Chalice Lighting Question

[Conski]

posted this on Nano reef but figured id ask you guys too

I have a question about lighting of chalices

Im turning my 14gal into a true chalice tank and i was wondering whether or not 150watt MHS that i have over it are to much for them? i dont wanna put them in shade but if i absolutely have to i guess i will.

also how could i make the colors pop during the daytime of the tank. is there a specific cheaper antic(SP) that will mesh nicely with the sunpod and make the colors of these beauties come out more?

will use the Pumpkin Patch aka "miami hurricane" chalice as an example cause i already own it.. if i took it out of the shade in the biocube would the MHs wash out the color?

[Amphiprion]

That will be fine, as long as they are carefully acclimated from whatever lighting regime they came from. At the shop I used to work at, some were kept at the top of the tank directly under 400w halides and about 6" from the surface.

Edit: as for actinics, the UVLs and Giesemanns work just fine for added "pop."

[Conski]

o wow! yea every coral i ever buy gets drip acclimated for an hour and a half so i think itll be good!

any idea about adding a light that will make the colors pop more?

[Amphiprion]

No, I mean acclimated to the lights.

As for "pop," do you want it from the halide or T5s or both. Look at my edit above for the T5s. I'm not sure of a double-ended lamp that has quite the pop that you might be looking for. One of my favorite lamps for sheer color is the ReefLux 12K, but they are only SE lamps. For 150w, most go for the Phoenix 14K, Ushio 14K, and EVC lamps.

[Ace25]

My opinion, 14k Phoenix by itself gives really nice colors.. best colors out of any MH bulb I have tried. Just doesn't give the best PAR, but for your purpose that is just fine.

[Conski]

I want to add a light to my already 150watt MH Phoenix 14k bulb. but okay i understand what your saying. i think i mean to say like whats a good add on Antic wise or something that wont get shot out by the MH that will give it like an LED look

woops i got confused ACE got in there haha. would one of those lighting systems make much a difference though?

[Amphiprion]

You'll notice the actinic effect from either of those lamps, IME. It won't be as intense blue as many of the LED setups, but that's going to be more dependent upon the halide.

[Ace25]

T5's would be a better option. It is hard to add on actinics to a 150w MH on a 14G tank. Plus it would be washed out. A 4 bulb T5 with 1 ATI Blue +, 1 Fiji Pink, 1 UVL True Actinic, and 1 10k bulb would probably look the best IMO.

[Conski]

the UVLs and Giesemanns these two? i mean i bet i could sell the MHs.
sometimes i feel like T5 lights make colors look better

[Ace25]

Anything "True Actinic" makes the corals glow. Like a blacklight effect.

[Conski]

Yea i wish i could just add some actinic light to my 150watt but i feel like it would just get washed out

[Conski]

A 4 bulb T5 with 1 ATI Blue +, 1 Fiji Pink, 1 UVL True Actinic, and 1 10k bulb would probably look the best IMO.

any idea of how to make this set up? which T5 System should i invest in?

[Amphiprion]

That won't be very blue, if that's what you're looking for. It will give you possibly the best range of colors, though (I wouldn't call it "pop" in this case). Are you looking for a fixture or retrofit? Retrofits with IceCap or Aquactinics reflectors would work great. No need to overdrive (would overwhelm that tank, IMHO).

[Conski]

I just want the colors of the corals to look like theyre basically glowing kind of like neon ya know? im looking for whatever would work best for my set up which you guys know all to well by now! i dk what a retrofit is haha

[Amphiprion]

I just want the colors of the corals to look like theyre basically glowing kind of like neon ya know? im looking for whatever would work best for my set up which you guys know all to well by now! i dk what a retrofit is haha

Blue and actinic lamps will make the glow you're talking about. 2 Blue + lamps and 2 actinics will make the light very blue and make a lot of that nuclear glow you're looking for. Retrofits are simply kits that consist of the individual parts--ballast, bulbs, endcaps. You have to make a way to mount them. Tons of options available to do that. Mount them to wood, metal, canopy, suspend them, etc. I think a fixture would be too clumsy on your tank, along with the halide.

Edit: LOL, it makes me ache recommending so much blue. I'd go nuts with that all those blue lamps and that neon glow. Not sure why, but never been a fan of it.

[Conski]

I love the neon glow haha! but the work would be obnoxious to make... i dont think itd be worth it haha i will just stick with my 14k bulbs i suppose! but i feel like chalices look way better with that nukey glow :)

[Ace25]

Here is a pic of the T5s I am running on my 29G, to me it is still very white in the tank, too white for my taste.. been working on it all weekend cleaning it up and finally adding my sump back onto it. My candycane which was just about dead has made a strong comeback in the last 24 hours since redoing the tank. Rose BTA I got has had a few run-ins with my old Koralias and got blended pretty good. It is now making a strong recovery though.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2711/4415663783_8736e63b64_o.jpg

And because I don't want to make a different thread just for these.. ;)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4416431420_856d749186_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4415663791_c3c1800dbf_o.jpg

[Conski]

now does that make your colors pop more then you MHS on the big tank? or do you run something besides them on your large one

[Ace25]

I am running 4 T5's with my 250w on my big one. Still, out of MH I think the Phoenix makes other colors like reds, oranges, greens really stand out.. different kind of "pop" than actinic. So I do the best of both.. actinic, blue, and Phoenix on my big tank.. just need to get some corals in it again.. lol.

On the 29G, It comes on at 3 different times, but the 3rd one is the 10k bulb and that is when everything colorwise gets washed out in that tank. I need to pull that bulb out.

[Conski]

man see thats what i want to do! just add T5s to the thing to make the chalices intense colors come out

[Conski]

zook on NR who has TOTM and an incredible chalice collection uses Actinic PowerBrite LED strips and MHs combined and his lighting is exactly what im looking for, problem solved i believe