MJD Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 No I am not planning on doing this but was wondering if anybody has ever kept some SPS under Power Compact lighting.? Everybody on this site says it cant be done but when i told my LFS that i had 192watts of PC he said i could do it. I dont think i could do it, because I heard you need MH's. So i am asking if anyone has any success stories or disaster stories about this issue. MJD Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I've got a few lower light SPS high up under PC's.... Out of all of them the monti's are the only ones doing good, the others are just maintaining. So, technically, yes it can be done....with some SPS, but overall, I'd say go with halides or T-5's for the SPS's. Link to comment
brent-konieczny Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 My birdsnest is growing under a 28watt 50/50. It's about 6" down from the light. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Please read RE: SPS Renaming Our Corals - Reefkeeping Magazine Link to comment
rickjg Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 A good number of SPS can be kept alive under PC lighting, but many of them brownout or other wise fade in color under PCs. You might be happier in the long run to avoid most SPS corals. I think Neanderthalman is alluding to the fact that SPS is a very generic term that covers a wide varity of corals with varying requirements. Link to comment
Biotoper Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I have not tried it myself but I know of people around here who grow various Montipora species under PC or VHO. M. digitata is one of the least demanding of light - in the wild, they are common in more in-shore/lagoon zones with lower flow and less clear water. M. capricornis is also less light-demanding, I think. I would recommend, if possible, getting a frag from someone growing them under PC. Ryan Link to comment
brent-konieczny Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Yo neanderthal. Thanks for that link. I just read the whole thing. Link to comment
tkudlik Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I've got a M. Digitata and a Birdsnest under stock 2006 24 gallon NC lighting and they are doing great. I keep them very close to the top though. I will be upgrading to MH in a month or so anyway, but yes, with certain SPS it can be done if your water is PERFECT! I've had my tank going for 8 months and just put the SPS frags in 2 weeks ago, put it that way. Good Luck. Link to comment
Schwazreef Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Ive done well with monti's and birdsnest under 192 PC. Hydnoporda does ok too. looking to find a milli to try or porites. My theory is to just stay away from the Acro. Link to comment
MJD Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Has anyone had any SPS in a PC tank for more than a couple months? Thanks for The replies MJD Link to comment
Schwazreef Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 6 months of steady growth on the bird and the monti. If I had to pick 1 to try id try a Birdsnest. best option for interesting growth patern and color IMO Link to comment
MJD Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 And there is still color on the birdnest? Link to comment
Schwazreef Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Its pinkish purple. Supposed to be getting a piece of green tommorow. Im sure the color could be better and Im sure it could grow faster but it is far from brown and grows fast enough for me. My zoas would be brighter under MH too, ya know. Link to comment
FLIPbmw Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I have 72w pc over my 10gal. My red monti plating coral was going good untill I crazyglued it to a rock, at that point it slimed a lot and color started to fade, but now it's coming back (prolly due to the glue/out of water etc). I also have birds nest frag, still pink 5" from the light, been 2 weeks and I see a bit of growth, hard to tell tho. I have tri color sps (no growth as of yet), humilis (very little-no growth), digi sps (doing good) at least 8" or less from light source Link to comment
rickjg Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Has anyone had any SPS in a PC tank for more than a couple months? Thanks for The replies MJD I have Thin Branch Staghorn, Red Monti Cap & Yellow Rim Turbinaria in my NC6 under 72 watts of PCs. They all are alive & slowly growing. I've had the Yellow Rim Turbinaria under PCs for 2 or 3 years. I’ve seen the same corals kept under MH and they look & grow better, but it was also a much larger tank. Link to comment
MJD Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Just a general question to anybody out there, in your opinion are power compacts strong enough for a birdnest or monti to thrive? Link to comment
Schwazreef Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I call it thriving IMO Rick, what color is that staghorn acro? Link to comment
rickjg Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 I call it thriving IMO Rick, what color is that staghorn acro? brown Thin Branch Staghorn Yellow Rim Turbinaria Link to comment
MJD Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 ^^^That looks really healthy. I could see some new growth too!! Link to comment
rickjg Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 They are healthy, but brown. It was brown when I bought the frag, though. The frag I bought was broken off a newly imported coral and I paid $8. for it. The 1st pic I posted was from Dec 05. This is the same coral today 3/26/06 Link to comment
sheen Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 You can do it. It's possible, corals have a way of dealing with low light situations, it's when they house more zooxanthellae than usual, which causes them to turn brown. You can keep corals like Acropora alive under PC's but they will not grow and turn a sad brown, and very slowly die. Montipora will do all right under PCs... but honestly, this isn't a solution, we should aim to provide the best care for our corals and MH is the only answer for light loving corals. There are variations among species, and genuses, but in general if it's a high light loving species you should illuminate your tank with MH. Rather than have to stress about whether or not xWatts of PC is sufficient enough, just go for the MH, you'll likely save on power costs too. 150 W of MH will keep you any coral as long as you keep it high enough. It's just not worth the effort and experimentation of watching corals that you paid money for brown and not grow... go for the MH (or even T-5HO) and watch your corals keep their beautiful colors and grow (then frag them and sell them!). Link to comment
MJD Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Any more sucess or horror stories of first hand accounts of SPS under PC's. Link to comment
reefbuzz Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 The SPS critique in this month's Reekkeeping offers some suggestions on specific sps species that work well PC and VHO lights, and it's a great article. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/cj/index.php Link to comment
rickjg Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Please read RE: SPS Renaming Our Corals - Reefkeeping Magazine The SPS critique in this month's Reekkeeping offers some suggestions on specific sps species that work well PC and VHO lights, and it's a great article. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/cj/index.php Good article Link to comment
MJD Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Yeah that is a good article. Just a general question, would you put SPS under PC's if you had everything else right, ie. water flow, water quality etc..? Link to comment
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