Time To Color 'Em Up

[Dana Riddle]

Thanks Randy, any suggestions on the amount of red? Maybe around 20%? Would be interesting to know what the red spectrum does too.

LOL. I have a twin brother, so I'm used to being called a name other than mine, including Randy. Wink. I say reducing the amount of red a tad for a couple of reasons. First, red light is known to reduce zoox density/chlorophyll content. Zoox can translocate amino acids that can be used by the coral animal to produce fluorescent proteins. An increase in the ratio of red to blue might help as well. Try 30% red. Fantastic tank, BTW.

 

[mitch91175]

I put these on the Strontium thread but adding here too for progress

 

[mitch91175]

LOL. I have a twin brother, so I'm used to being called a name other than mine, including Randy. Wink. I say reducing the amount of red a tad for a couple of reasons. First, red light is known to reduce zoox density/chlorophyll content. Zoox can translocate amino acids that can be used by the coral animal to produce fluorescent proteins. An increase in the ratio of red to blue might help as well. Try 30% red. Fantastic tank, BTW.

Thanks. I did see I said Randy . Corrected it when I noticed.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Thanks. I did see I said Randy . Corrected it when I noticed.

Not a problem, I'm used to it. And many think Dana is strictly a female name, so they think I'm of the opposite sex. Nice tank BTW.

 

[Sunny Goold]

If you have the non hd version your better off ,they have the other white bulbs with better 450nm spike, you need to balance in more white channel to pull out the best colors also the red spectrum 660 spike has to be more like 40% to pull out the reds/pinks/ purples better , the problem with LED ab+ is its not as white as the real t5 ab+ which is around 15k . If you look at almost all lights with all channels on 100% the color is ................15k I understand that BRS says this and that , but historically it takes them around a year or so to realize something more to the story and change thier tune, going off their own video archives full of contradictory sentiment depending on timeline . Love em to death but trying to imitate 1 part of multi part "system" without all the rest is recipe for disaster. Unless you are coral labs , or follow the whole white paper fully , dont try to use AB+ (which is for gen3 xr30 pros anyhow, diff leds ) The known science is a 660nm spike and 15k will color SPS the most fully . Which is why they made C+ t5 bulb to begin with. If you were really slick you had KZ fiji pinks, which is a actinic blue/ red bulb and hits those same spikes . Been cookin corals for a min over here....

Thanks DJS - I've been looking into LED/T5 Hybrid stuff today (for my future build) - anyhow stumbled across this thread as I was trying to find a spectrum graph for the Fiji Purple (so far no luck - but I assume it hits both 390-420 and 660). This comment is interesting to me as I have read that the 6500k Tropic T5 really develops colors that show up under the blues - and so does the ATI Actinic.

I would like my comment / question here to help with Mitch's post / question and I wanted to ask about some of the 'principals' behind your comment. So would you say that:
- With a hybrid a good way to think of it is to schedule the LED to run to how you like the look of your tank and schedule T5s for peak power and to develop pigments?
- If that is the case would you say Tropics, ATI Actinic and Fiji Purple are good bulbs for that?
- Then is Mitch running his T5's too long? Like is something like 6 hours for the T5s better.

For me I see Mitch is running everything really Blue (how I would prefer it too) but I wonder if T5s are better tools for hitting those color 'peaks' than LEDs. My thoughts are get the new Radion Gen 5 Blues and run from front to back Fiji Purple - 6500 - ATI Actinic or the KZ Coral Light - Fiji Purple.

So maybe Mitch could consider XR15 Blues also as he runs his Hydras all Blue and he'd save money getting XR15s as he'd probably only need maybe 4 or 5 Gen 5 Blues.

I hope my comment helps you Mitch - it's a great question and it (and the comments) have been super helpful to me

 

[mitch91175]

Thanks DJS - I've been looking into LED/T5 Hybrid stuff today (for my future build) - anyhow stumbled across this thread as I was trying to find a spectrum graph for the Fiji Purple (so far no luck - but I assume it hits both 390-420 and 660). This comment is interesting to me as I have read that the 6500k Tropic T5 really develops colors that show up under the blues - and so does the ATI Actinic.

I would like my comment / question here to help with Mitch's post / question and I wanted to ask about some of the 'principals' behind your comment. So would you say that:
- With a hybrid a good way to think of it is to schedule the LED to run to how you like the look of your tank and schedule T5s for peak power and to develop pigments?
- If that is the case would you say Tropics, ATI Actinic and Fiji Purple are good bulbs for that?
- Then is Mitch running his T5's too long? Like is something like 6 hours for the T5s better.

For me I see Mitch is running everything really Blue (how I would prefer it too) but I wonder if T5s are better tools for hitting those color 'peaks' than LEDs. My thoughts are get the new Radion Gen 5 Blues and run from front to back Fiji Purple - 6500 - ATI Actinic or the KZ Coral Light - Fiji Purple.

So maybe Mitch could consider XR15 Blues also as he runs his Hydras all Blue and he'd save money getting XR15s as he'd probably only need maybe 4 or 5 Gen 5 Blues.

I hope my comment helps you Mitch - it's a great question and it (and the comments) have been super helpful to me

I recently adjusted my T5s to run from noon- 5PM daily and run only actinics early morning and late evening. So far so good.

I used my LED for adjusting lighting and went 100% blue+ for the T5 bulbs.

I haven’t adjusted much as it relates to the amount of red spectrum yet. I’ll likely increase the reds at some point on one side of the tank to see how everything reacts to that, it wanted to not change too much too soon on the tank.

 

[mitch91175]

I started dosing my NO3/PO4 with the premade mix and so far so good.

Just tested NO3 and it's 10ppm and PO4 is 0.04PPM. Wondering why I didn't do this much sooner ;Facepalm. Keeping the feeding as normal half sheet of seaweed in the morning and pellets at 3PM. Now I have total control over NO3/PO4 in the system. Was much easier to dial in with already having low PO4/NO3 already.

 

[Rockmp]

any updates on this? Have you noticed any difference?

 

[mitch91175]

any updates on this? Have you noticed any difference?

I’ll update this later today after I get some work done.

 

[mitch91175]

any updates on this? Have you noticed any difference?

I will state though that my growth definitely has increased since making the changes.

 

[svogun]

When I first started with monti's in my 750xxl they all bleached. Once I started dosing N03 and PO4 they rebounded beautifully. But it took weeks to months for this to occur. If your nitrates are 10ppm, keep that steady and I believe your colors are going to deepen

 

[drawman]

I will state though that my growth definitely has increased since making the changes.

Any idea what change(s) you feel was/were most impactful?

Also I'm curious are you using ICP to monitor strontium now? I'm waiting to get a test but feel I may be in the same boat as you were.

 

[TX_Punisher]

SPS= stability promotes success.

looks like you’re on the right track. Good lighting, flow etc. whatever you’re doing, be consistent for 3-4 months and then assess. Corals will adapt but it takes time. There are great tanks with a wide range of Parms, equipment, and methods.

good luck

 

[mitch91175]

Well not a picture update cause I was out doing what we hobbyists do, but more coral lol

 

[mitch91175]

Here is one that I’ve definitely noticed that I do have a picture of. There are others that have improved as well but I need to take a top down picture of them

Way more reds in this one than before. Heck before it was all green honestly. And the growth has been amazing on it as well.

 

[mitch91175]

any updates on this? Have you noticed any difference?

Definitely differences with color.

HomeWrecker

Walt Disney

 

[MentalNote]

Wow Mitch, they look great.

Can you separate out what you think made the biggest impact? (Red Sea ABCD, Strontium or Nitrate/Phosphate?)

Reading your thread got me to start doing Nitrates. My parameters were very similar to your starting point: Phosphates - .08ppm; Nitrates at 2ppm.

I only added nitrates, eyeballing about a 2ppm daily increase dose of KNO3 for the past week. I have to say, I'm surprised as to how well some of my colors starting coloring up.

-Pete

 

[mitch91175]

Wow Mitch, they look great.

Can you separate out what you think made the biggest impact? (Red Sea ABCD, Strontium or Nitrate/Phosphate?)

Reading your thread got me to start doing Nitrates. My parameters were very similar to your starting point: Phosphates - .08ppm; Nitrates at 2ppm.

I only added nitrates, eyeballing about a 2ppm daily increase dose of KNO3 for the past week. I have to say, I'm surprised as to how well some of my colors starting coloring up.

-Pete

I’m not gonna say one way or the other one change did the most or not needed or whatever. I made so many recently changes that they all could have played a part (and likely did).

I increased PAR by dropping lighting. Started Red Sea program and dosing Strontium. Started running carbon again.

I think it just comes to striving for a stable environment with the available elements for the coral to grow. Once it got to where nutrients needed to be supplemented without doing much to artificially decrease them that’s when it allowed doing more to control the level of nutrients and maintaining an even better environment.

But I will say it like this. I started dosing Strontium and got faster growth. I started dosing Red Sea Trace and got better color/polyp extension. I dropped my lighting and got better growth and color.

 

[t5Nitro]

Which NO3 supplement are you using? I started dosing phos that I've made using trisodium phosphate. My NO3 has been 0 and thought about dosing. I wanted to add fish to do it that way but I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for in stock right now.

 

[mitch91175]

Which NO3 supplement are you using? I started dosing phos that I've made using trisodium phosphate. My NO3 has been 0 and thought about dosing. I wanted to add fish to do it that way but I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for in stock right now.

DIY solution.