25G ADA TANK 18X18X18" RIMLESS CUBE

[PurpleUP]

Nice,

 

The coralife 14,000k seems pretty yellow for a 14k bulb. But in combination with the 20,000k it seems to look brighter and show off more color.

 

At least that is what I see from the pics lol.

(Center pic is showing up as X)

 

We're experiencing technical difficulties. LOL. Workin on it...

[TJ_Burton]

We're experiencing technical difficulties. LOL. Workin on it...

 

LoL - take your time

 

*EDIT*

It's Fixed!

[PurpleUP]

Nice,

 

The coralife 14,000k seems pretty yellow for a 14k bulb. But in combination with the 20,000k it seems to look brighter and show off more color.

 

At least that is what I see from the pics lol.

(Center pic is showing up as X)

 

You're so right about that. The Coralife 14,000k is really yellow. In fact, the 20,000k Coralife bulb (not shown) is not really that blue either. OMG, COMBINED with the 250W 20,000k XM it's 150% brighter in the tank! Now it's ALMOST as bright as the actual coral reefs I saw with my own eyes!@#! I feel pretty confident to say that I have some killer "sunshine" in my tank now. The pics really don't capture the true intensity of light. You can literally get a tan standing next to it. As far as my preference, personally I like viewing the tank with only the 20,000k bulb on. But growth and color up is critical to me, so the 14,000k bulb will be lit between 11-4pm for maximum daylight exposure. The 20,000k will be on from 8:30am to 7:30pm. What do you think?

[TJ_Burton]

You're so right about that. The Coralife 14,000k is really yellow. In fact, the 20,000k Coralife bulb (not shown) is not really that blue either. OMG, COMBINED with the 250W 20,000k XM it's 150% brighter in the tank! Now it's ALMOST as bright as the actual coral reefs I saw with my own eyes!@#! I feel pretty confident to say that I have some killer "sunshine" in my tank now. The pics really don't capture the true intensity of light. You can literally get a tan standing next to it. As far as my preference, personally I like viewing the tank with only the 20,000k bulb on. But growth and color up is critical to me, so the 14,000k bulb will be lit between 11-4pm for maximum daylight exposure. The 20,000k will be on from 8:30am to 7:30pm. What do you think?

 

Photoperiod sounds fine to me!

It is always a huge difference when you add that extra boost of wattage+higher Kelvin. I would suggest that when you are ready to change the 14,000K bulb, you use a nice 10,000K from a company other then Coralife (I am not a fan of their bulbs).

 

*cough* Before photos of individual SPS *cough cough*

[SPS20]

A suggestion: plug only the heater, main circulation pump, and the aqua-lifter on the overflow into the UPS system. The rest, bypass the UPS. I say this because the lighting, skimmer, powerheads, etc, are not strictly neccessary to keep your corals alive, but will just decrease the amount of time you can run on battery backup. You will get alot longer out of your backup in the event of a power failure if you aren't trying to power 400 watts of metal halide light. I mean, its there for emergencies, may as well have it hooked up to only those devices which are totally neccessary for the survival of the tank. A day without light won't kill anything.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

- Josh

[PurpleUP]

A suggestion: plug only the heater, main circulation pump, and the aqua-lifter on the overflow into the UPS system. The rest, bypass the UPS. I say this because the lighting, skimmer, powerheads, etc, are not strictly neccessary to keep your corals alive, but will just decrease the amount of time you can run on battery backup. You will get alot longer out of your backup in the event of a power failure if you aren't trying to power 400 watts of metal halide light. I mean, its there for emergencies, may as well have it hooked up to only those devices which are totally neccessary for the survival of the tank. A day without light won't kill anything.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

- Josh

 

That's the solution. I'll see how much more time that buys me after the lights go out tonight.

[PurpleUP]

Okay, here are the test subjects. Purple acro has purple tips but the rest of it is brown. However, there has been noticeable growth after it having been in here for just about a month now.

 

Milli is severely struggling. Notice the bleached out branches at the bottom. Polyps are actually visible from most of the branches, but this wasn't the case 1wk after I transferred it from my BC14. NOTE: When I first purchased this coral (4mos ago?), it was bright bright purplish white. It's polyps extended but quickly browned out under a 150W 20k Coralife bulb.

 

On pg.19, you can see pics of 2 ORA frags recently placed in the tank. Additionally, 6-7 frags from Bluebastion will arrive within 2-3wks!

 

This should give us a good basis from which to compare the benefits of intense lighting. After these corals acclimate to the stronger light, I plan on changing the 14k Coralife bulb to a 10k of another brand.

[PurpleUP]

One very noticeable issue from the addition of the extra light is the HEAT. At the time the light was switched off @ 4:30pm, the temp in the tank was 82.9 & 82.7! There are TWO digital thermometers used in the system: one in the external overflow and another in the sump. I typically go by an average of the two. 82.8º is definitely on the higher side. Already I can see it settling down. It should stabilize tonight @ 80º. Can anyone give their input as to whether this 5hr fluctuation in temp is tolerable? I'm already thinking to run a fan during the high lighting period between 11 and 4pm.

[TJ_Burton]

Okay, here are the test subjects. Purple acro has purple tips but the rest of it is brown. However, there has been noticeable growth after it having been in here for just about a month now.

 

 

Milli is severely struggling. Notice the bleached out branches at the bottom. Polyps are actually visible from most of the branches, but this wasn't the case 1wk after I transferred it from my BC14. NOTE: When I first purchased this coral (4mos ago?), it was bright bright purplish white. It's polyps extended but quickly browned out under a 150W 20k Coralife bulb.

 

 

On pg.19, you can see pics of 2 ORA frags recently placed in the tank. Additionally, 6-7 frags from Bluebastion will arrive within 2-3wks!

 

This should give us a good basis from which to compare the benefits of intense lighting. After these corals acclimate to the stronger light, I plan on changing the 14k Coralife bulb to a 10k of another brand.

 

 

Nice,

 

This is a solid step towards great looking SPS. I hope this works well for you! Otherwise I may have to start doubting my own methods

Or just excuse the matter on some sort of f*** up on your end! lol.

[TJ_Burton]

One very noticeable issue from the addition of the extra light is the HEAT. At the time the light was switched off @ 4:30pm, the temp in the tank was 82.9 & 82.7! There are TWO digital thermometers used in the system: one in the external overflow and another in the sump. I typically go by an average of the two. 82.8º is definitely on the higher side. Already I can see it settling down. It should stabilize tonight @ 80º. Can anyone give their input as to whether this 5hr fluctuation in temp is tolerable? I'm already thinking to run a fan during the high lighting period between 11 and 4pm.

 

On my old 20g my temp was around 81.3 on a constant with my Actinics & 250w Halide on, and during the 4 hours of 175w 10,000k it would rise to approx 83.1 - I never had any issues with it, I just set my heater to 81 so it would never drop more then 2 degrees at a time.

[pattykat99]

Randy,

I'm so sorry about your poor pepper Bad BAD cleaner shrimp. I am glad to see the tubs are looking good; I knew they would after they settled into your tank. The frag i got at AG that day is looking pretty nice (i still dont know the name) and showing signs of new growth! I will get pics to you as soon as i could.

[PurpleUP]

Randy,

I'm so sorry about your poor pepper Bad BAD cleaner shrimp. I am glad to see the tubs are looking good; I knew they would after they settled into your tank. The frag i got at AG that day is looking pretty nice (i still dont know the name) and showing signs of new growth! I will get pics to you as soon as i could.

 

Well, it's not always peaceful in the reef. We do our best to build a reef safe environment, but we can't stop nature. I remember that frag. One of the wildest palythoas I've ever seen! Maybe someday if I'm lucky, you can spare me a polyp or two. hehe.

 

--

Here are a couple for shots of the new light addition snapped with the lights off. The black Coralife light is mounted to a triangular iron base, but it's black so it blends in nicely. If (my wife ever says) it looks too much like a science project, the extra light can easily be removed. It is now on a timer to blast supplemental 14,000k rays between 11am and 4pm. The 20,000k bulb will remain on from 8am to 8pm. Hopefully, the extra energy consumed will be worth it's price in colorful SPS corals!

 

 

[PurpleUP]

A suggestion: plug only the heater, main circulation pump, and the aqua-lifter on the overflow into the UPS system. The rest, bypass the UPS. I say this because the lighting, skimmer, powerheads, etc, are not strictly neccessary to keep your corals alive, but will just decrease the amount of time you can run on battery backup. You will get alot longer out of your backup in the event of a power failure if you aren't trying to power 400 watts of metal halide light. I mean, its there for emergencies, may as well have it hooked up to only those devices which are totally neccessary for the survival of the tank. A day without light won't kill anything.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

- Josh

 

Great advice once again, Josh. I ran the system on the battery backup with all EXCEPT the lighting and I got a good 3+hrs out of it. I figure I could squeeze out another 1.5-2hrs of emergency power if I route the 2 Koralias and the protein skimmer pump to a separate power strip. 5 hours would give me plenty of time to run to Home Depot for a gas powered generator! LOL.

 

Sleep will be easier tonight. ZZZzzzzz.

[c est ma]

Here are 3 pics of the tank, showing varying degrees of light. No Photoshopping.

 

1) 150W 14,000K Coralife DE

 

2) 250W 20,000K XM DE

 

3) BOTH 150W 14,000K Coralife DE & 250W 20,000K XM DE

 

Wow, I can't stop scrolling up and down comparing those! Very interesting. (I like #3 best--but they're all fantastic, of course.)

 

--Diane

[spanko]

Agree with Diane, #1 too green, #2 too blue, #3 JUST RIGHT. (hmmmm sounds like Goldilocks and the three bears)

[Bao]

Beautiful tank. aren't you afraid that once the corals grow, they will start fighting with each other? My frogspawn grows so much after a year that it start kill all corals nearby.

[pattykat99]

For sure Randy! .... them Paly's are budding new ones, and of course i will share them with you!

I also vote for picture #3 the lighting seems perfect in that one.

[PurpleUP]

Beautiful tank. aren't you afraid that once the corals grow, they will start fighting with each other? My frogspawn grows so much after a year that it start kill all corals nearby.

 

Oh yeah, I worry about that all the time. I watch their behaviors and how they interact with each other. If I see any indication of distress, I either move em or cut em. My frogspawn now has 12+ heads and is located on the far back left of the tank, where no other coral can be bothered by it. Once my SPS come in, I'll probably end up taking it back to the LFS or moving it to another tank.

[PurpleUP]

Agree with Diane, #1 too green, #2 too blue, #3 JUST RIGHT. (hmmmm sounds like Goldilocks and the three bears)

 

HA. Nice analogy. Here's a less blurry pic with default exposure settings and a shorter aperture. Gives a *better* (but not quite true-to-life) image of how very bright it is in there with both halides on. It's hard to hide all of that green algae with such bright lighting. It does give you an idea of how young the tank really is though. Needs more coralline!

Sorry to bore all of you with the same fts pics, but for those of you who do not already know, I work from home so I can do this experimental stuff ALL DAY LONG. (Don't feel sorry for me. I like it. hehe)

[TJ_Burton]

HA. Nice analogy. Here's a less blurry pic with default exposure settings and a shorter aperture. Gives a *better* (but not quite true-to-life) image of how very bright it is in there with both halides on. It's hard to hide all of that green algae with such bright lighting. It does give you an idea of how young the tank really is though. Needs more coralline!

 

Sorry to bore all of you with the same fts pics, but for those of you who do not already know, I work from home so I can do this experimental stuff ALL DAY LONG. (Don't feel sorry for me. I like it. hehe)

 

The clam looks stunning under the dual halides. looks too washed out under 14K alone, and doesn't stand out with the 20K since it all just looks dark blue. With both it looks super blue but doesn't fade into the rest of the tank's "blueness" lol.

[SPS20]

Beautiful tank. aren't you afraid that once the corals grow, they will start fighting with each other? My frogspawn grows so much after a year that it start kill all corals nearby.

 

Thats what fragging is for. Success in a reef tank creates its own set of problems, namely, you do have to "prune" things, much like you would in a garden. The bonus here is, the "clippings", so to speak, are actually worth something.

[PurpleUP]

The clam looks stunning under the dual halides. looks too washed out under 14K alone, and doesn't stand out with the 20K since it all just looks dark blue. With both it looks super blue but doesn't fade into the rest of the tank's "blueness" lol.

 

TJ, you've made a believer out of me, that's for certain. It's ultra nice to have different light tones to look at throughout the 12hr day, not to mention that the fish and coral gotta appreciate the extra light. Took care of the heat issue by bringing out my trustee $10 Honeywell fan from HD. Surprisingly, the temp didn't vary more than .5º from 80 all day. I think it's time to invest in an RK2 or an AC Jr, so I can simply set and forget. Right now, my eyes are glued to my tank like an ALL-IN hand for an open-ended straight flush draw.

[TJ_Burton]

TJ, you've made a believer out of me, that's for certain. It's ultra nice to have different light tones to look at throughout the 12hr day, not to mention that the fish and coral gotta appreciate the extra light. Took care of the heat issue by bringing out my trustee $10 Honeywell fan from HD. Surprisingly, the temp didn't vary more than .5º from 80 all day. I think it's time to invest in an RK2 or an AC Jr, so I can simply set and forget. Right now, my eyes are glued to my tank like an ALL-IN hand for an open-ended straight flush draw.

 

I'm glad you like the results of my suggestion! Sometimes people just don't want to try it because it seems "overkill" or simply because it is not what the rest of the people (forum/lfs/friends) would consider proper/normal practice.

 

It is one of those things you have to see to believe/have appreciation for. When I first saw Marte's tank, I could not believe the breathtaking colors of his corals and outstanding illumination of the tank. The lights seemed so white and bright, yet the corals colors still popped as if the actinics were the only things on! Ever since that day I refuse to run a reef without multiple halides/Kelvin ratings.

 

Keep us posted with how your corals react to the new dose of intensity/PAR and spectrum.

Good Reefing mate!

 

P.s. I am looking forward to the "after 3-4 weeks" pictures of your acros!

[PurpleUP]

CUC Smackdown!

 

Here's a better comparison snapshot for my ongoing "Double Halide Effect" experiment.

Day 3: Taken with only the 20k bulb on to show better coral coloration.

 

[SPS20]

Your acros are going to love you for this. I have said it before, but i'll say it here again: It is almost impossible to over-illuminate shallow-water SPS species in a home aquarium. You simply cannot even come close to the amount of light they get in the wild using anything short of 1000W metal halides. As long as you acclimate them carefully, and observe them closely for stress during the transition period, they will reward you with faster growth and better coloration.

 

I have seen 20H aquariums with 1000W bulbs over them. You are nowhere near overkill.