teacher....
The bulb is just around a year old, and needs to be replaced asap

[Newbi_Damsel]

one last question.... with my MH, how long should the photo period be? Should i split the photo period into two seperate times of the day, even though thats not natural? Im just curious and id love to hear you thoughts on it...

[davejnz]

That 175w Ushio bulb is a high quality,time proven bulb to grow corals.Unofrtunately,i still dont know what ballast you have.The ushio's are Euro bulbs that run off of pulse start ballasts but many will also run off of the more common probe start ballasts.Most likeley,you have a probe start ballast(M57).As for bulb choices,AB10k,Hamilton10k,XM10k,and the Ushio 10k are what i'd recommend.I think if you add a pair of T5 actinics(as mentioned above),You'll get the flourescent colors you want while keeping the intensity that the 10k bulbs provide.As for photoperiod,I run my halides for 8hrs,and use my T5actinics for 12hrs to complete the daylight cycle.

[jerryc]

Dave is right on about the XM lamps i changed from Hamilton to XM and
have loved them. My SPS has colored up a lot better with the xm

Id also recommend the actinic supplements ether T5 or VHO

[davejnz]

BTW,The only 20k lamp that has decent PAR in the 175w range is the XM20k,It has a 51.1 PPFD/PAR rating when driven off of a Probe(M57)ballast.Just about all the other 20k's averge about 32.For comparison,the 10k bulbs i listed average about 71PPFD/PAR when driven off of the same ballast.

[Newbi_Damsel]

Id love to see what the tank looks like just with the blue T5... must look awsome..
ok, with your T5's, do they stay on 4 hours after the regular MH have turned off... or do they startup 2 hours before the MH and end 2 hours after the MH.... and about the ballast, all i cans ay it looks like a mini transfermer... like it makes acranking noise when it starts up.... Its a little old but does the work... and like i said... i dont have specs on it..

[davejnz]

Yeah,I keep the T5's on for 2hrs,then halide for 8hrs,then i finishe the lightig cycle with another 2hrs from the T5blue's.I'll try to find an updated pic,I use a single XM25010k with the 2x39w T5blue's,It gives the tank a white with a touch of blue look(approx.11- 12k)With a 175w10k,its not as intense as the 250 so yours will be white with a bit more blue(approx. 13-14k)

[Newbi_Damsel]

Nice im looking foward to that! Its hard to find the cash on a college students salery!

First i need to buy another 10k..... Then from there ill go for the T5....
Another problem is making a custom canopy for my tank.... its a tall 30 gallon and looks like this from the top and frontview: (yah, real artisic)
http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2k9b12405fe2.jpg
Its an old style tank, and im hoping that ill get a new one very soon..... But with the one i have its sooooooo hard to make a canopy.... Fitting the T5 would be hard...... i would have to hang them some how, but i hate looking at those lights in the open... i want a nice canopy

[davejnz]

Your tank is hex shaped correct?,Building a canopy for it would require a bit of carpentry skills but its not too difficult.Another option would be to build a rectangular fixture/canopy that you could suspend and remount your halide as well as T5's or whatever flourescents you like inside of it.

[davejnz]

My camera really sucks at taking pics under blue light but this is one of the better pics i could get. http://www.captivereefing.com/album_showpage.php?pic_id=564