Redsea 50 choosing the perfect spectrum

[South Carolina reef]

As I've mentioned before I'm new to the hobby . I have two readsea 50s. I'm somewhat confused about how to fine tune or pick the correct lighting for lps. There are several options and really no clear direction. I've chosen 18 Kelvin with blue at 100% and white at about 30%. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I do plan on adding a couple sps up high down the road.

 

[dedragon]

Spectrum for these is pretty hard to mess up as they do it for you, the spectrum is only really used here for visual purposes.
For sps this isnt a great light even high up in the tank and even for lps you might want to buy some supplemental lighting for the tank depending on size. The red sea 50 isnt a very strong light and not great for lighting a tank past 18" deep. What size tank is this being used on?

 

[South Carolina reef]

Spectrum for these is pretty hard to mess up as they do it for you, the spectrum is only really used here for visual purposes.
For sps this isnt a great light even high up in the tank and even for lps you might want to buy some supplemental lighting for the tank depending on size. The red sea 50 isnt a very strong light and not great for lighting a tank past 18" deep. What size tank is this being used on?

 

[dedragon]

looking at the pic it looks to be way above 18". I would either upgrade the lighting entirely or try to add led bars like quanta pro or orphek or3 to this tank to add par, at least 2 bars. What are the tank dimensions?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Looks like a 48g tall tank?

As was mentioned above, the ReefLED 50 isn't a super powerful unit. At only 50 total watts per, you can't expect too much from them on a tall tank like that.

A Par meter is really the ONLY way your going to see if you've got enough light making it to mid-tank and the sandbed.

 

[South Carolina reef]

Looks like a 48g tall tank?

As was mentioned above, the ReefLED 50 isn't a super powerful unit. At only 50 total watts per, you can't expect too much from them on a tall tank like that.

A Par meter is really the ONLY way your going to see if you've got enough light making it to mid-tank and the sandbed.

It's a 65 gallon. I agree with the par meter. My LPS seems to be doing well though.

 

[dedragon]

really hope it isnt a 48 gallon tall, if so the foxface should not be in that tank and maybe what looks to be a sailfin tang (cant really see it)

 

[South Carolina reef]

really hope it isnt a 48 gallon tall, if so the foxface should not be in that tank and maybe what looks to be a sailfin tang (cant really see it)

Thanks but the question was regarding lighting not my choice of fish.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Thanks but the question was regarding lighting not my choice of fish.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

really hope it isnt a 48 gallon tall, if so the foxface should not be in that tank and maybe what looks to be a sailfin tang (cant really see it)

THAT sized FoxFace and Sailfin are Perfectly suited for the tank you are looking at..

 

[South Carolina reef]

THAT sized FoxFace and Sailfin are Perfectly suited for the tank you are looking at..

Yes they are. Thanks! I have a LFS I deal with. At this size there perfectly suited. I realize I will have to bring them into my LFS in about a year or so. But they are perfectly happy tank is 37 long 26 high 18 deep

 

[South Carolina reef]

Back to my original q

 

[dedragon]

Lol, but for how long is the real question. It needed to be added as those fish species are too large for even a 65, good that you have a plan for the fish otherwise, but i usually find it more of a waste of money as LFS a lot of times wont give credit or much credit at all for trading fish back in

 

[dedragon]

The problem with low light usually shows itself further down the line, corals begin to decline after awhile. The rocks also look to be stacked at about halfway up the tank, so the lps at the top of the rockwork might work for now but anything lower than that I wouldnt expect to thrive

Hard to say without par readings (which is annoying sometimes to rent a par meter) but from seeing the red sea reef led 90 being used mostly for lps and with sps at the very top I feel the red sea 50 is probably not gonna cut it alone.

 

[piranhaman00]

Buying fish with plans of returning is unethical and cruel.

 

[dedragon]

Buying fish with plans of returning is unethical and cruel.

was trying to ease into that as this is a newbie and many of us made the mistake of buying the wrong fish in the beginning. But yes it usually is as the fish isnt really comfortable in smaller tanks, has to deal with another tank move (stress), and usually people just want to give it back to the store where it risks infection or being sold to another inexperienced reefer, when they should go straight to another experienced reefer with a large aquarium fit for the fish.

 

[South Carolina reef]

Thanks for the support. Make it a great day.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Buying fish with plans of returning is unethical and cruel.

You may think that for YOUR reef and have every right to.

You'd be best not to put your opinion, on others as it is your Opinion, not a Fact. I happen to whole heartedly disagree with you.

This conversation has been debated to exhaustion here and the truth is that the populace is very split leaving it to personal preference.

 

[dedragon]

You may think that for YOUR reef and have every right to.

You'd be best not to put your opinion, on others as it is your Opinion, not a Fact.

Hard to say actually as the tang in the background looks like it is actually a pretty good size and is too large for the tank(i still think but cant be sure because of the photo). Unless it is a tiny 2-3" sailfin then it absolutely wont be comfortable in this size aquarium, causing unneeded stress to the fish for our own viewing entertainment , which is unethical.

They were a bit blunt and didnt directly talk about the actual fish size or if OP has a plan for upgrading it to larger tanks as it gets older, but this is a forum and it is populated with opinions. Even a lot of the "facts" we have are just opinions based on anecdotal evidence and not in truth facts.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Hard to say actually as the tang in the background looks like it is actually a pretty good size and is too large for the tank(i still think but cant be sure because of the photo). Unless it is a tiny 2-3" sailfin then it absolutely wont be comfortable in this size aquarium, causing unneeded stress to the fish for our own viewing entertainment , which is unethical.

Correct. Without asking any quantifiers, Y'all started lecturing on fish selection in somebody else's tank.

Did you ask about fish current size or future upgrade plans before figure out that OP should be corrected?

I see No issue having a 4" FF and 3.5" sailfin in that dimension tank. They will need an upgrade in the future. Sure.

Unethical, Absolutely not.

They were a bit blunt and didnt directly talk about the actual fish size or if OP has a plan for upgrading it to larger tanks as it gets older, but this is a forum and it is populated with opinions. Even a lot of the "facts" we have are just opinions based on anecdotal evidence and not in truth facts.

Conflating opinion and fact on a forum is indeed prevalent.

As it relates to ethics in this hobby, eagle Steve has a great discussion thread on it. Check it out. Mayor take away for Me from that thread being what I believe to be ethical, means exactly Jack because ethics is a personal standard. What someone else finds until doesn't mean that it is.

There are some ethical questions we all pretty much agree on. There are Way more that we don't as evidenced by the numerous discussions about this, that get locked and buried because people are passionate.

Just as I have no right to force feed you my religion and politics, I also have to right to apply MY ethical standards to your reef, and expect you to care.