So I switched my Lighting... Interesting

black cobra

black cobra

Member
Ok, so for the past 8 weeks I've been using the Sunpod 48" 2x150 Metal Halide Fixture. I bought a couple corals and none of them survived. I had recently bought one last coral (Green Zoas) and they never really looked good or opened up.
So I decided to switch my lights based on reading and looking at peoples tanks on here. I went with the 48" Nova Extreme Pro 6x54 and I bought all new Better Bulbs as I heard the stock bulbs weren't that good

1. Blue Plus
2. Procolor
3. Super Actinic
4. Aqua Blue 12,000K
5. Procolor
6. Blue Plus
Anyways in the 3 days that I have been using them, my Zoas are now all open, have full color, and have actually doubled in size

I thought Halides were the end all - be all of Reef Lighting and the absolute best? Everything looks 1 Million times better since I switched to the T5 setup. Plus you cant beat the Dawn/Dusk effect
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Perhaps it was how you are using the lights. Personally I still prefer MH over the T5 look. I have a 120 and am running a Geisman 2x250 W system with 2 t5 actinics. I have incredible growth and color out of all my corals and nems. I don't mind the little bit of extra electricity with the amazing look I get in my tank.
 
rigdon87

rigdon87

Member
Can you post before and after pics?? i have the nova pro too with the "stock" bulbs and wanna kno if its really worth the $30 a bulb to switch
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bountyhunter23
http:///forum/post/3012957
Yeah i like t5 a lot. MH just uses too much power, and are too hot. What brand of bulbs did you buy? ATI?
And how does that apply to his change: 150wx2 < 54wx6. 300w of heat is 300w of heat (may be distributed differently but the same amount is produced). I have a 150wx2 sunpod over my 30g and temps dont even reach 80deg ever so I doubt heat or power had anything to do with his decision( If so it was misguided based on the fixture purchased).
OP if you had stock sunpod bulbs of course T5's especially with upgraded bulbs look alot better specturally than a sunpod. not that it would change your opinion but at least compare good looking MH bulbs. a stock sunpod 14k bulb is like a T5 set up with 5 white bulbs and one blue. Regardless T5 are capable of being spectrally superior but the point source scatter of MH is still more natural looking and sun like visually. the even distribution of T5 is good for intensity/coverage and still shots but I still find it a little boring and artificial looking in person compared to MH lighting
It should be no suprise 324w of T5 is significantly more intense than 300w of MH. the proper comparison would be 150wx2 vs a four bulb T5 set up (54w in your case, 39wx4 in my case). a 6 bulb T5 should be compared to 250wx2 MH otherwise all that "doing the same with less" and "less heat" goes out the window.
With all that said and done none of it has NOTHING to do with the health of your zoanthus and dead corals. perhaps there were light adjustment or general acclimation issues or perhaps something improved with your tank in the 2 months and 3 days prior to your corals improving/surviving. I mean REALLY now do you think the sunpod was inadequate for a green zoanthid and kills corals
This ranks right up there with concluding old bulbs caused out of control algae problems.
 
black cobra

black cobra

Member
Originally Posted by Rigdon87
http:///forum/post/3013349
Can you post before and after pics?? i have the nova pro too with the "stock" bulbs and wanna kno if its really worth the $30 a bulb to switch

I never even turned it on with the stock bulbs. I changed them out the same day I bought them.
 
chilwil84

chilwil84

Active Member
if your zoos werent opening under the mh and opened right up under the t5s with no changes other than the light to your tank the mh were to much light for what they were used to.
you should be able to find bulbs from uvl and ati for no more than 21.95 a bulb.
 
black cobra

black cobra

Member
Originally Posted by chilwil84
http:///forum/post/3013437
if your zoos werent opening under the mh and opened right up under the t5s with no changes other than the light to your tank the mh were to much light for what they were used to.
you should be able to find bulbs from uvl and ati for no more than 21.95 a bulb.

Too much light? I would think the 2x250 would be too much light for my 18" of depth? Hense why I went with the 2x150. I mean they dont make anything less so how could that ne too much power goin on there?
Maybe the opposite? Maybe it wasn't enough like Stanlalee said?
 
bountyhunter23

bountyhunter23

Member
Originally Posted by Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/3013435
And how does that apply to his change: 150wx2 < 54wx6. 300w of heat is 300w of heat (may be distributed differently but the same amount is produced). I have a 150wx2 sunpod over my 30g and temps dont even reach 80deg ever so I doubt heat or power had anything to do with his decision( If so it was misguided based on the fixture purchased).
OP if you had stock sunpod bulbs of course T5's especially with upgraded bulbs look alot better specturally than a sunpod. not that it would change your opinion but at least compare good looking MH bulbs. a stock sunpod 14k bulb is like a T5 set up with 5 white bulbs and one blue. Regardless T5 are capable of being spectrally superior but the point source scatter of MH is still more natural looking and sun like visually. the even distribution of T5 is good for intensity/coverage and still shots but I still find it a little boring and artificial looking in person compared to MH lighting
It should be no suprise 324w of T5 is significantly more intense than 300w of MH. the proper comparison would be 150wx2 vs a four bulb T5 set up (54w in your case, 39wx4 in my case). a 6 bulb T5 should be compared to 250wx2 MH otherwise all that "doing the same with less" and "less heat" goes out the window.
With all that said and done none of it has NOTHING to do with the health of your zoanthus and dead corals. perhaps there were light adjustment or general acclimation issues or perhaps something improved with your tank in the 2 months and 3 days prior to your corals improving/surviving. I mean REALLY now do you think the sunpod was inadequate for a green zoanthid and kills corals
This ranks right up there with concluding old bulbs caused out of control algae problems.
Whoa dude. First off my buddy has a sunpod, and yes it does produce more heat then my t5. And most ppl who buy a sunpod change the bulb to a different 14k such as Phoenix. But i never said anything about the sunpod in my statement. I just simply stated that MH uses more energy and produces more heat. Most MH fixtures have fans in them to cut down on the heat unlike pendants. Now dont get me wrong I do like the look of MH and I do like the Sunpods. Just touch ur t5 and MH at the same time and tell me which one is hotter! lol

And no that energy/heat had nothing to do with it, just my two cents. :)
 
stanlalee

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Bountyhunter23
http:///forum/post/3013640
Just touch ur t5 and MH at the same time and tell me which one is hotter! lol


right and thats kinda what I was getting at. 300w of MH will be hotter in one spot (thats all there is) but 300w of T5 is producing the same amount of heat its just distributed across the length of the bulb. T5 run cooler because you can achieve the same results with half the wattage not because they produce less heat. what reaches the tank or how it feels on your hands doesn't directly corelate to whats being produced by the bulbs. move your hand 5" to the left of an MH and its cool where the T5 is just as hot from end to end. the quantitive heat from 300w is the same wether its T5, MH, PC ect. the difference would be alot more light from the T5 would enter the aquarium.
Originally Posted by chilwil84
http:///forum/post/3013437
if your zoos werent opening under the mh and opened right up under the t5s with no changes other than the light to your tank the mh were to much light for what they were used to.
.
there is no way 150wx2 sunpod compares to the intensity of a 6 bulb Nova pro with that bulb combo. a change from 300w of MH to 300w of T5 will often bleach even SPS from the shock of more light. Its not that the MH cant be more intense in any one spot, its the fact the T5 is hitting it everywhere at all angles with its full intensity where the MH might even be dark on one side and blinding bright on the other side. whatever the case MH works well and just plain looks better to me so thats what I'll be using until LEDs become a reliable and affordable option. two tanks with MH, no chiller, one canopy, one open top and I have yet to experience heat issues with MH so NO flourescent technology would lean me in that direction. LEDs on the other hand look just as good as MH with all the benefits of T5. even more so. I'll be waiting for that or die first.
like I said it doesn't make sense to equate the results to lighting. the sunpod is more than capable of keeping zoas happy and multiplying quickly. the change if anything should have been restricted to better looking color from the better spectral output but certaintly not opening up more or mutliplying in 3 days. if they were not opening and dying because the sunpod was too intense they would be melting under the new lights. something besides lighting is responsible for the improvement.
 
chilwil84

chilwil84

Active Member
a reaction to not enough light by zoos is that they stretch out longer to get closer to the light. a reaction of to much light is that they stay closed up. i totally get you with t5s i have a 90 with 8 over it and a 40 breeder with 6 over it so i know t5s and how they can bleech sps. that said with no other variables changing like flow amount or pattern of flow just opening on the changing of light would be due to less intensity. the usual reaction to a quick increase in lightning intensity like a new fixture or changing the bulbs is the corals close up for a period of time not open.
 
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