Ok my question is that I have a frag tank lighted with t5 in my basement with pieces from the dt that is lit with mh. I have much better color with mh and slower growth but better growth and less color with t5. First question is why is that? And I also have Polyp extension in the frag tank and not in the dt?what could/would cause that?
Im making the assumption that your DT and frag tank are not plumbed together… I would primarily look at your water chemistry, and fluctuations in tank temperature. just a guess though.
there are sooo many variables that you are trying to compare here its hard to say exactly. not to mention that in the end we are talking about small animals that react differently to different conditions. the only way to make this more of a fair comparison would be to set up two tanks somewhere, plumb them together, then set up your different lighting over them and see which one looks better. otherwise there are too many variables to point to one. the other question here is what wattage of lighting and color temp. are they about the same? if not, that could be yet another variable.
Pictures of both tanks would be of great value to help you out.
Does the frag tank have any fish in it?
Ok sorry I forgot some info,I have a basement sump setup and all the tanks are tied together.the only differance is the lighting and maybe flow. No Jon no fish in frag tank,just some snails to keep algee away.2-175w 20k-1-250w 20k,2-160w vho,18 rb led and18 purple led on dt, and I’m not quite sure what the t5 bulbs are, but they are mostly blue and purple with 1 white,I will check when I get home
The easy answer is “Different Lights” the more complex answer Ken will provde when he wakes up.
But it will sound something like this … different lights have different spectrumes. The color in our corals comes from zoothelia within the coral itself. Different organisms flourese under different spectrums and intensities of light. Thus causing the same coral to color differently under the same water conditions but different light sources.
As for growth, without understanding the par values of your lights it would be difficult to understand, but in essence, the MH could possibly be a brighter light, but if it is sitting significantly higher off the tank then the T5s then you are losing intensity, the spectrume is good for color but the intensisty is poor for growth. MH also generally provide more directed light and don’t “spread” as much light as T5s will - the T5s (assuming they are closer to the water/better coverage/moreintensity) are providing more usable light to the corals for growth and thus you’re seeing the results.
Polyp extension is a result not only of coral health but the amount of light being provided as well as food in the water column. Remember, coral is a living animal, while we appreciate the pretty colors and shapes of their polyps, they could care less. Polyps are only there to serve as a means to collect food to feed the coral.
Thanks Craig.i figured it was somthing along those lines,is polyp extension a sign of lack of food or light?or too much light or flow?yes my mh are higher off the water the n the t5. Is This an indication my lights are too high off the water? Or in the case of my frag tank not enough light?
No fish in frag tank and diff lighting could explain why you have better PE in the frag tank. Just my :TWOCENTS
[quote=“houndsbayman, post:7, topic:5770”]
No fish in frag tank and diff lighting could explain why you have better PE in the frag tank. Just my :TWOCENTS[/quote]
I believe the frag tank is plumbed inline with the DT so the fish in the DT would be the equivelant (or darn near close to) having fish in the frag tank.
Polyp extension is finicky - it could be a result of the lighting being too high / close, it could also have to do with flow. If there is adequate flow to bring food to the coral then it doesn’t need to extend the polyps out as far to try to capture food. If the frag tank is low flow then it may need to extend further out to capture enough food.
[quote=“houndsbayman, post:7, topic:5770”]
No fish in frag tank and diff lighting could explain why you have better PE in the frag tank. Just my :TWOCENTS[/quote]
Maybe he was thinking fish/ critters were keeping the polyps in… touching them, picking at them…
thats a thought anyway…
same water… its gotta be light, flow, or tankmates.
how diff is the flow? how much par diff between the two tanks? any “polyp pickers” in your d/t?
btw…If you pay your dues we might even let you borrow the par meter jason… supervised of course :
:
That is EXACTLY what I was referring to, saltcreep.
But then again I only gave my :TWOCENTS explanation!
See - now a :TWOCENTS :TWOCENTS would have prevented the confusion. ;D
Dues?you mean I gotta pay for this abuse? :: it will be my pleasure to pay my dues when their due. The dt has way more flow then the frag tank. Does polyp extension mean somthing?good or bad?
[quote=“beadlocked450r, post:12, topic:5770”]
Dues?you mean I gotta pay for this abuse? :: it will be my pleasure to pay my dues when their due. The dt has way more flow then the frag tank. Does polyp extension mean somthing?good or bad?[/quote]
::
do you have a spare powerhead? maybe experiment and give the frag tank some extra motion :
:
not sure on the good/bad… but good extension makes good sense :TWOCENTS :TWOCENTS :TWOCENTS
extra cents incase John jips us again ::
Since lighting was brought up,is there a reccommended hight off the water mh should be? Because the t5 on frag tank is much closer to water. And I also couldn’t keep my clam in the dt because it wasn’t getting enough light on the bottom on the dt and it’s way too big to sit up high on the rock work
T5’s are definitely a “closer the better” light source… they show a big par diff at 12’’ off the water vs say 4 or 6’’.
Halides don’t drop off as much in par with increased distance, i think people usually keep them at a safe distance from splashes, and of course the closer, the more radiant heat transferred to the water column…
Before you change any lighting it would be nice to get some baseline par readings though…
I agree with saltcreep, you need to get some par readings on your DT.
What are the dimensions of your DT?
72-30-18 180g bulbs are 13" from surface of the water,I did have par reading for these lights but I cannot find my notebook with my readings.i do remember that the par was below 100 at the bottom of the tank.i will look for the book
Ok found notebook,at the time I took these reading I didn’t know I needed to turn water flow off so I have 165 par at the surface and about 50 at the bottom, that’s 175w 20k
[quote=“beadlocked450r, post:18, topic:5770”]
Ok found notebook,at the time I took these reading I didn’t know I needed to turn water flow off so I have 165 par at the surface and about 50 at the bottom, that’s 175w 20k[/quote]
Thats pretty low, thats what i get with 2 t5’s over a 30g tank…
higher the K… lower the par also.
still thats alot of halide $$$ cha ching on the electric bill for that amount of par.
the flow on/off imo just helped the meter settle down on a reading better…
Were those numbers with your led add ons?
No LEDs at that time just mh