kimoyo

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BTW, I meant to ask you if you noticed any temperature changes in your tank with the 6bulb fixture.

You probably know this but the lightening happens when the photosynthetic pigment population (which darken the coral) decreases. In a low nutrient with a lot of light environment the corals might be limiting that population because they only need a certain amount of photosnythesis.

Blueplus bulb give off close to the same par as aquablues. So if your using those for actinics your pretty much giving them the same amount of light.
 

masterswimmer

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Paul, I follow you.

The ATI and D & D bulbs differ in names. It has caused some massive confusion in the T5 market.

What you are referring to as Blueplus (D & D terminology) is the exact same bulb as the ATI AquaBlue. They are both 60/40 bulbs.

The bulbs I am using, in no particular order are:
~ 2 - D & D Actinic + (11K)
~ 2 - D & D AquaBlue + (60/40)
~ 2 - D & D Pure Actinic (Actinic)

Also, as far as temp. changes, I can't say. I've used the T5's since day one of this tank. Never been a variable, always a constant.

Russ
 

cali_reef

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masterswimmer said:
The bulbs I am using, in no particular order are:
~ 2 - D & D Actinic + (11K)
~ 2 - D & D AquaBlue + (60/40)
~ 2 - D & D Pure Actinic (Actinic)

Can you take a picture of the light bulbs lit in the fixture? (put the light fixture on the floor and snap a picture while standing over it)

And maybe show us a full tank shot with all the tubes lit at 800X600 resolution?

I use 80W ATI bulbs in my fowlr now but I was not overly impressed when I had coral in there.
 

masterswimmer

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cali_reef said:
Can you take a picture of the light bulbs lit in the fixture? (put the light fixture on the floor and snap a picture while standing over it)

And maybe show us a full tank shot with all the tubes lit at 800X600 resolution?

No. I'm not in any condition to remove that fixture. But I do appreciate your wanting to help attend to the details.

I can list the order in which the bulbs are placed, and I can take a pic of the tank with the bulbs in use. But I can't remove it.

Jim, jump in anytime here......................

Thanks,
Russ
 

masterswimmer

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kimoyo said:
The blueplus is the "actinic +" but I don't think its 11K. I thought the aquablues were 11K.

Do you see any difference in temp when the lights are on as opposed to off?

And therein lies the confusion. :lol_large

Yes, the temp in the tank drops about 1 degree at night. Now that I've raised it up 5", that might change though. Give me a few days to verify it for you.

I got my ATI = D & D chart from Premium Aquatics. Can they be wrong? Absolutley. The two bulbs I have on my separate ballast, on the two ends supposedly simulating dawn/dusk are the Pure Actinics. They do give the actinic look, but as I've stated in other threads, T5 actinics leave a lot to be desired. URI is coming out with their brand of VHO Actinics :lol_large

Russ
 

kimoyo

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PA is a great company, I pretty much get everything from them. Jason is really cool. But yeah they could have made a mistake. The aquablues are the 11k's. And they are calling the blueplus/actinic+ just "blues" now. On their website it looks like they have it correct now. But Sunlight Supply imports them and you can get the specifics here.

How you feelin BTW?
 

masterswimmer

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Paul, out of the four bulbs listed on the SLS site, I only use three of them. I DON'T use the daylight bulb. So I use 2 of each of the other three bulbs. Whatever everyone calls them, those be dem. lol

I've been trying to take a bit less meds to see how I'm really doing and the recovery is taking some time, but it seems to be going well. I'm glad I elected to go with surgery. Thank you for asking.

Russ
 

spykes

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cali_reef said:
Can you take a picture of the light bulbs lit in the fixture? (put the light fixture on the floor and snap a picture while standing over it)

And maybe show us a full tank shot with all the tubes lit at 800X600 resolution?

I use 80W ATI bulbs in my fowlr now but I was not overly impressed when I had coral in there.

perice i'll take a pic of of it this week when i clean my fixture, i have almost ever type of bulbs LOL. came with my fixture when i bought it off a LIRA guy
 

spykes

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masterswimmer said:
Water changes are one of the things that perk up the colors in my tank. Probably why I do them 2x per week. Oceanic has definitely gotten a reputation for low Alk. It seems to be debatable between Oceanic users and those that don't particularly care for it.

There is no reason for me to have to dose Ca. Alk could be a question mark, but debatable still. As I've mentioned, raising the lights just 5" has made a small (only been 30 hrs) but noticeable change.

I've already changed my digital timer for my daylights to come on an hour later and shut off an hour earlier. I will change the actinics tonight.

None of this changes the fact that I'd like to visit you Dave and see your tank. If Rich endorses it, then I'm a firm believer it is just beautiful. Can't wait to see it.

Dave, btw, I have decent size storage tanks for my FW topoff water (50 gallon brute) and for my saltwater makeup (50 gallon rubbermaid). So the SW I use for WC's is absolutely aged for minimum of a week. When I use SW for changes I only use about 5 gallons at a time. I then refill the tub and add salt accordingly. So in effect it really does have a chance to age.

Not sure if all this makes sense, but I think the lighting is the easiest thing to adjust at this time. Aiden's father seems to agree with me too! :hug:

Russ

im not doubting what you can do with water changes, but im not doubting what a big skimmer can do as well as dosing. my older 20 gallon i did WC repeatedly, still did help when your acros are colonies and everything in your tank consumes so much. it was at a point where i couldnt keep up with WC.

Yo russ my tank might not be at expectation, but i gotta say COMe over and check it out.
 

masterswimmer

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Dave, I will make it over. Looking forward to it. Thanks.

I also use a Lifereef venturi skimmer. Not the best on the market, but definitely a step up from the average skimmer. Pulls lots of nasties out. I've been happy with it.

Russ
 

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