Radion/T5 question

Gwitness · Jul 30, 2017

I have 3 gen3 pros over my 225 with 2 t5s in the front and back of the radions....

I'm running two coral plus and two blue plus bulbs....

What is a good schedule for me to run? I'm just confused because I don't want to run my whites, reds, and greens too high because of what the t5 Bulbs give off....not sure what I should max the whites,reds, and greens at...

I currently run the t5 Bulbs for 5 hours a day and I have a mixed reef with a good bit of sps

I have also been debating on just selling the radions and going metal Halide/T5....

Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks!

Janci · Jul 31, 2017

It is hard to give a good answer without knowing how much you are running now, what schedule you use, how much PAR you have in the tank with the radions and T5 at full as in your schedule now.
I would slowly raise the T5 schedule till 7 hours a day. If possible (running on different ballasts) you can keep the B+ plus till 8-10 hours. They do not harm and give an extra PAR with good coverage.

It is not clear what it is you are looking for. Do you need more light in the tank? Are your coral pale? Full polyp extension?...
Just shoot some more information.

Gwitness · Jul 31, 2017

Haha yeah you are right, should have given more info!!

So What I am trying to achieve is just the best light schedule possible for my corals for growth and coral....obviously I know way more than lights go into that, but I have the other stuff where I need it....my lights I go back and forth on constantly because of the controllability of the radions! I'm constantly thinking or tweaking on if I could do this maybe his would get better or vice versa....so that's why I was looking for some other opinions....

Currently I run my radions starting at 9:00 am and slowly ramping up to the max schedule from 12:00-6:00 and the overall intensity is 65% ...both blues and UV are on 100%, reds 15%, greens 10%, whites 25%....by I also run the two coral plus and two blue plus bulbs.....I didn't know if that schedule was good enough, or maybe I was running the reds,greens, and whites too high or too low based on how much of those colors I get from the T5 Bulbs also.....

From 6:00-8:00 overall intensity is still 65% and only the blues and UV are at 100% and rest of colors are at 0% and then it will slowly ramp down and go off at 10:00pm

As for t5s I only have two separate ballasts, but one ballast controls blue plus and coral plus, so I won't be able to do your blue plus bulbs for 8-10hour idea.....

Gwitness · Jul 31, 2017

This is kinda why I was debating on going to halides and keep T5 as supplements because there is no tweaking or what ifs on light schedule....I just buy the bulb and I'm done but I love the radions also lol [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] I know This is ridiculous

Breadman03 · Jul 31, 2017

Add time. Not to your lighting schedule per day, but leave the schedule alone for a while. I've had practically no success along with plagues of algae and aptasia. Just last night, I decided to look at a picture of my pocillapora from when I got it. Between March 31 and today, it has roughly doubled in size. The birdsnest STNed and died, and the montipora shows a little growth, but has encrusted to the rock quite a bit.

Okay, back to kalking aptasia for me!

Gwitness · Jul 31, 2017

Yeah I agree once I get the schedule where I want it, giving it time will definitely help!!

Anyone else with any thoughts or experience with this situation?

mcarroll · Jul 31, 2017

Gwitness said:
I have also been debating on just selling the radions and going metal Halide/T5....

Back in the day we were obligated to run "hybrid" fixtures just to have acceptable light.

I wouldn't do that now unless someone paid me to.

(In fact, at home I never did that.)

IMO, going all-LED makes all the sense in the world and is what I'd suggest giving the most consideration to.

You can feel comfortable buying any light you want....get an LED system you like. "More features" ≠ "Better"

If you prefer a more even spread to your light vs the stark shadows you see on some LED rigs, then consider getting strips instead of spotlights...for some reason spotlights get all the buzz.

Plenty of options....PM me or ask if you want some specific recommendations.

But if you're in love with Radium halides or ATI T5 bulbs or whatever, that's fine too....it's just a lot more expensive than LED's. Regardless, if that's your thing, then I'd suggest going all-halide or all-T5.

These days going "hybrid" is just a hedge bet. No need – have confidence!