Lets Color Up My Corals Ok?

[nm reef]

Your questions are tough to answer...in order to answer them I'd have to somehow agree that your SPS selections will thrive under VHO's....any combination....and that just isn't going to happen. You can replace the "white" lamps with "blue" lamps and that will alter the color your eye sees...but it will provide no benefit to your corals. The montipora digitata that you keep refering to will possibly live in your current lighting...but no matter how you configure your 4 VHO lamps there simply will never be enough intensity or PAR to adaquately enhance SPS corals....I agree that there indeed are hobbyists keeping SPS under VHO's...but I seriously doubt that they ever look as healthy or grow as much or color up as well as they will under MH's. Where there is a will there is always a way...and if you intend to keep an assortment of healthy/thriving SPS corals then I'd urge you to find a way to alter your current lighting system to properly provide adaquate lighting. Its that simple....and there really is no adaquate short cut....no real viable alternative.....its just that simple.....
at least to me it is...thats why I evolved from a few decnt SPS types in a 55 gal display under 4x65 PC's(10K) & 2x110 VHO's (URI actinics) to a 100 gal display with 2x400 MH's (10K) & 2x110 VHO's (URI actinics)...plus there are other considerations.....a radical increase in circulation and careful adjustment/montoring of water chemistry. I now have a large assortment of thriving SPS types and I have absolutely no doubt that I would not have managed to advance to this point under the old system. So...as I said your basic question has no available answer other than to agree with what you'd "like" to do...or strongely urge you to consider proven alternatives to your choices.
:thinking:

 

[shawnts106]

I agree that there indeed are hobbyists keeping SPS under VHO's...but I seriously doubt that they ever look as healthy or grow as much or color up as well as they will under MH's.
I completly agree!
hum, SO, replacing my bulbs to 3 actinics and 1 act/wht will not really negitively impact the corals survival at all, so they would be receiving the same PAR as they would under 2 whites and 2 actinics?
... I am concidering MH, but it will not be tomorow that is for SURE!
Also, what do you think would be a better light, PC or MH?
If I added PC Actinics would this help the PAR... or not?

 

[golfish]

Originally posted by shawnts106
Also, what do you think would be a better light, PC or MH?


I think PC's would be just fine for your LPS and softies..
Originally posted by shawnts106
If I added PC Actinics would this help the PAR... or not?
I think PC's would be just fine for your LPS and softies..wait, I said that I think it will add little if anything to the par...

 

[reefer44]

i believe with the correct water quality and flow you should be able to get good color......maybe not great growth but color......if you are really looking for the best color possible i personally would get all sunlight (white) bulbs (white light is alot more useful to corals...like 10k compared to 20k).....this will allow your corals to use the whole 440w of lighting you have.........2 175w MH is only a little stronger than 440w's of VHO........i also know of ppl that keep the great colors under VHO and PC bulbs (Brooklyn Johny's nano was lite with PC https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...0&pagenumber=1 .....hope ya don't mine me linkin' to your thread john....and remember john really knows what he is doing and works hard!!)...i personally would add 3 maxi jet 1200 that are wipping your sand (ditrus) around like crazy and then try running your skimmer very wet.......i really believe if you work hard enough results can be achieved
Just my .02
Brad

 

[shawnts106]

i personally would add 3 maxi jet 1200 that are wipping your sand (ditrus) around like crazy and then try running your skimmer very wet
WHAT ON EARTH, I have a 75 gallon aquarium, 3 maxi jets of 1200 gph would kill everything in that tank, including all the fish!!! good night no, I have a good return flow from the sump, it alone gives the WHOLE tank a good med. current, and I have a maxi 1200 on the other side facing the return, now the whole tank has a med/high flow and at the top, where the montis and hydno is it has a high flow!!!
I definatly do not need anymore current!
also, running your skimmer very wet? what does this mean?
Thank for that Golfish! I didnt think so either!
reefer 44, as for all white, I dont think that would help the color, this Monti Dig is a BEAUTIFUL NEON RED color under MH, however in my tank its a deep red almost deep brown color, the only really neon visible red on it is the polyps nearest to the new white tips forming... there you can see a HUGE difference! I think adding more Blue would make it look better because when my moonlights are on its a very bright red color... and the moonlights are only like 2.5 watts a peice!!!
thats why im asking if adding the URI VHO ACTINICS would make the coral stand out more.. IMO it would dramatically!

 

[golfish]

Originally posted by shawnts106
WHAT ON EARTH, I have a 75 gallon aquarium, 3 maxi jets of 1200 gph would kill everything in that tank, including all the fish!!! good night no, I have a good return flow from the sump, it alone gives the WHOLE tank a good med. current, and I have a maxi 1200 on the other side facing the return, now the whole tank has a med/high flow and at the top, where the montis and hydno is it has a high flow!!!

So much to learn

3 more MJ1200 would give you another 850-900 gph of flow, that's very little for a 75. Remember, you've been asking about sps, you can't have too much flow for them.
FWIW, I have about 5000 gph going though me 120 and I'm not done yet..I hope to add another 2000 GPH in the next few months.
As far as Brad's last post....I strongly disagree but its shows that if you BUMP your post up enough your bound to get the answer you've been looking for I disagree with "I believe with the correct water quality and flow you should be able to get good color" but then Brad's idea of good color might be different then mine.
Some people here and there have posted nice pictures of less light loving sps that are kept under VHO's. You mentioned a Blue tip acro here or on another thread, once you did that all bets were off

 

[shawnts106]

THAT MUCH WATERFLOW!!!... Gaw, everything in my tank is moving nicely, the xenias, sps, leather, I have a umbrella leather that takes up 1.4 of my tank!!!
I dont know about adding 2 or 3 more mp1200... not with some of the more delicate corals I have .. like certain mushrooms and then the brains, and also, the xenias, too much can kill them!, also I have that leather... and not to mention the Pipeorgan and the blastomussa!
I think the tank flow is good right now, may need slightly a bit more, but not that much IMO!

 

[squidd]

Well you know you'll have to get rid of most of those softies if your going SPS, don't you... :yes:
(alleopathy)....

 

[dburr]

I wont even touch the lights, flow though is also important. SPS is in a strong current day in and day out. Your brains and other LPS are more on sand beds and deep water, less massive flow. Same for other leathers and softies that are on reef slopes, less flow.
It's very hard to mix the types of coral sometimes in a box 4 feet long, remember the ocean is huge.
The maxi jets can be put on the rim of the tank, blast the SPS and all that is on the sand bed would get a more gentle flow. But also softies and SPS can be at war and shouldn't be mixed unless you run loads of carbon.
HTH

 

[reefer44]

i completely agree with golfish on the flow issue...when i said add 3 maxi jets that was asumming you already had 500-800gph.......for sps i think close to 1500 would be decent flow in a 75.................golfish i am sure my idea color is the same as yours (maybe even more picky cause i wont reast inless my acro's shine!!!!!!!).....but to get the great color with this lighting you HAVE to have really good husbandry.....i have seen it with my own eyes there are sps reefs with this lighting that can shine..........but don't believe me....go lurk in the sps forum on a certain un namable board (maybe even for close to 3 hours a day like me ...man i have no life) and you will see one or two tanks a month that aren't running mh that have sweet color (there is a guy named dan that runs T5's and another guy that has 440w of VHO like you)..............
and about not getting color under white lights.......white lights pull out colors more in the red spectrum...so then you would see the monti color up nicely...plus 440w's of 10k is ALOT more than 440w of 20K (in VHO's)
man why don't ppl on this board agree with me somtimes!!!!.....its not like my ideas are crazy!...I have seen it, yet to you it is IMPOSIBLE for some reason....
Brad

 

[golfish]

Originally posted by reefer44
(maybe even more picky cause i wont reast inless my acro's shine!!!!!!!).....
Some how I doubt that...I doubt that very much
Originally posted by reefer44
[B..i have seen it with my own eyes there are sps reefs with this lighting that can shine..........but don't believe me....go lurk in the sps forum on a certain un namable board (maybe even for close to 3 hours a day like me ...man i have no life) [/B]
So your saying I should go to $

^#$*&^&%$ and look at pictures of SPS tanks that run VHO's...stop kidding around.

All you kids that work at LFS are just a like

 

[shawnts106]

LMBO!!!!!.. OMG, WAIT !! HAS A SPS THREAD? I DIDNT SEE THAT.. BRB!!!
ok, yeah, ICCC what you mean, uh on THE SALTWATERFISH.COM forumm!!! *WINKS* (hides truth from moderators) LOL!
anyway, so you think adding more White light to the tank is going to make that Montipora Digitata look as good as it did under the MH at the store.. or close to it?
well then what is the Blue spectrum for?...
should I go for all half and halfs?
would 4 half and halfs do good???
I wassss thinking about replacing to all act/white!!!
maybe this is something I should do, but yet how come when the moon lights shine onto the monti it is this beautiful red color???????
please explain!
off to **** ******* i go.. UH I MEAN SALTWATERFISH.COM!!!!!!!
bye!

 

[shoreliner11]

Golfish...lol, surely not everyone who works at the lfs are the same. JK pretty common stereotype though, I like to think that I'm the exception. That one day a week more than makes up for it with the discounts you know.
Shawnts,
I'm not trying to flame but I do suggest you take the advice of some members on this board. There are a lot of people who've been into the hobby for some time. Often times you see people ask a question and then ask it and ask it until they get the response they want. Just make sure you're not doing that. Now, regarding the question of the blue spectrum...it basically gives corals a more vibrant coloring. With that said the bluer the spectrum the less growth you get. With certain corals a lower spectrum bulb is necassary to get certain colorations (ex. a tricolor acro that turned very green under 20k compared to 10k at the lfs). If you are thinking about running 4 half and halfs why not just run 2 actinics and 2 10k's? It would be basically the same thing. The moonlight is close to 65k lighting (just reflected sunlight) just so you know...not sure if that effects your lighting choices. Good luck with the tank, hope it all works out.
Aaron

 

[golfish]

Originally posted by Shoreliner11
Golfish...lol, surely not everyone who works at the lfs are the same.
I know I know....I guess when I managed to keep my first sps alive for more then a month I thought I knew everything too..Wait! I was almost 40 years old by then. I must of known everything because my teenage daughter knew everything..

 

[reefer44]

don't work at a LFS, we are a wholesale supplier!
wow now are u saying i can only keep sps alive for a month.........many acros have been alive for close to a year an thriving.......do you call 1" a month barely alive??????
not meaning to get hostile but the color of your acro's is def. not better than mine (although last time i say your tank was awhile ago)......as we said to an old friend put up or shut up (jk by the way )
Brad

 

[bang guy]

Do you have a pic of the Acro in your tank that's growing 1" a month? I'm not doubting you, I'd just like to see if it's something I could add to my tank.

 

[reefer44]

sure i will go upload a few.....i actually have a new monti that grew close to a centimeter in a week....

 

[reefer44]

while i wait for my photo software to update....here are so pics of my shabby color

 

[reefer44]

this guy is the one that has been growing like a weed!

 

[essop3]

shawnts...
OK... FINE... HERE YOU GO
Your SPS will look wonderful and be as healthy as can be under an altered combo of VHO lights. You will be able to keep all animals without spending the money for MH. They all will thrive and look beautiful.
make you feel any better?