Well low to moderate lighting appears to be 2 watts per gallon for low, moderate maybe 4, intense 10 watts or more, I wanted low to moderate in the right ranges for mushrooms and purple coralline. 50 web sites, conflicting opinions, 50/50 white actinic from UV, with actinic 03 one for one is said to work, here's what I did, it works. (Desirable for purple and pink coralline and mushroom corals)
On Coralline algae growth, a store owner in Parsippany NJ, had painted the bare bottom and back of tanks white, had 100x flow going to spray bars, corals, mushrooms, and Coralline growing on back glass and bottom. The paint mentioned because reflected or indirect light seems to be a factor, with a 75 gallon ½ circle I did 50/50 (10k and actinic 03) and actinic 03 power compact. Two spray bars with a inch or inch and quar-ter PVC, two 900 GPH power heads on each end. I only got coralline pink and purple on the high flow areas, with reflected light, entire bottom and back. Some on live rocks, limited to lower level, sides of rock not tops.
So I take a mini reef in a ten gallon ½ moon tank:
[*]
Bare bottom tank life rock is biological filter
[*]
Mushrooms on live rock 8-10 open nice, purple, green, red, brown coralline algae mostly bottom of tank and on live rock with more pink and purple. The turbo snail (small) and hermit crab clean the bottom and live rock and yes they eat at least new coralline.
[*]
Spray bar on ½ PVC rated at 480 GPH with two 402 power heads (270 GPH each)
[*]
Spray bars on 1 and 3 outlet on Natural wave maker 20-30 seconds on 1 and 2 alternating, then 3 on twice as long, every other time both spray bars run. I put the Natural Wave maker plug into day light timer so a single Picasso trigger fish can sleep at the bottom of tank.
One at bottom back point down and across
One at top down if you stack rock across back of tank, for this mini reef middle back point to top front, surface agitation
Prizm skimmer with surface skimmer attachment
Coralife 50/50 (6000K and actinic 03), 20000K Coralife, T8 18 inch 15 watts suspended 8 inches above water, Coralife mini light two 9 inch 6 watt actinic 03, combined the colors favoring white actinic, actinic 03, and blue/white 20000K.
[*]
Phosban and Instant Ocean Nitrate remover in Prizm filter compartment
[*]
Coralline Gro from Red Sea, Kent Magnesium, once and a while purple up (clouds water and puts sand on bottom of tank)
[*]
0 nitrates, phosphates, salinity 1.24, temperature with A/C 75 -79 degrees, magnesium 1250-1350 (added first per Red Sea), DKH 8-11, Calcium 400-450, strontium weekly or 4 days, potassium less than 30PPM, 4 days, Trace elements after water changes or weekly
One turbo snail, one hermit crab both small by design
Evaporated water and changes distilled, using reef crystals (extra Calcium and Magnesium)
Change a gallon a day maybe 3 or 4 of 7 days, small change, turn up skimmer until water air rates.
Purple, pink, green, red coralline, I switched from 50/50 (6K and actinic 03) to that and 20000K, both 15 watt T8 18 inch with the mini light two six watt actinic 03 on back bottom under Prizm Skimmer.
The color of the Coralife bulbs with 50/50 (6000K and actinic 03), 20000K, at 18 watts each, and 12 watts actinic 03 is priceless, the mushrooms with flow under rock and above point up (no direct flow), opened up further with 20000K. It says blue white light in a dark room it does not look like a blue blub, yes it has the spectrum for deeper waters. 50/50 white actinic up front, 20000K to back, actinic 03 bottom back of tank, 12 and 14 hour cycles.
Let you know if purple coralline grows rapidly, fish, and mushrooms love the light combined for all three, dawn to dusk is just actinic 03.
Any threats or comments:
prh123@live.com
