T5 and coraline

ServantSoldier · #1 11/27/2007, 03:16 PM

I have a TX5 48" over my 90g with geismann bulbs: 2 aquablue, 2 50/50, 1 true act. This tank has been set up approx. 5 months. I have coraline covering the back and the under side of my rockwork, however.. the areas of rock exposed to direct light are bleached. My calc is ~440 and alk ~10.5. My coral growth is exceptional while the colors aren't as intense as my MH configuration. Has anyone else experienced such problems with coraline growth under t5s? Any plan of attack for added color?

oct2274 · #2 11/27/2007, 04:20 PM

do you not like the color of your tank now?
If not here is what i would recommend on that fixture
2 ATI Blue Plus
Keep the true actinic
1 UV superactinic
and keep one aquablue and put it in the center, you could also swap that out for a ge6500 bulb for more intensity.

There are a ton of bulbs for T5HO now, so you just have to keep trying till you find what you like.

A good place to get bulbs is reefgeek.com

barjam · #3 11/27/2007, 05:54 PM

Coraline does not like a huge amount of light. In my tank coraline grows really well in the shade and really poorly if at all in exposed areas.

The pale but growing corals under T5 is a common theme. Some suggest feeding more.

oct2274 · #4 11/27/2007, 06:43 PM

hmmm, i haven't heard of the pale but growing corals under T5 specifically. One of the most beautiful reef aquariums i have seen on RC was all T5HO. Bulb combination is key to color this goes for halides as well. If you use the combination of bulbs i listed above you should get good colors and growth.

Mark75 · #5 11/27/2007, 07:13 PM

All my corals as well as my coraline algae(what little I have) are white. I get great growth out of sps but everything is white. In the last two months I have fed more and the only thing I noticed was more algae. This is not just sps not having good color, EVERYTHING is white, zoa's, ricordeas, lps I am even growing some strange white whispy looking micro algae. This is my first experience with T5's and I am in the market for some metal halides. Before you T5 guys start bashing me I have seen some amazing T5 only tanks with great color, this just has not been my experience.

barjam · #6 11/27/2007, 07:24 PM

Yep, same thing I have with my T5s Mark including the weird whispy white algae. I have asked on and off for a year on here and never got a good answer. The whispy algae has been on two different "ID" threads (that I have seen) and no one could ID it. It never shows up in the sump just under aquablue lights specifically and it won't grow in the shade (of the aquablues).

One interesting thing about the white whispy algae is that if I feed the tank more it recedes quite a bit.

barjam · #7 11/27/2007, 07:24 PM

Oh yea, forgot to ask, is this a new light setup for you? What was your old lights?

kiknchikn · #8 11/27/2007, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by barjam
Yep, same thing I have with my T5s Mark including the weird whispy white algae. I have asked on and off for a year on here and never got a good answer. The whispy algae has been on two different "ID" threads (that I have seen) and no one could ID it. It never shows up in the sump just under aquablue lights specifically and it won't grow in the shade (of the aquablues).

One interesting thing about the white whispy algae is that if I feed the tank more it recedes quite a bit.

Sounds like it might be digitate hydroids to me... just a guess though:

MikesReef.com

barjam · #9 11/27/2007, 07:38 PM

If you are talking about the greenish hydroid in the center then no, not like that they don't move (like that one does).

Do you see the whispy stuff on top of the red rock? Imagine that coating everything in a uniform maner. The individual strands do not have any sort of branches and can not move on their own (like the hydroid). Sort of like bleached green hair algae sort of.

Mark75 · #10 11/27/2007, 07:55 PM

The white algae I am talking about looks like very soft, fine hair. It covers rocks completely and is almost absent of color. The T5's I have had on the tank since I set it up again about 6 months ago. I had a 250w metal halide pendant over the tank a few years back when the tank was up and running the first time. The only place I get coraline growth is on the back glass and it is white, with the halide I had good coraline growth everywhere.

Boca Kris · #11 11/27/2007, 08:19 PM

Wow!
I have an Aquactinics TX5 on the way and this makes me NERVOUS!!!

Anyone have similar experiences???

Conesus_Kid · #12 11/27/2007, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ServantSoldier
I have a TX5 48" over my 90g with geismann bulbs: 2 aquablue, 2 50/50, 1 true act. This tank has been set up approx. 5 months. I have coraline covering the back and the under side of my rockwork, however.. the areas of rock exposed to direct light are bleached. My calc is ~440 and alk ~10.5. My coral growth is exceptional while the colors aren't as intense as my MH configuration. Has anyone else experienced such problems with coraline growth under t5s? Any plan of attack for added color?

Are you overdriving the bulbs with an Icecap 660 ballast?

Mark75 · #13 11/27/2007, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Boca Kris
Wow!
I have an Aquactinics TX5 on the way and this makes me NERVOUS!!!

Anyone have similar experiences???

You have an excellent fixture on order, don't worry. More than likely you will not have these problems. It seems isolated to a few and know one can say for sure if it is the lights or not. I have seen beautiful tanks with your very light!

ServantSoldier · #14 11/27/2007, 10:24 PM

My previous experience was with 250 MH. The light was much more intense and the coraline was all over and bright! I chose this fixture so I would haven't to battle heat, but I think I might rethink strategy. I have seen beautiful tanks with t5s. The colors of my corals aren't an issue.. the lack of coraline is. I don't like white rocks, and that's what I have.

barjam · #15 11/28/2007, 10:49 AM

What bulb/reflector did you have on your old setup?

gregrex · #16 11/28/2007, 12:28 PM

I have the same issue with my T5 lit tank. Coraline grows like crazy everywhere, except the rock. SPS look bright and colorful.

I'm not sure if it's my light or my rock, but I don't have this problem with my other tank (MH/T5 lit)

gregrex · #17 11/28/2007, 12:46 PM

For what it's worth, I can't grow mushrooms in that tank either. They just shrivel and die.

I first thought it was an issue of light intensity, so, two years ago, I stopped overdriving the bulbs (changed from IceCap to Workhorse ballast), and raised the lights a few inches. No change.

No more ideas... I kinda like white rocks anyway.

oct2274 · #18 11/28/2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Boca Kris
Wow!
I have an Aquactinics TX5 on the way and this makes me NERVOUS!!!

Anyone have similar experiences???

don't worry about it, i suspect other issues with these other people that can't grow coraline under t5. It is very possible they just have to much light. both times i set up my tank i only ran T5 for the first couple of months and both times i had pink and purple coraline cover my entire back wall within two months. Realize that my T5's are only to supplement my Halides and I use mostly blue bulbs so the output isn't very high. It could be the bulbs they are using or something else, but it isn't the T5HO technology that is causing coraline to not grow. As far as shrooms i can't grow them either, and it is because the bulbs are simply to bright. Once i moved my zoas and shrooms to shaded areas they took off. T5HO is very bright. Coraline doesn't like light. As soon as i added my halides to my T5's i did see a noticable drop in coraline growth. It still grows very good in the shaded areas, but it seems the halides added enough light to actually curb the growth i was just getting with the T5's alone.

barjam · #19 11/28/2007, 02:46 PM

What unit did you use oct2274? I had great coraline using crappy reflectors and crappy bulbs but when I upgraded to good reflectors and good bulbs everything died.

For me coraline grows great everywhere except in direct light. It does grow but it is really, really slow. Maybe that is normal, I don't know.

Boca Kris · #20 11/28/2007, 06:21 PM

That is strange! I have 2 T5 bulbs now, and it looks to me that the coraline is only where it is exposed to light. The bottoms of shelfs dont have as much, as well as anything not directly exposed to the light from the fixture. I have a 10,000K & and an actinic now, but had a brain coral die as well as a mushroom type thing....both were hitchikers.

I just hope everything doesnt get sunburn when the TX5 gets here!

barjam · #21 11/28/2007, 06:54 PM

Boca, be sure to *slowly* acclimate tank to the light. Use screen or gradually lower the lights down on the tank.

Boca Kris · #22 11/28/2007, 06:57 PM

yeah, thats a great idea...someone else mentioned using several sheets of screen and remove one every week or so!

thanks for the tip!

Mark75 · #23 11/28/2007, 06:58 PM

I can't grow mushrooms under my T5's either. The only corals in my tank that are not albino are in the shade. Now for the amazing part, I have a crappy single reflector Novas Extreme fixture!

specialreef · #24 11/28/2007, 07:12 PM

Not the first time ive read about coralline not growing under lit surfaces. But Wow. Im buying T5s amd this just adds to the list of why im hesitating. Wish i could find a link relating to and clarifying this subject.

b16drag · #25 12/26/2007, 09:11 AM

I have T5's also, and the coraline does tend to grow more on the undersurface of rocks and less light intense places. My coralline are mostly green with a some greens on the overflow.

Also when I first had my shrooms, they did NOT like the light--kind of shriveled up and bleaching colors... So I had then in the shade for a while, but after many weeks they have definitely opened up and making babies. Maybe its light acclimation or the false impression that T5's are weak and we tend to throw softies into direct lights. Remember T5's are not spot lights and tend to light evenly throughout the tank, so low light corals will need to be shaded for a while.

I'm very happy with my t5's though... I know this doesnt solve your problem though.