Happy to help! Okay were is what I found out.What were your findings with your technical research? Care to pass along any tips for Rastas? I started with 5 and I'm still at 5...after four months.
#1 T5 is the best for replicating the sun. It is what they use in tanning beds.
#2 T5 ATI True Actinic could arguably be the best possible bulb on the market. It peaks at 430nM. Chlorophyll A & B which is produced at 400nM-450nM is great for the health and growth of the coral from photosynthesis.
#3 T5 lighting is best for less shadowing. That means the whole coral's flesh covered with zooxanthellae is getting a taste of that sweet sweet 430nM.
#4 zooxanthellae has 2 peak hours of feeding of photosynthesis. 10am & 5pm. So ramp up your lights an hour before and after. Do a 9am-11am & 4pm-6pm of higher light intensity/spectrum. Keep it mid way for the day, because the zooxanthellae could really careless to feed at that mid day.
For example. I have a T5 4x39w fixture front to back Blue Plus, Coral Plus, Blue Plus, True Actinic. w/ 3xmoonlight LEDs. My time schedule is now changed to:
LED on a timer: 8:30am-9:30am & 7:15pm-8:35pm (to wake them up and put them to bed)
2 Blue Plus on a timer: 9am-7:30pm (base lighting for the day)
When I feed the fish. I manually put on the Coral Plus & True Actinic at 9:15am-11am & 4pm-6pm. Hitting those 2 peak hours. Covering them from front to back as best as possible. (Feeding lights)
#5 corals other best known source of food is phytoplankton. Reefroids! Use half the dose recommended. Broadcast it in front of a powerhead or flow area. DO NOT TARGET FEED. If you target feed. The coral closes up and goes into protection mode. Best time 5pm during its last peak feeding hour. 2-3x a week.
#6 flow is generally shown by the coral with what it wants.
#7 keep your water clean! People will argue that it likes dirty water. If your water is clean. The only 2 food sources it is getting is the light when it wants it(not when you think it wants it) and phytoplankton. Your coral is not looking to feed off anything else but what is best for it and has lived and thrived off of for many many many years in this world in our oceans CLEAN waters. I do not let my water get over 5ppm. I have 6 fish that need to live a healthy life too. I just tested the other day with the ELOS Nitrate test kit. The only test kit certified by NIST(National Institute of Standards and Technology). It was at 1ppm.
Dec 2016
Today