Light for corals

[Valleyman]

Clowntrigger,

You are using the 4 PL tubes casing type ? - if so, what brand ? Sounds pretty wide. What is the width ? How many on/off switch available ? 2 e-ballast in it ? Casing price ? Thks

[clowntrigger]

valleyman, I am using the JBJ brand and it cost $270. There are 2 switch that control 2 set of 2xPL light. I think it is e-ballast, but cannot see it as the ballast portion of it is enclosed, not like what Nature has, is exposed. The good point for my casing is that I could convert my to 55w PL tube if I want since the ballast has its own compartment, unlike Nature, it is sharing with the light tube. Look wise, it is better looking than what Nature has, but price wise, I think Nature one is better. You can go to the following URL to see a pictures of the JBJ light that I have, the model is Desktop Farmosa

http://www.jbjlighting.com/sys_formosa.html

[NormanH]

HI dodo,

The reason for my 3/7 hours split is that i can get to see my tank in the morning, b/4 i go to work and the rest of the 7 hours to enjoy after work. Isn't that a good arrangement?

[dodo]

mmm...maybe so

initially i tot if there is any special reason in doing so...like dawn,noon blah blah blah effect or should i jus admit tat i was snooked by the LFS(telling me of lite shock and all those craps)

usually i have got no time in the morning to enjoy anything or do anything to my tank...save for buffering my dKH or PH not enough time to sleep...always wake up late i am jus glad that i am able to do the buffering job

[bawater]

i have a question on light for corals,

i have aquired a 150w MH with a Arcadia AQI 10,000k bulb(double ended) for a upcoming setup 4x2x2 with 3ft sump. It will run with my currrent 4x 36w PL 10,000k+ a single 4ft FL actinic 03. the casing of the PL is quite slim(abt 11-12cm wide), going to mount it towards the frontish of the tank so MH light gets thru(MH will be mounted 12" from the surface to allow

ample air flow-less heat)

Actinic will be in a waterproof case mounted below bracings.

It will resemble the part where the reef ends & sand flats start so LR & corals will be place in the MH zone(abt 2.5ft of the tank). the remainder will be a DSB & open swimming space(lit by the actinic & PL).(will change landscape if i find another MH cheap)

will run- 6x fan set(those for sale in LFS) with a chiller on standby-depending on the final temp at midday.

actinic will run abt 15hrs(08000-2300hrs),4 PL will run 10hrs(1200-2200hrs),MH will run 8hrs(1300-2100hrs),maybe 6hrs depending on coral reactions in growth.

i will only concentrate on softies, various mushrooms/xenia/star polyps/sea mats etc. with hard skeleton corals like a bubble or 2,maybe sea fans(these are growing quite well under the current 4x PL+ 2x FL, i get abt 1cm per 60 days on the softies).

i only got this when i stopped skimming & high particulate in the water column- supplemented feedings of live phyto,rotifiers,live BS,pinch of crush flake.

Izit enough light for softies u think?i am looking for lush growth-something like an overgrown forrest of green star polyps/sea mats

[Ian]

Hi all,

I've got a few questions to ask you guys.

I've got the following:

2 MH 150W at 10000k

1 FL 38W Blue Moon Actinic 3.5ft (submerged in water in front of tank)

Open tank concept, so very little space for alot of lights

Problem:

My tank to me looks nice enough but I feel that the florecents of the corals are not bright enough. Read up other sites and actinic blue is not really bright right. I guessing that the really blue/purple FL are the decorative type, and it only for us humans to see the colors more brightly, right or wrong?

What do I need to make the florcent of the corals come out more.

I noticed:

- Aquatechnic only using one blue 18w PL for a 4 2 2 tank. They said it's enough.

- Some other people use 4 FL blue tube.

- Others FL look very purple and the florecents of the corals are brought out alot.

- Very confusing!!!

[bawater]

depends what blue u using ian, i came across a Azoo FL which is just blue(blue moon)- this is really for viewing only-even if it says good for corals within 12" of the tube its not.(i tried it & it blew in 3mths)

Aquatechnic-could mean that its for personal viewing at night & a single PL is enough.

i think tanzy touched on the subject oredi abt it somewhere.

Actually your tube seems that kind of light blue-if i'm not wrong actinic 03 u won't that notice much till u switch off the main lights & everything glows. The tube has a darkish blue hue.(well the ones i've used over the years were anyway)

Another factor is cost- actinics are not cheap(if i remember,tubes are not cheap ard $50 for the 4ft range) i think i paid ard $60- i got a few 4ft & 3ft tubes diff brands so i can't remember oredi.

Don't know abt PL, cause i stick to FL for their results.

Chk keong seong@havelock for their FL range (actinic). Even their phillips blue moon has that effect(they using that in their coral holding tank)

i'm currently using Arcadia.

PS: off the subject here> your tank has no bracing with LR all the way to the top & water level near the rim, is that safe- u have no problems?

[Ian]

Thanks for the quick reply,

The LR is not leaning at all on the glass, I changed the setup. I had this tank for 2 years now with freshwater planted. And about 1 inch space from the top. So far, touch many many wood, so good.

Back to lights,

The blue moon is by INTERPET. its 38watt. It states that it is for fresh and marine and that it effect is for afterdark viewing. Blaa blaa blaaa....

I don't mind getting Atinics if it really brings out the color of tha corals. I was at our Favirote shop "RAINBOW" not. They, as usual pissed me off, so i went to pet mart. the asked me to get corallife of somthing like that. cost about 70. and it's 20000k actinics. I was affraid it was dim blue again so i came home to ask you guys about it first.

This might be stupid but can a 20000k mh give the effect i want?

[Tanzy]

20000K is not actinic 03. A 20000K bulb is still a full spectrum bulb with heavy weightage in the blue. An actinic 03 is nearly monochromatic at 420nm, violet light. True actinic looks dark purple/blue and is very dim. There are some blue light tubes that pose as actinics but aren't. They look pale blue, quite similar to the blue colour of this forum's border. Best described as copper sulphate blue. They are quite bright and don't bring out much glow. Another reason why the corals aren't glowing might be because they don't have much green fluorescent pigment in the first place.

20000K MH might give the effect you want but that depends on how you like the look of the tank. I like the colour of radiums.

[Valleyman]

Does anyone have any experience with a 4ft metal casing for holding 3 FL tubes (the thicker diameter type) and with e-ballast ?

Also, what is the diff btw a thicker and normal diameter FL tube ?

[dodo]

no experience with a casing holding 3 FL tubes be it thicker diameter or the thinner ones if i am not wrong most casing carries only 2FL tubes at the most

the diff between a thicker FL tube and the normal kind is mainly the thicker type comes with a internal reflector...hence they will maximise the light given out by the tube, reflecting the top half portion of the FL tube downwards hence less wastage i dunno how effective is tis...though nothing comparable to a MH...but i am quite satisfied with the thicker diameter type and have been using it...so i will suggest u use the thicker diameter type(if you are using solely FL tubes) the thicker type brand is coralife

[Tanzy]

There are a few type of FL tubes classified according to their diameter. For aquarium purposes 3 types are used, T12, T8 & T5. Normal output(NO) T8 are suppose to be brighter than NO T12 for the same wattage but I've yet to see any proper measurements performed. High output(HO) T5 is the brightest tube per wattage but is rarely available.

[bawater]

Tanzy explan the T numbers already so i won't dwell on it.(the higher the numbers the thicker the tubes)

T5 tubes are not avail in SG yet, and only 2ft sizes are currently available in KL.

Tanzy- soz !i'm new to MH, will my 150w+36wPL do for 2ft depth & softies?

Ian- sorry i got another question- i intend to use those submerged lighting for my actinic tube- did u change the tube yourself? the light usually comes with a redish tropical tube- was it a simple matter of just unscrewing the end caps?

i think it was CoralSun 20000k right?- its not blue & neither is it actinic 03.

it has a higher blue spectrum than 10,000k or 17,000k for depth penetration.

If u want florescence still better to go for pure actinic 03.(try to find this on the box packaging)- the reason i mention keong seong was cause she knows what kinda light she's selling- they are the JBJ agent for SG.(if there's a cheaper tube with the same effect, she'll recommend u that)

[Tanzy]

Tanzy- soz !i'm new to MH, will my 150w+36wPL do for 2ft depth & softies?

Definitely. You will be able to get some pretty decent green leathers with that amount of light.

[Valleyman]

Is a 2x4' FL tube configuration at 10kk sufficient for a 3.5 2 2 tank for soft coral setup ?

[Tanzy]

I suppose so, but they won't mind having more. Is it possible to jack it up to 4 tubes?

[Valleyman]

Will consider going for a 4x. Thinking of 4x 6.5kk to reduce cost. Read somewhere that increasing the K does not increase light intensity. Rather it is the light spectrum (color) that is affected. True ?

[clowntrigger]

Will consider going for a 4x. Thinking of 4x 6.5kk to reduce cost. Read somewhere that increasing the K does not increase light intensity. Rather it is the light spectrum (color) that is affected. True ?

Valleyman, be careful if you use 4x6500k, your tank will look very yellowish in colour. Do mix with a piece of acitinic or go with 4x10000k.

[dodo]

CT...it seems like u are experience in using FL tube wat combination of lights u r using? and which brandas well?

i am currently using 2 x 3' Actinic 03, 1 x 20,000K and 1 x 10,000K...i am thinking of adding another 2 more FL tube...probably another 10,000K and a 50/50 i found tat my bubbles respond very well to a 50/50 lite...it blooms to its max when i used tat previously....but sad to say i couldn't find any around at the moment...those LFS i usually frequent dun sell 50/50 FL lite

[clowntrigger]

dodo, I am no expert in FL, in fact I am using PL light I believe by past experience that I get to these conclusion. I am using 2 6500k and 2 actinic, and I have got the blueish hue, I like that. If you are looking for 50/50, I belive ZooMed has it and it is available at Sealife, was there yesterday and I saw the 50/50. BTW there is alot of new fishes at Sealife, Redsea and Bali.

[dodo]

yeah...Sealife did sell....but I will need to restraint myself going there...dun really like *cough* someone over there if no choice...then i will go there

same sentiments here, like my tank to look real blueish

as for fish...i couldn't add in anymore...thk for the info anyway my bioload maybe very heavy liao

did any new corals came in for Sealife?

[Valleyman]

Clowntrigger,

you said, I am using 2 6500k and 2 actinic, and I have got the blueish hue.

Does it means 2x 6.5kk white PL and 2x 10kk actinic blue ?

[clowntrigger]

valleyman, actinic blue is not 10000k, but if you used all 10000k, you should have the all white plus a bit blueish effect. True actinic PL are very expensive, I think locally, only Corallife has it and it cost $50 for a 36W PL, hope this help.

[Tanzy]

Will consider going for a 4x. Thinking of 4x 6.5kk to reduce cost. Read somewhere that increasing the K does not increase light intensity. Rather it is the light spectrum (color) that is affected. True ?

K rating of the lights, also known as colour temperature is measured in Kelvins. If a theoretical black body is heated to the corresponding temperature in Kelvins, it should give you a similar spectrum. In other words, a 10000K light will look similar to the light emitted by a black body heated to 10000K. The higher the temperature, the bluer the light. The lower the temperature, the redder the light.

Increasing K will not increase overall light intensity, but will increase the percentage of blue light.

[onghm]

True actinic PL are very expensive, I think locally, only Corallife has it and it cost $50 for a 36W PL, hope this help.

Yap. Expensive indeed.

I bought mine for $52.

Before that, was using JBJ/Transworld actinic blue.

It gave a blueish hue...

But my fluourescent green mushroom which was glowing in LFS doesn't glow anymore under JBJ.

Change to Coralife and bingo, coral glows.

Its more towards purplish hue...

And its stated 100% actinic 03 blue.

So bare in mind to look for actinic 03 blue.

Don't just grabbed anything which just say actinic blue.

My 2 cents