Changing my lighting

[Bry17nyc]

Ive been checking light tank for the past 2 months and havent seen any coral growth...Every tank i see out there..they have polyps growing like crazy.. fraging monti caps because theyre gettin too big..Gsp and xenias taking over everything.....i dont know what is wrong with mines...
have a good skimmer,my parameters are good..i feed them pretty good (corals&fishes) ..

i really think is my lighting
i have two odyssea fixtures (2 bulbs)(4bulbs)...they say 6 bulbs in a standar 90 gallon is good..but i dont see any growth and coloration is not that good either in a lil sps frag i have(which is in the highest rock)

I think im going to go with Metal Helides

ANY advice?

 

[Bry17nyc]

which MH is best for a 90?

 

[NYreefNoob]

you dont need mh for growth trust me, im taking it you have a t5 unit. is it regular output or high output ? and what do you consider a good skimmer ? also the biggest key to me for sps growth is consistant levels in cal, alk and mag, low phosphates and good circulation, and whats good parameters, true parms not what you think they are. and also when are you testing the parms ? after wc ? few days later or right before wc ?

 

[ryangrieder]

you dont need mh for growth trust me, im taking it you have a t5 unit. is it regular output or high output ? and what do you consider a good skimmer ? also the biggest key to me for sps growth is consistant levels in cal, alk and mag, low phosphates and good circulation, and whats good parameters, true parms not what you think they are. and also when are you testing the parms ? after wc ? few days later or right before wc ?

Agreed!

What do you considder a good skimmer? What about everything else? We need more info. Water pars? Brand salt? Equipment? What bulbs you running in the fixtures? Most importantly ro water or tap?

I can tell you, odyssea fixtures, seeing I have owned 8+ of them, they are...ok, but missing a few things. One would be individual reflectors. That is the biggest. I know there new fixtures have little creases that they claim to be better, but no, sorry, they are not. The reflectors are key to making the best use out of the bulbs. Also, if your running odyssea bulbs... Go outside and pretend your a Jedi with them and go smash some things with them. Then, go out to a lfs and pick up some ati or d&d bulbs.

And also like Rick said, your cal, mag, and alk levels are very important. do you dose anything?

 

[gbreefer]

what kind of bulb do you have? I have 4 bulb odesa .changed my bulbs
1st day i got it. now running ati bulbs. all sps and soft corals grow like
crazy.will try to post pics when i learn how .

 

[Bry17nyc]

i have 3 ATI bulbs(atinics) 2 oddysea(12,000k daylight) 1 Wavepoint (Coral wave "coral growth accelerator")

i do my water changes every 2 weeks(15 gal.)
skimmer- reef octopus extreme xs 160...for salt i use reef crystals...and ofcourse mixed with RO water

my parameters are in the acceptable range
phos. 0
amm. Pretty close to 0
nitrite 0
nitrate really close to 0
cal. stays bet 440 and 490
alk. (idk exactly what dKH it is since i use the Red Sea test kit and it only gives me a color chart with (Low)(Neutral)(HIgh) it is always in high)

 

[batt600]

What t5 fixture is it your using , the bulbs your using are crap the only good one you have are the Ati . And you need a dkh test kit and how are you testing phos

 

[ryangrieder]

Well, your "growing" bulbs, day bulbs, are the most important, and your running odyssea day bulbs. Get some d&d aquablue+. They are 15k. Real nice bulbs.
http://www.saltwatercritters.com/inc/sdetail/740/784

Also, even though you have ATI blue bulbs, they are still in a odyssea fixtures though. The ballasts are not that great, as well as everything else Little things like that means not as much output as intended for if you run better bulbs like your par levels

 

[Bry17nyc]

What t5 fixture is it your using , the bulbs your using are crap the only good one you have are the Ati . And you need a dkh test kit and how are you testing phos

odyssea fixture

 

[NYreefNoob]

if ya got the $ to spare jump on straightjiggys ati powermodule
in my t5 i run 5 ati blue plus 2 blue special and a kz figi purple

 

[Bry17nyc]

if ya got the $ to spare jump on straightjiggys ati powermodule
in my t5 i run 5 ati blue plus 2 blue special and a kz figi purple

i dont have 500 dollars right now
doesnt your water look blue all daywith all of those blue bulbs?

what should i upgrade to?
I also been thinking of doing a DIY LED ...what do you think?

 

[Bry17nyc]

?

 

[NYreefNoob]

nope my color temp is around a 16-18k and my water looks crystal clear but enough blue to makes corals pop, you would be spending close to the $500 in a diy led, could also get the tek elite t5 but would be the $500 with bulbs also, better to spend the little extra now then wasting trying to get where one purchase will put you, ive tried a few types of leds but always go back to t5's, out of all lighting ive used i like t5 better then MH or led

 

[Bry17nyc]

nope my color temp is around a 16-18k and my water looks crystal clear but enough blue to makes corals pop, you would be spending close to the $500 in a diy led, could also get the tek elite t5 but would be the $500 with bulbs also, better to spend the little extra now then wasting trying to get where one purchase will put you, ive tried a few types of leds but always go back to t5's, out of all lighting ive used i like t5 better then MH or led

so with the tek elite t5 fixture i can grow pretty much anything in there?
:dead1: now i have to start saving a little more again lol

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Odyssea is Cr@p . Save for a good light and watch this one carefully.

 

[Bry17nyc]

Odyssea is Cr@p . Save for a good light and watch this one carefully.

i realised that...but now i know kind of in what direction i should be going when it comes to lighting

 

[pauliwalnuts]

Rub all your T-5's on your chest, Metal Halide's are still the best. Lol...

 

[ryangrieder]

Rub all your T-5's on your chest, Metal Halide's are still the best. Lol...

What? Lol

I would not say you can do anything. It depends on how many bulb. More bulbs, then essentially yes, but it depends on your size of tank and how many bulbs. Then, possible anything.

 

[Bry17nyc]

Rub all your T-5's on your chest, Metal Halide's are still the best. Lol...

haha:lol2::smash:

I would not say you can do anything. It depends on how many bulb. More bulbs, then essentially yes, but it depends on your size of tank and how many bulbs. Then, possible anything.

a 6 buld fixture would be fine in a 90?

 

[ecvernon]

Your dhk is very important...L M H measurements just wont cut it....i was having growth problems before in my nano tank and I started to pay close to my dkh and dosing habits. Problem solved!! worth a shot before you go spend a couple hundred bucks

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk