Is this enough light for SPS?

[TX_REEF]

in my opinion, yes. My sps grow under kessils at 200 PAR or less.

 

[RobertK]

No, I think you can set up groups and control the groups separately with the one controller.
They are all addressable in the controller by their serial number. I'm going to have to play with this.

Oh wow, thanks for that. I didn't know you could set up groups with the spectral controller. I'll have to play with that too.

in my opinion, yes. My sps grow under kessils at 200 PAR or less.

Cool, good to know! What SPS are you growing with that light and how is their color?

 

[Reefer Matt]

Looks like you' ve changed your lighting since then? Looks fantastic BTW!

Thanks, likewise! I added a ReefBrite fixture because of shading issues. The Kessils are great for sps, but they are a point source light with a street lamp effect. When the coral grow out, they cast a lot of shadows, but it took a while to get to that point. I think you’ll be okay for what you want to do, just keep in mind you may need more light spread later down the road.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Never waste an opportunity to show off, lol

When are you going to release that WD progress video? I am struggling with my WD here..

Lol, just trying to clear up that my tank doesn’t look as good as it used to. General update vid this Sunday.

 

[Aspect]

What's your color and intensity set at?

 

[RobertK]

What's your color and intensity set at?

These are the settings. The second pic shows the settings during the 7 hours of peak brightness.

 

[Jarob]

Looks good for some of the easier species to start out with

 

[Science/G]

There are plenty of acropora that will do just fine in your tank. There are some species that actually look better at lower par. Tricolor Valida, PC Rainbow, RR Rainbow Loom, RR Aussie Gold, off the top of my head, show more colors around 200 par+/- than 300 par+/-

 

[RobertK]

There are plenty of acropora that will do just fine in your tank. There are some species that actually look better at lower par. Tricolor Valida, PC Rainbow, RR Rainbow Loom, RR Aussie Gold, off the top of my head, show more colors around 200 par+/- than 300 par+/-

Thanks for that. I'm compiling a list of SPS from other threads that people say do well under lower light, and will add those to the list.

Forgot to mention, I do have the Kessil wide reflectors on the 3 lamps, not sure if those will help mitigate the shadowing effect that can occur with these lights.

 

[RobertK]

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful and you've given me some good ideas and info. I think I'll start with a stylophora and a birdsnest, maybe a monti dig or cap, then try some lower light acros depending on how that goes. I may end up moving some of the LPS away from the center and increase the intensity of the central lamp, will have to play around with the spectral controller and give it some more thought.

 

[CBonito]

There are plenty of acropora that will do just fine in your tank. There are some species that actually look better at lower par. Tricolor Valida, PC Rainbow, RR Rainbow Loom, RR Aussie Gold, off the top of my head, show more colors around 200 par+/- than 300 par+/-

Exactly. There seems to be this recalcitrant idea that if you have SPS you need to be able to set kindling on fire over your water. This is simply not the case.

But my Aussie gold is up high in like 400 PAR and liking it. That's another thing too. No two corals ever seem to do the same thing in different tanks. You put them in a spot, they acclimate to that spot and they do what they do.

Naturally too little light is going to be bad, but you've got a pretty decent range until its too much. Too much for me was around 650 PAR which in hindsight was a little much, but I didn't even have a problem then until I increased the water clarity...then I paid the price. lol

 

[RobertK]

Thanks for that. I've ordered a rainbow stylophora and a ponape birdsnest for starters. Will see how they do before adding any more SPS. Looking forward to this next part of my journey! (This tank has been up and running for 18 years and has been through a lot of different phases. I gotta make a tank thread one of these days!)

 

[Science/G]

Exactly. There seems to be this recalcitrant idea that if you have SPS you need to be able to set kindling on fire over your water. This is simply not the case.

But my Aussie gold is up high in like 400 PAR and liking it. That's another thing too. No two corals ever seem to do the same thing in different tanks. You put them in a spot, they acclimate to that spot and they do what they do.

Naturally too little light is going to be bad, but you've got a pretty decent range until its too much. Too much for me was around 650 PAR which in hindsight was a little much, but I didn't even have a problem then until I increased the water clarity...then I paid the price. lol

My Aussie Gold is starting to lose its bright yellow and go green a bit on me at close to 300 par.

 

[CBonito]

Thanks for that. I've ordered a rainbow stylophora and a ponape birdsnest for starters. Will see how they do before adding any more SPS. Looking forward to this next part of my journey! (This tank has been up and running for 18 years and has been through a lot of different phases. I gotta make a tank thread one of these days!)

Great choices. Both will tolerate a wide range of light levels. The Seriatopora (birdnest" is susceptible to alk burn, so be careful with that, but both are excellent choices. mid way up in the tank would be a great place for either.

 

[CBonito]

My Aussie Gold is starting to lose its bright yellow and go green a bit on me at close to 300 par.

yeah, mine was on the bottom for a few days before I put it up and it lost a lot of the gold frost on it.
But it's all back in 400 PAR and it's growing. I'm not one of your major SPS experts here, but I always listen to the shop I buy from, and when you buy from a good shop, the owner will have a lot to tell you about his corals and their husbandry. I just listen to them.

Mine's splitting into 3 branches up top, and then there are a few growing on the bottom too. It's going to be a nice coral. It was a lot more dull when I got it from shipping stress and acclimation to my own system, but it looks like it will be alright. It's in high water shear between the paths of 2 pumps, so basically it exists in a swirling mass of water. The polyps are very small and dont come out that far in the current, but it's still doing very well. I think in less current there would be more extension.

 

[RobertK]

Great choices. Both will tolerate a wide range of light levels. The Seriatopora (birdnest" is susceptible to alk burn, so be careful with that, but both are excellent choices. mid way up in the tank would be a great place for either.

Alk is around 8 so hopefully alk burn shouldn't be a problem.

 

[CBonito]

Alk is around 8 so hopefully alk burn shouldn't be a problem.

Perfect. Those ponapes are pretty. It will grow fast in the right conditions and be be a really nice piece.

 

[TX_REEF]

No, I think you can set up groups and control the groups separately with the one controller.
They are all addressable in the controller by their serial number. I'm going to have to play with this.

Oh wow, thanks for that. I didn't know you could set up groups with the spectral controller. I'll have to play with that too.

in my opinion, yes. My sps grow under kessils at 200 PAR or less.

Cool, good to know! What SPS are you growing with that light and how is their color?

Various different corals, I think the color is phenomenal but here are some photos for you to judge

 

[CBonito]

Various different corals, I think the color is phenomenal but here are some photos for you to judge

Excellent.

 

[RobertK]

Various different corals, I think the color is phenomenal but here are some photos for you to judge

Very nice, beautiful!
In the first photo can you tell me what these corals are?:
- the green branching one at front left
- the purple one with green dots right behind it
- the green one with purple tips behind the orange dig
- also is that a shortcake (green with pinkish polyps) at rear center?
Thanks!