JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 full tank shot with Canon camera and "L" lens taken this morning when I got up. to give some perspective the large green/blue tip stag on the left side is 12 inches tall Closeup shot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Can't seem to see the pic. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Picture is working for me ... and all I can say it "wow". The size of some of those coral colonies is just beyond impressive. Very nice! Did you grow some of that SPS and candy canes from small colonies/frags? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 I started everything out at 3/4 - 1" frags. The candy cane was 2 heads (has 400 heads now and ive traded 400+ heads). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 What bulbs are you running. It's almost time to replace the MH bulbs and I'm debating whether to switch them to reeflux. During the ARC meeting I heard some folks are switching to the 20K's, I'm wondering if it's going to much on the blue side; unlike the 400W 14K SPS bulbs we're running at the moment. PS. Nice tank and the candy cane colony is impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 im running 1800 watts of light in a combination of 20K's and 14K's. I am going to be testing with the Reeflux 20k's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 It's even more impressive in person. Next time JohnG has a sale, be sure to take the opportunity to pick up some great frags and see his tank live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 What bulbs are you running. It's almost time to replace the MH bulbs and I'm debating whether to switch them to reeflux. During the ARC meeting I heard some folks are switching to the 20K's, I'm wondering if it's going to much on the blue side; unlike the 400W 14K SPS bulbs we're running at the moment. PS. Nice tank and the candy cane colony is impressive. This was the exact question I have been meaning to ask the forum .. thanks cmanning! I actually have been thinking about switching my (don't know the brand) 20K's down to some Phoenix 14K's.... looking for some more growth, but have read the Phoenix brand gives you the same amount of blue as other 20K's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 im running 1800 watts of light in a combination of 20K's and 14K's. I am going to be testing with the Reeflux 20k's. Would be nice if you can later on post a pic and update/review of the Reeflux 20K's. Are you also running any T5's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 I am at the point in the hobby that I dont want excessive growth and my corals are all growing way too fast right now. I am in the process of changing out my 2 phoenix 14k's with 20k's and have all 20k's. all of my corals are growing over 1" a month and some are almost 2" a month. The candy cane is growing at a rate of about 50 heads a month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 here is the link to some test pictures I took with this camera and lens at my house http://johnlgilbert.com/cameralenscomparison.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Good info, and it makes sense. So you did like the Phoenix's then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 if i was starting all over with small frags i would run 250w 6700k bulbs for one year then switch directly over to 20k's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Makes sense now.....I think that's why Dale (acropoorer) is thinking about switching to 20K's.....everything is overgrowing in his tank and now he's probably trying to slow it down a bit. Are you supplementing w/any other lighting besides the MH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Would be nice if you can later on post a pic and update/review of the Reeflux 20K's. Are you also running any T5's? No im not running T5's. you can ask 20 different people and get 20 different answers but I wouldnt run T5's unless you are growing strictly LPS. Alot of people are running SPS under T5's but wouldnt recommend it unless you change your bulbs out every 4-5 months. There is alot of debate about T5's but as an engineer myself I cant see the physics in the T5's being able to sustain excessive growth past 4-5 months because the phosphors are depleted rapidly in the tubes unlike MH's. The 50 percent mark in VHO tubes is rated at 4 months and around 8 months in T5's. I change my VHO actinic bulbs out every 4 months. If you are running T5's as your main source of light and want growth I would change them out every 5 months. The other thing you risk with T5's is that if you keep your bulbs for a year like most try to do you risk killing your coral when you replace your tubes because of the light output is too high compared to your old depleted tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 No im not running T5's. you can ask 20 different people and get 20 different answers but I wouldnt run T5's unless you are growing strictly LPS. Alot of people are running SPS under T5's but wouldnt recommend it unless you change your bulbs out every 4-5 months. There is alot of debate about T5's but as an engineer myself I cant see the physics in the T5's being able to sustain excessive growth past 4-5 months because the phosphors are depleted rapidly in the tubes unlike MH's. The 50 percent mark in VHO tubes is rated at 4 months and around 8 months in T5's. I change my VHO actinic bulbs out every 4 months. If you are running T5's as your main source of light and want growth I would change them out every 5 months. The other thing you risk with T5's is that if you keep your bulbs for a year like most try to do you risk killing your coral when you replace your tubes because of the light output is too high compared to your old depleted tubes. Already learned my lesson before replacing my MH bulbs. Didn't realize how badly they need to be replaced and some SPS that were loosing their coloration and 2 main colonies I lost due to old bulbs. Just an observation-- our blue tip tenius---was not looking so blue, before we notice or came to a realization, it looked like it was loosing all its zooxanthellae (bleaching)--the main colony die but I still had a small colony and a frag in a different part of the tank (much higher). I urge my husband to get new bulbs and within a few weeks of acclimating and raising the lights, the tenius colored up......This and the sarmentosa are the first SPS that I keep my eye on when they don't look their full potential, plus now I write down on my calendar when bulbs need to be replaced. Thanks for all the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 :eats popcorn while reading: We have some uber-smart people on this board So how often do you change out your MH (directed to John and the Mannings)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 So how often do you change out your MH (directed to John and the Mannings)? I change them out every 12 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 :eats popcorn while reading: We have some uber-smart people on this board So how often do you change out your MH (directed to John and the Mannings)? The first time we let them go for 12 months. Second time around 15 months (BIG MISTAKE) and on both occasions we're using Blue Life SPS 14K (2) 400W mogul base bulbs. I'm thinking this time around, we'll let them go to around 9 months and watch closely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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