From the research I have done online I find varying opinions on lighting. My tank came with 4actinic and 2 metal halides. About a month ago I stepped up to what I thought was a better system. I purchased two 48" LED lights from Orbit. When I say that to most aquarists they react as if that is not enough lighting. The two LEDS output a total of 96 watts. I have read online that somwhere between 1 watt and as high as 8 watts per gallon of your tank is discussed/recommended on the various forums. I have no complaints from my new lights but I'm wanting to create the optimal environment for growth of corals and animals in my tank. By appearance everything seems to be doing well. I have gone through my break in period and now have the LEDs on for 10 hours a day. That 10 hours includes morning blue lights, changing to white, back to blue and then moonlight to end the day. I don't know if I leave the lights I have alone and be done, add another LED strip or add back in 14,000K T5 fixtures. I am seeing great growth in some species others are existing and seem to be somewhat happy with the lighting. I have added quite a bit over the last 30 days to the tank. Brain, hammer corals, rosebud anemone, and the latest more candy cane and an oragne scoly.. My hard corals seem to be doing worse than all the soft stuff, living but showing no growth. I'm learning where to place the pieces without disrupting the neighborhood. Only had one sting from one coral to another. Just not sue if I should add another fixture for increased light or leave it alone. Any advice guys. thanks in advance
It's not unusual at all for SPS to be slow to grow in a young tank. Many people don't attempt them till their tank is 6-8 months old or older. If they have kept their color and look ok I'd just watch and see for now. If they start to brown out with no other reason then I might consider a change. I added three small SPS frags when my tank was only 6 weeks old....didn't know any better. I still have all three.They didn't grow for almost 6 months. It's the one on the left.
Thanks doc. Did a water change on Friday and last night was feeding night. I keep forgetting, patience, patience, patience. Considering the age of my tank I'm very pleased with what growth I do see. I have a couple specimens that have doubled in size in the 4 months its been going. Just checked all my levels and everything looks good. Were those specimens started from frags?
Yeah, they started as frags about like the one above them in the picture. Patience is the hardest part for me. Some pieces just seem to sit there doing nothing forever, then about the time you give up on them they start growing and getting pretty. I had some Rasta zoas I got at the frag swap in NWA that stayed closed up till about a month ago. I just knew they were going to melt away but they didn't. The duncan we got from the club back in Feb went for months with no growth and in the last couple of months has gone from 2 to 6 heads. Keep your husbandry and parameters up and good things will happen.....in time. Do you still want those Green Star Polyps? If so I'll bring them to the meeting. Also have a couple of other frags of those prepared and looking at my colony could get a few more if anyone wants them (they are the ones in my avatar)?
I'll take a frag of the Green Star Polyps, that would be great. Like I said before, I am very pleased with the progress of my tank so far, the best part is seeing the progress week to week. It is a hobby I really enjoy all parts of. Over time I guess this will teach me a little more patience.
I'm running about 4.84 watts per gallon in my 33 gallon. They run from 7am to 11:30pm. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If you are talkig about current Marine Orbits, they show on their website the depth in which these penetrate. If you have been looking around the forums on information, you would come up with only about the top 8" to 12" would be okay for SPS, anything below that, you are not getting enough light. Thats is why they cringe. These as I remember are only 1w leds not 3 watt briges, or crees.... They just dont have the umph to push SPS to rapid growth and sustain them in the long run.
I have not looked up orbit LEDs but PAR is far more accurate when choosing lights. The wattage per gallon rule does not apply any more. I agree that it may take months for coral to adapt to your specific tank params, as long as no receding tissue they should eventually grow.
Yes, if you are going to raise SPS you need to be focused on par levels not watts per gallon.... I agree with that whole heartedly. The watts per gallon conversion we by the wayside years ago. However when an SPS doesnt get enough light, they tend to brown before receding any tissue. If the colors are not bright and light then they are not getting enough light.
