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Podpimp's SPS SOLANA

PODPIMP

By PODPIMP,
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  • 3 weeks later...
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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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I received my 6x24 ATI Powermodule yesterday and just hooked it up today. This will replace the 250w sunpod that I had on there. Bulbs are 4xblue plus 1x GE 6500 and 1 Fiji purple.

Initially I was a little skeptical about replacing a 250w halide with florescent lighting. After putting this fixture over the tank I was immediately impressed with the intensity. It looked even brighter that the 250w 20k helios halide. Because this is a 24" fixture over a 20" tank there is some light spill on the sides of the tank. I'll update in a few weeks to see how the corals respond.

FTS
DSC_0009-6.jpg

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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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Thanks Lalani. The T5's give weird color effects to corals. The brown undersides of some SPS actually appear a reddish/purple now :D I'm guessing this is from the Fiji Purple bulb.

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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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OOH. It will be interesting to see how your SPS responds to the change. Do you still have the old 250W lamp to compare results?

 

I still have the 250w Sunpod but if I'm happy with the change in a few weeks I will probably sell it. I ran the 250 over my 24 nano for the past year so I already know what to expect with the growth results of the halide

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jjjo

jjjo

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Go t5s!

 

Tank colors look stunning with the new light. I'm sure you will value the enhanced color of your corals over the shimmer effect. you could always add a powerbrite LED strip or two to create a shimmer effect with the t5s.

 

-Dan

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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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It's only been a few days since switching to T5's but I am already seeing a huge growth spurt. I can see new growth tips on almost all my acros. I also noticed an increase in polyp extension on most acros......not sure why?

Has anyone else who switch to T5's noticed more PE?

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Paleoreef103

Paleoreef103

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Has anyone else who switch to T5's noticed more PE?

I've been told that part of the reason that high powered T5s can grow SPS so well is because its a line source of light as opposed to a point source. More of the tissue is illuminated, so more pigment and more polyp extension. Not sure if anyone has proven this, but it sounds reasonable. Looks awesome PODPIMP. I smell a TOTM in the coming months.

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d'Espresso

d'Espresso

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How long did it take you to transfer and aquascape everything in the solana? the reason why i ask because i am getting ready to move soon and i am intense aware of how to do it and not kill everything. i will miss my aquascape but also i will decide to add sand in my tank and would like to know what type of sand you have in there with your MP10 and your tunze flowing. did you have a problem with the flow moving your sand away? but anyways.. this is one sexy solana.. you should call it SOLAPIMP instead of PODPIMP! :)

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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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I've been told that part of the reason that high powered T5s can grow SPS so well is because its a line source of light as opposed to a point source. More of the tissue is illuminated, so more pigment and more polyp extension. Not sure if anyone has proven this, but it sounds reasonable. Looks awesome PODPIMP. I smell a TOTM in the coming months.

 

Thanks Paleoreef103. That explanation does sound reasonable. Do you think the sun acts as a line source of light since its point source is so large? If that makes sense :)

 

IME better polyp extension usually means healthier, fast growing corals (keep in mind I'm not talking about fuzzy brown polyps which is usually a since of high phosphate or low light) I am assuming the corals a loving the extra light.

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Paleoreef103

Paleoreef103

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Thanks Paleoreef103. That explanation does sound reasonable. Do you think the sun acts as a line source of light since its point source is so large? If that makes sense :)

 

IME better polyp extension usually means healthier, fast growing corals (keep in mind I'm not talking about fuzzy brown polyps which is usually a since of high phosphate or low light) I am assuming the corals a loving the extra light.

Not sure. But honestly, the point of a really high quality reflector is to direct those lines or points down from different angles. Effectively creating a large amount of lines or points. This is part of the reason you get hammertone reflectors on Sunpods and why lumenmax/arcs have so many different surfaces in the reflector. Does it matter? Not really, but I'm still extremely jealous of your powermodule.

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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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How long did it take you to transfer and aquascape everything in the solana? the reason why i ask because i am getting ready to move soon and i am intense aware of how to do it and not kill everything. i will miss my aquascape but also i will decide to add sand in my tank and would like to know what type of sand you have in there with your MP10 and your tunze flowing. did you have a problem with the flow moving your sand away? but anyways.. this is one sexy solana.. you should call it SOLAPIMP instead of PODPIMP! :)

 

Solapimp..LMAO. I like it :lol:

The whole transfer took me about 2 hours and a few hours the next day fixing the aquascape and mounting corals. I moved to my new home last year. At the time I had a 24 gal Aquapod. I decided to remove the water and transfer the tank dry :o I only moved 1 mile away so the 5 minute car ride was not a big deal for the corals. They slimmed up pretty bad but were back to normal in a couple of days.

If you have a long ride I would suggest transferring the corals into one container, rock in another, and fish in another. Have some saltwater made up at the new place before you get there.

No matter how you do it, you will cause some stress to your corals.

 

The sand is carribsea live aragonite. It is pretty fine. The sand does move in some parts of the tank but it doesn't create a sandstorm. I have the tunze blowing off the back wall so it cascades flow across the corals instead of the sandbed.

 

Not sure. But honestly, the point of a really high quality reflector is to direct those lines or points down from different angles. Effectively creating a large amount of lines or points. This is part of the reason you get hammertone reflectors on Sunpods and why lumenmax/arcs have so many different surfaces in the reflector. Does it matter? Not really, but I'm still extremely jealous of your powermodule.

 

Yeah but you're definitely not jealous of my credit card bill :lol: Why does good stuff have to be so damn expensive?

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  • 3 weeks later...
PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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20 days so far with the T5's and growth has exploded. I went from adding 30mls of bionic to 50mls daily! The corals are sucking it up :)

 

SEPT 17

DSC_0039-1.jpg

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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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Thanks Nanoreefnate! I am pretty excited that my gamble with T5's is working out. I was worried that i wouldn't have the growth or color as I did with halides but this is not the case.

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PODPIMP

PODPIMP

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thanks Clavius!

 

Acan lord, the sand stays clean on its own. This tank is skimmed well, lots of flow,and I run phosban. I don't have much cyano growth on the sand or glass in this tank. However, I have patches of green hair algae that just won't die off. It seems to like my tonga branch the most. I am trying to get a sea hare, hopefully he'll eat the stuff.

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