T5 and SPS observation

drouner · #1 10/17/2007, 09:43 PM

Although there are a lot of really nice T5 lighted tanks out there and many of the recent TOTM tanks run T5s, it seems to me that many of the SPS in T5 lighted tanks have a pastel color. I'm I seeing things or are the pix just bad?

I bring this up because I need better light coverage in my 58 gallon tank and I'm thinking about going to all T5 and considering other options.

mbierzyc · #2 10/18/2007, 12:37 PM

My tank sounds a lot like yours.

I used all T5, and have moved to 2x 250w MH. The colors on my SPS have deepened a bit.

barjam · #3 10/18/2007, 02:02 PM

That seems to be a common observation but it doesn't make much sense to me. A dimmer "MH" doesn't make paler colors does it? If anything a higher wattage MH light would produce paler (near bleached) colors would they not?

JerseyWendy · #4 10/18/2007, 02:28 PM

I've been running my tank solely on T5s, and I don't find my SPS to look pastel.

Here are a few pictures. You'll be the judge.

---
Wendy

afelder · #5 10/18/2007, 03:43 PM

I know what you mean. I think the "problem" is that with t-5 you have a mixture of spectrums and many people haven't yet found the bulb combination to make the colors on their sps appear deep. JMO

stony_corals · #6 10/18/2007, 03:46 PM

You could have corals that are N limited. There's no reason why T5s would make for pale colors by themselves, other than there could also be some mild bleaching due to the uniform light, rather than a spot lighting dispertion from the MH.

drouner · #7 10/18/2007, 03:58 PM

Jerseywendy - They look nice.

I'm not say all T5 tanks look that way. There are some really nice looking T5 tanks out there.

As afelder said, maybe it is not having the right combo of T5 lights.

I also wonder if having excessive amounts of PAR coming from a MH tends to darken SPS where as a T5 PAR doesnt darken some SPS. I base this on e studies by Dan Riddle.

I'm just wondering aload. Not dishing T5s at alot.

stony_corals · #8 10/18/2007, 04:04 PM

Why would excessive PAR cause them to darken? Photoinhabition can lead to bleaching which is lightening, not the other way around. T5s are just as intense as MH, more so due to uniform spread.

daniel smith · #9 10/18/2007, 04:05 PM

My uncle's sps aquarium is lit by 3x 250 mh and 5 x t5's various blues. but the colours of his frags in is his sump are a lot lighter in colour and these are lit solely by 60/40 daylight, actinic t5's. Same water , different lighting . He would like t5's in his display but the aquarium is a funny shape ( wedge like ) so cant get enough above to replace the halides.

t5Nitro · #10 10/18/2007, 04:35 PM

Maybe the people with larger tanks and a lot more T5 bulbs is maybe giving them a real nice color, being able to choose all the bulbs they want and maybe have 6 bulb fixtures and 12x54w bulbs maybe? I don't know if the 4 bulb fixtures would give SPS a lot of color with only 4 bulb spectrums to work with?

dheinze · #11 10/18/2007, 08:56 PM

I run 4 t5s (2 actinic+, 1 aquablue, and 1 GE daylight), and I have noticed that almost all of the sps I have bought have become lighter in color. In general, they seem to improve when raised in the tank (which seems counterintuitive to me). One example is a green cap that I bought and placed quite low. It became quite light in color and eventually started to recede. I raised it up a lot and it turned around and started to grow. I am adding two more t5s, and I think I will head toward a bluer spectrum, so we will see what that does.

rkl303 · #12 10/18/2007, 10:30 PM

I think it might be the life span of the bulbs. When I originally bought my Tek light everything was a very deep rich color...now things are turning more pale w/in 5 or less months.

Mac Inger · #13 10/19/2007, 01:21 AM

In my limited experience with sps, they might change color when going from MH to T5 not get lighter.

I have one colony that was purchased blue but turned purple pink with blue tips and a yellow milli colony turn from yellow to yellow green.

plyle02 · #14 10/19/2007, 08:04 AM

Here is a pic of a couple of my favorite corals under only t5 lamps. Please note the rich color. Maybe some of the success I have had could be due to bulb choice, but I personally feel there is more to it than that.

Bradly88 · #15 10/19/2007, 08:30 AM

Could it not be that the corals have been brought up under MH lighting and have now been subjected to t5 lighting witch they are not at all use too? Many people have had success with 10,000K bulbs supplemented with actinics! Also t5 bulbs lose there spectrum and power much faster than MH! so maybe regular changing of the t5 bulbs would also improve colour of the sps?

stony_corals · #16 10/19/2007, 10:14 AM

There's a lot of speculation happening here... You are assuming the sps color is a sole function of lighting - this is not true at all. There could be a couple explanations, one of which I mentioned in a previous post - N limitation. The second is that it could be light adaptation. With multiple T5s, you really can put a lot of different lamps with different spectrums that could cause some mild bleaching. Also T5 lighting is pretty uniform versus metal halide which are more spot lights...

There is no correlation between pale corals and T5s....

barjam · #17 10/19/2007, 10:31 AM

stony_corals, you say there is no correlation but every few weeks another post like this comes up. *shrug*.

I am not terribly concerned with the lighter colors, stuff grows fast so it can't be *that* unhealthy.

Amphiprion · #18 10/19/2007, 10:46 AM

Hmm, I've been able to manipulate coloration pretty easily with my t5s. Feed less=lighter color. Feed more and colors darken a bit. I like a healthy medium myself.

stony_corals · #19 10/19/2007, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by barjam
stony_corals, you say there is no correlation but every few weeks another post like this comes up. *shrug*.

I am not terribly concerned with the lighter colors, stuff grows fast so it can't be *that* unhealthy.

Sure. There's also a post every other day about which bulb will make my colors pop... Light levels are consistent throughout a T5 lit tank, versus a MH lit tank (more inconsistent). This could cause some mild bleaching, could being the key word. But there are just as many T5 lit tanks that have deeply colored corals as there are MH.

stony_corals · #20 10/19/2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Amphiprion
Hmm, I've been able to manipulate coloration pretty easily with my t5s. Feed less=lighter color. Feed more and colors darken a bit. I like a healthy medium myself.

See this is what I'm talking about. This is not a T5 issue if you can change the depth of color by feeding it's a N limitation issue, more food = more N. You'd get the same effect with MH.

Thanks for posting this...

shred5 · #21 10/19/2007, 12:28 PM

I have t-5 and my corals have not lightened. If anything they have got better color dark blue and purple. ... Most of the pastel color I have seen are t-5 tanks with zeovit or some other bacteria driven system. Honestly whats the matter with pastels anyway?

Dave

fijiblue · #22 10/19/2007, 12:56 PM

stony_corals - I think it is indeed a T5 issue otherwise 90% of T5 users would not be complaining about it. "N-limitation" is not a factor, but rather a secondary means to color them up after the fact - or turn them brown

.

To compare MH and T5's is apples and oranges...different bulbs, different radiation emitions. I myself still struggle with answering why the paling happens. Is it too much light or too little? As far as uniformity goes, I found T5's not to be uniform at all. Here is a grid with levels in my tank.

drouner · #23 10/19/2007, 01:20 PM

Quote:

There's a lot of speculation happening here... You are assuming the sps color is a sole function of lighting - this is not true at all. There could be a couple explanations, one of which I mentioned in a previous post - N limitation. The second is that it could be light adaptation. With multiple T5s, you really can put a lot of different lamps with different spectrums that could cause some mild bleaching. Also T5 lighting is pretty uniform versus metal halide which are more spot lights...

Stoney_corals - Look there are prob some speculation on both sides of it. What I would like to see if there is any data on this either way. We know that there a lot of variables from tank to tank to include water qualtiy, lighting, feeding etc. We also know from Dana Riddles work about reef lighting and it's effects on corals. But I'm just wondering if there is something going on that we maynot understand yet. I'm not sure if the N limitation is the answer. Can you point me to some reading material about that? Don't take that as dish, just wanting to do some reading.

Quote:

Honestly whats the matter with pastels anyway?

Nothing at all. I'm not saying there is anything wrong it's just not what you typically would see under a MH. Maybe it has to do with zeovit type tank. I need to go back through some of the tanks and look for that.

fijiblue - Interesting grid and great looking tank. Why do think this is happening? What reflectors are you running?

plyle02

Quote:

I have had could be due to bulb choice, but I personally feel there is more to it than that.

What's are you thinking. Nice pix.

stony_corals · #24 10/19/2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shred5
I have t-5 and my corals have not lightened. If anything they have got better color dark blue and purple. ... Most of the pastel color I have seen are t-5 tanks with zeovit or some other bacteria driven system. Honestly whats the matter with pastels anyway?

Dave

Dave, I'm right there with you... I run multiple systems with T5s, some with zeo and vodka (some without). I'm running a mix of custom built hoods using IC 660, IC SLRs, and Solar Flares. I have no pastel colored corals, they are all very deep.

Fiji - I think to say 90% is a bit steep. While colorization is a complex topic, it's not as simple as T5s or not. Which fixture are you using? While I don't have a PAR meter, I've had one system measured and it was pretty uniform, with the exception of the ends...

Amphiprion · #25 10/19/2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fijiblue
stony_corals - I think it is indeed a T5 issue otherwise 90% of T5 users would not be complaining about it. "N-limitation" is not a factor, but rather a secondary means to color them up after the fact - or turn them brown .

To compare MH and T5's is apples and oranges...different bulbs, different radiation emitions. I myself still struggle with answering why the paling happens. Is it too much light or too little? As far as uniformity goes, I found T5's not to be uniform at all. Here is a grid with levels in my tank.

That follows what a typical fluorescent would do--bright in the middle, dimmer on the ends. No suprises there, at least not for me.