Considering a Lighting Change

[jda]

Have you tested any of these? ATI has more PAR than a cheap T5 fixture. The ATI does put out more light. I tested a few cheap chinese hydro fixtures, ATI, AquaMedic (older) and a another one whose name is escaping me. The German fixtures both put out more light than the cheap ones.

 

[Rick.45cal]

WOW! Crazy tank! would you mind sharing your light schedule? Thanks.

The LED’s ramp up from 9am to 11am at which point they gradually change from the bluest spectrum to emulate ATI’s Coral plus bulb for 8 hours then they ramp back down in reverse over 2 hours. During the 8 hours in the middle of the light cycle the T5’s are on. It’s been a great schedule and most everything has responded well too it. Last I checked with a PAR meter I was getting 600+ PAR at the top of the rockwork and 375ish down in the sand. It’s a bright tank, the fixture does a good job of driving the T5’s.
The corals love it, and so do I.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

The guy with the screen name on rc shi87 or something like that had a spectacular tank with t5 and kessil. Although he had an ati and ran the big kessils. Either way that tank was top knotch. Can we get some pictures of what your seeing that your not liking? Probably the only way to really help.

 

[hobbyreefer]

Plenty of ways to skin a cat. My tank is about the same dimensions as yours, it’s 60”x27.5”x27.5“. I love my ATI powermodule (Hybrid 8x80w T5’s and 4x75w LED) and it grows corals like weeds with wicked color. Their user interface for the fixture is super slick and has been totally carefree. I wouldn’t trade it for any other fixture.

@Rick.45cal I can totally see why you wouldn't trade your lights for anything else. Your tank is insane! Are you still able to buy these fixtures? I see they are sold out on BRS.

 

[hobbyreefer]

I'm happy to post pictures but I don't feel like I can capture an accurate representation of what I'm seeing. I'm happy enough with the Kessil/T5 combo, but my corals aren't doing great. Again, it's probably not the light.

I don't like 6 power cords (clutter) and the heat is annoying. Some of the heat is probably from my 40w UV sterilizer.

I'm just wondering if switching to 3 XR30s G5s, or maybe the photon v2, or possibly even the 8 bulb t5/hybrid would be a valuable upgrade.

First fish went in my tank last November, first corals went in around Jan. I rushed things a bit, but my rock was baking in a heated brute trashcan for 6 months. I kept a few damsels in the brute can and treated it like a regular aquarium (water changes, top off, etc).

All of my coral has come from Battlecorals. Everything looks perfect when it arrives but they all steadily fade/brown within a few weeks.

Here's an idea of my parameters over the last month. I test every day, but I don't alway right everything down. Phosphate always goes to 0 if I don't use reef roids daily. It seems 1/2 tbs per day keeps Phosphate around .1.

Happy Battlebox's from Adam. Sticks ALWAY look healthy when they arrive.

Current FTS (blue and white)

A few close ups

 

[Rick.45cal]

@Rick.45cal I can totally see why you wouldn't trade your lights for anything else. Your tank is insane! Are you still able to buy these fixtures? I see they are sold out on BRS.

I’m sure the Powermodules are still available, probably just a shortage in stock due to the pandemic. Definitely worth the wait in my opinion.

 

[MikeyG]

I have a 60" x 26" wide x 24" tank

Currently running a 48" Aquatic life T5 with 2 blue plus and 2 coral plus - I also have 5 Kessil 360x (1 every 12 inches)

I'm thinking about replacing my Kessil/T5 Hybrid with 3 XR-30s G5 or 4 XR-30s G4

Here are the reason:

1. Tank is about 8 months old and I'm struggling with Acropora. I've put over 30 sticks in the tank and all have browned except for a few. I do have Monti's growing and coloring well. I don't think my lights are the issue but I'm just not sold on the Kessils for an Acropora dominated tank.
2. Heat- my tank heats up ~4 degrees when the T5s run all day. I range from 76-80 each day. Again, I don't think this is my issue but LED only should resolve.
3. Power cords. I need 6 power cords for the current setup. I believe 3 XR-30s would open up 3 outlets and reduce wires
4. I just changed my t5 bulbs and I was actually a bit nervous about breaking them over the tank. I'm sure this is a non-issue but I'm listing it anyway.
5. Along the same line as number four, I have the T5's mounted in studs in the ceiling. This has made me nervous from the beginning. I just don't trust my handyman skills enough to be 100% confident the lights won't fall in the tank!

My goal for this tank is 99% acropora. I just have a few monti's growing on the bare bottom.

It seems the gold standard for acropora is metal halides. I don't think that is an option for me.

I could go with a 8 bulb T5 fixture but I worry heat would be a bigger issue. I'm also not sure I would be happy with the look of the tank. When I run my T5s without the LEDs everything looks very dull. It might just be the bulb combo and not enough bulbs to light the entire tank.

What is everyone's thoughts on the XR 30s? I know there are a million threads on these lights and I've read most of them. I'm just asking do people think 3 or 4 XR30 would be an upgrade from my current setup for Acropora?

I'm not asking about the cost, or if the new lights have quality issues. Just asking about performance only vs my setup - if that makes sense.

I am interested in your Kessil A360x for ourchase. I also have 2 ATI T5 Programmable 8 bulb 4 ft units for trade if you are interested.

 

[Rick.45cal]

I'm happy to post pictures but I don't feel like I can capture an accurate representation of what I'm seeing. I'm happy enough with the Kessil/T5 combo, but my corals aren't doing great. Again, it's probably not the light.

I don't like 6 power cords (clutter) and the heat is annoying. Some of the heat is probably from my 40w UV sterilizer.

I'm just wondering if switching to 3 XR30s G5s, or maybe the photon v2, or possibly even the 8 bulb t5/hybrid would be a valuable upgrade.

First fish went in my tank last November, first corals went in around Jan. I rushed things a bit, but my rock was baking in a heated brute trashcan for 6 months. I kept a few damsels in the brute can and treated it like a regular aquarium (water changes, top off, etc).

All of my coral has come from Battlecorals. Everything looks perfect when it arrives but they all steadily fade/brown within a few weeks.

Here's an idea of my parameters over the last month. I test every day, but I don't alway right everything down. Phosphate always goes to 0 if I don't use reef roids daily. It seems 1/2 tbs per day keeps Phosphate around .1.

Happy Battlebox's from Adam. Sticks ALWAY look healthy when they arrive.

Current FTS (blue and white)

A few close ups

Looks like you have alot of new tank stuff going on. those points when your phosphate dipped down to zero are likely (in my opinion) why you’ve got the bald patches on some of your corals. It’s REAL hard on corals especially in a young tank when that happens in my experience. I wouldn’t be concerned with your phosphate level at this moment 0.11 ppm.

What are you using for export of nutrients?

 

[hobbyreefer]

Over the weekend, I received an Apogee MQ-510 par meter rental from BRS. I'm starting to test many different scenarios but at initial glance, I do not think low par is my issue.

I turned my MP40's on feed mode and tested par with the t5's on and my Kessils ramped to 100%. This typically represents 10am-4pm on my schedule.

I plan on testing different intensity and doing a more comprehensive par chart over the next few days.

T5 Only - I was getting 150-200 par throughout the tank. It looks very dim and I do get some shadowing in the far corners. My tank is 60" and the T5s are 48" (2 blue plus and 2 coral plus)

LED only (5 a360x) at 100% gets 225-300 through most of the tank.

This chart shows T5 + LED - it's pretty wild how high the par jumps when everything is on.

Here is a rough idea of my current schedule. Feedback welcome:

LEDs come on a 0700 10% intensity (slow ramp up)
T5s come on at 0800 and LEDs are 20%
LEDs ramp up to 100% by 10am and remain there until 4pm.
LEDs start ramping down between 4pm and go off at 8pm.
T5s go off at 6pm

T5s are 8am - 6pm
LEDs are 8am - 8pm with high intensity between 10am-4pm