Frag tank light help

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Jody

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Jul 28, 2010
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Newfoundland, Canada
Hello all

looking to get new lights for my frag tank , running a tek light fixture quad t5 36 inch 39watt, its shallow tank with power head, skimmer and HOB filter

currently has 4 UVL 454 lights i grow mostly softy's and some low level sps

so looking for some ideas on light combos

Anyone with suggestions ?
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Graham
How shallow is the tank? Big difference between 12" and 20". Is the Tek suspended off the tank or sitting on legs?

I would suggest 4 x ATI Blue+ or 3 x Blue+ and something like an Aquablue Special but those are all higher PAR bulbs and they may cook your corals using a Tek on a really shallow tank. A combo of Blue+ and Purple+ would bring it down some. Swapping the Purple+ for Actinic+ will bring it down more. I would recommend at least 2 Blue+ whichever way you go.

If ATI is not an option, the Geisemann equivalents are very similar in color and PAR.

KZ figi purple is another pinkish bulb with decent, but not exceptionally high, PAR.

I imagine your tank is fairly blue/green with 4 x 454's over it. Going to be tough to keep that color and increase PAR (if that is what you are looking for).
 

Jody

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Jul 28, 2010
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Newfoundland, Canada
Yea should have give the tank size its 30 gal breeder 36-18-12 LWH its on legs around 8 inchs from top of water

I have ok results with the 454's just wanted to know if i can do better and ATI is a brand i can get was thinking on 2 Coral plus 1 blue plus and 1 purple plus

Or

2 454's and 2 75.25

or is the current setup with 4- 454's ok ?
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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You will get more PAR with the ATI. The Coral+ is a decent PAR bulb but not quite as high as a ABS or Blue+.

If your frags are healing and growing well under the 454s, probably no need to change.

If you do swap up to ATI, I would change one bulb at a time and let the corals adjust. Your have a pretty high output fixture as it is and with it sitting right on top of a 12" tank, you could easily bleach your corals if you were to change out all 4 bulbs and run the same photo period. Maybe grab a Blue+ and try it along with 3 of your 454s and see how you (more importaly, your corals) like it.
 

Jody

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Jul 28, 2010
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Newfoundland, Canada
Hey

thanks greech , I also found this link http://home.comcast.net/~stevelarsen00/site/ i read it all and now thinking on puting a fan on my tek light and opeing up the lamp sheild a little more to allow cooling , never thought much on how the heat can shorten blub life

I thought it was a good read anyway
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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It also reduces PAR. Cooling is a big part of why fixtures like ATI power modules and sunpowers are rated so high.
 
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