Cali Kid Corals

SPS Coral Growth Question with Picture for Reference

177ike

177ike

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I've had this frag in my tank for about 3 months now. The first picture is when I first put the frag in the tank and the second picture is at about 3 months of growth. I'm wondering if I have enough light to keep the color of many of my SPS pieces in my tank. If you notice in the pictures, the new growth is mainly white with only the tips showing purple coloration. Is this normal growth or an indicator of too little light? I'm currently running T5s with individual refectors, but I'm considering making a move to MHs.

about 1.5 months under my T5s:
_MG_7808.jpg


approx. 2 months later under same T5s:
_MG_0154.jpg
 
New growth is usually white :) Too much light would turn the whole frag white (bleaching) and too little light would make make it go brown. Just keep your SPS near the top and they'll do fine
 
that looks like a good growth amount to me, new off shoots, looks like the base has grown consideralbly as well
 
Growth looks good but it seems like the color on my frags that came from MH lighting have faded.

The only thing holding me bac from going MH are heat concerns. My fans finally had to turn on yesterday and it wasn't even that warm in the house yesterday. Anyone running 2 x 150 watts MH over a standard 90? If so, are you able to keep the tank cool with just fans?
 
Okay, I changed my bulb configuration to include the two brightest bulbs in the middle positions. I also swapped out my UV 50/50 mix bulb for a 6500k bulb. From my eye-o-meter, my reef looks noticeably brighter. We'll see if my sps color up a bit more under this lighting.
 
par wise - ATI blue+ and aquablue special are almost as high as a 6500 bulb and can make a tank and corals look better. When you're ready to get new bulbs, (maybe now) choose bulbs with PAR in mind to maximize the light in the tank. I have run tanks with only T5's in the past 3 years and have strong growth and bright colors. (disclaimer - I dont think that light is a limiting factor, water quality, water motion, etc. are all factors in growth and color).

I would stick with the T5's - 2x150 would likely be less bright than your current setup - IMHO.

Best,
 
My configuration used to be as follows:

ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue+
UV 50/50 Actinic White

I've since switched to:

ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special
Hydrofarm 6500k Daylight
ATI Blue+

With this new configuration, I'm noticing a much brighter looking tank. The yellow from the 6500k bulb seems to be mostly washed out by my other blueish bulbs. I'm thinking if I feel my corals need even more light, I'll switch out the ATI Blue+ with ATI Aquablue Specials. I may even experiment with switching out the ATI Aquablue Special with another 6500k bulb since I have a bunch lying around. I'm sure it would put down more light, but not too sure I'd like the additional yellow in my tank.
 
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