SPS w 150W MH

[mv3i]

you know where is it available in singapore ...? 20K 150 W DE

[Phang]

EYE Lighting at Kaki Bukit....

[mv3i]

what's their contact and look for who ? can ask them to show the lighting first before deciding ?

[Achilles Tang]

To keep the thread back in topic.... (hint!)

I am now showing you the difference between acro frags from the same shallow tank (with about 500 watts of MH lighting), just about a month apart, and in my tank with 300 watts of HID, and 4 inches from the water surface.

I see good growth under my 10,000k HID lights but you can see the colour loss from a frag used to radiums!

Perhaps this photo could be better used to highlight how diff color temp. bulbs could induce better colours.

But to answer the original question in this post:

Yes, you can keep acros with 150 watts. But there are many factors as Tanzy said that could influence growth and colouration. Many reefers keep acros under 150watt lights but would eventually upgrade to as high as possible to see colours come out (and burn holes in their pockets!).

This hobby is a killer!

[yazid]

I saw this guidelines from Premium Aquatics.

The wattage is more for the penetration of depth. Most tank are less than 2 feet. 2x150W 6500K (SPS and Clams loves the yellow tint) and probably

2x VHO actinics will erase off the yellow tint. This combination will definitely be enough for those having mix SPS, Clams and other soft corals that needs medium lighting. Unless you're keeping all SPS and Clams. Put the SPS and clams nearer to the light.

Here's an excerpt from the website.

Some basic guidelines for Metal Halide

One halide bulb will light a 2 foot tank space with direct light. You can run one halide on 3 foot tank, the outer parts are considered indirect but still very powerful.

Wattage depends on the corals and tank depth. 175watt works very well for shallow tanks 20" or less, mixed reef corals and sps and clams when placed higher in the tank. 250watt works very well for tanks up to 30" deep, mixed reef and more concentration on sps and clams. 400watt works very well for tanks up to 48" deep and is usually used for dedicated SPS and clam tanks.

The higher the Kelvin rating (ex: 65K, 10K, 12K) the more blue the bulb will have in it. The 5500-6500K bulbs have a warm white/yellow color. SPS and clams prefer this spectrum since they are shallow water animals. The yellow tint is not always preferred by the hobbyist though. Supplementing with blue actinics helps curve this problem. The 10K Ushio/Hamilton bulbs are crisp white. Works great for just about any coral. They can run with or without actinics, but actinics are recommended. The 10K Blueline, 10K coralife and 12K Sunburst have more blue tint. They work very well without actinics or with them. Some even supplement with white VHO or PC's. You do loose some intensity (brightness) with these higher kelvin/blue bulbs, except Ushio/Hamilton.

[Tanzy]

<250W/2' good for SPS like porites and monti. Acro will grow but won't colour up very well.

[chanbi]

I have a question.. we are always talking about how many watts for shallow or deep tank. But should it be the main measurement? Or should we be talking about PAR or Kelvin instead?

[Tanzy]

Preferably PAR, PPFD or at least lumen but the average reefer can't get access to PAM Fluorometers, so watt is a poor substitute.

Within the watts we talk about we have to take into consideration the bulb used, so it's best to hold in balance wattage and the PPFD of the bulb in question when discussing about lights.

Kelvin will just be the colour temperature.

[chanbi]

I was thinking of Kelvin cos' some said that Acros living in shallow water would prefer a spectrum at 6500k. So it won't really affect the growth/health but purely colouring?

[Tanzy]

In terms of light, intensity governs growth and spectrum will influence colour. Another consideration will be whether the artificial light brings out the colours such that it is visible to the eye.

[mv3i]

thanks guys for the loads of info ....... really tough choice on the lights .... <_<

fm what i read so far ... 250W 10 k ushios bulb seems ok ... anyone used that before

[robe]

Here's something to ponder, have you seen a shallow coral reef flats where there's only around 2 feet of water or even goes dry during high tide. Acroporas abound but colorwise similar species of acros side by side have different colors. Brown clusters mingle with purple or pink clusters.

For this, diet is not a factor, nor lighting spectrum, nor intensity as they are side by side. So what's causing the different coloration????

It seems most of the marine biologists have not examine hereditary traits between acro colonies that may explain the different colorations.

For you reefers out there don't expect acros to color up exactly as what in does in another tank. As long as you're getting growth then you're successful.

[Tanzy]

That's why need to import more wild colonies to increase the gene pool of the SPS for more colour diversity. When you get a new colony, you won't know what colour it will become, often it changes after getting in your tank because they are from wild conditions. Frags from 'domesticated' colonies tend to keep colour much better. Even sister frags can look different if place in different areas of the same tank.

[Morgan]

Wild colonies tend to lose their colour ie turn brown in the tank within a few weeks/months. It is diffcuilt to tell when it will revert back to its original colouration.

As long as the colony is healthy and growing, maybe the colour will change back.