I can say that I have several years of growing zoas/palys successfully, but have always struggled with some strains, such as Sunny D's, Nirvanas, Gobstoppers and most of the Vamp/Sonic Flare types to grow "tight to the plug". They always are "reaching" for the light. I'm not saying that they are not growing, just stretching. I have a 30g Deep Blue frag tank loaded with zoas. A few months ago I switched lighting to try to alleviate this problem. I went with a Radion XR15Pro flanked by 2 Blue+ T5's. The lights are 28" off of the bottom of the tank. I am running the Radiant Color schedule at 45%.
The T5's run about 5 hours mid day. After 4 months, I am finally happy with the growth and color with most, but I still have that problem with stretching and am nervous about increasing the intensity. I have all of those above mentioned frags in the middle of the tank, as that should be the area of highest par. I have noticed my Rainbow Incinerators polyp size decrease a little bit, but growth and color is great. I am worried if I incease the intensity too much to appease the "reachers", it may be a problem for the rest of the tank that is doing great. Flow is pretty good with a single RW8 and a powerful return pump with a split locline. Any ideas???
Or should I just bite the bullet, get a 60g frag tank and split the lighting so I have a hot side and milder side?
The T5's run about 5 hours mid day. After 4 months, I am finally happy with the growth and color with most, but I still have that problem with stretching and am nervous about increasing the intensity. I have all of those above mentioned frags in the middle of the tank, as that should be the area of highest par. I have noticed my Rainbow Incinerators polyp size decrease a little bit, but growth and color is great. I am worried if I incease the intensity too much to appease the "reachers", it may be a problem for the rest of the tank that is doing great. Flow is pretty good with a single RW8 and a powerful return pump with a split locline. Any ideas???
Or should I just bite the bullet, get a 60g frag tank and split the lighting so I have a hot side and milder side?