Greetings -
I have a 60 gallon mixed reef 48x17x18. Been running an AP700 for about 9 months and am just not happy with the amount of light spill from having to mount it high enough to span the whole tank. My tank is in the living room and there's so much light spillage that from the street it looks like I'm running a grow operation.
Even with the power of this light there are still shadows in both corners and the corals I have there - lps and softies - are doing okay but not spectacular. Ideally, I should have 2 of these for the span of this tank but I do not want to invest that much to purchase a second ap700.
My first light as a new reefer was the orbit marine loop but only the single 48 inch bar. I loved the way the colors fluoresced under this light but it was in no way powerful enough. I just ordered the additional accessory bar so now have both of those and love the look,however, I'm still concerned about the low level sps I keep up top - mostly stylos, montis, birdsnest and pocillopora. So, I've purchased a 48 inch dual T5 HO fixture arriving in a few days.
My questions are as follows and any help is greatly appreciated so thank you in advance.
Will the dual Orbit loop pro and the dual T5 be sufficient for this tank? They will all be literally on the rim of the tank or just off the rim.
How should I transition?? I've been running the AP700 from 830 am to 830 pm with ramp up to peak of 65% from 1-5 pm them ramp down. I run the deep blue color. I know the orbits are way less powerful at 90 watts but since I was running the ap700 at 65% max should I be running the orbits at or near max to equal that? Orbits are 3 inches off the water though and ap700 was 15 inches above water.
When the T5 fixture gets here in a few days how should I incorporate it into the lighting schedule? Just a couple hours a day starting out and gradually increase? I will be running a blue plus and a Fiji purple bulb.
During this transition I don't want to blast/bleach my corals but don't want them to be light starved either. I'm renting a par meter next weekend and will post my results but would great value any input and guidance.
Last question - I know this is subjective but have I made a grave mistake?? I know some will view it as a step back.
Current tank pics - top pic is with ap700, bottom pic is end shot from this morning with just the dual orbit pros, still waiting to receive T5 fixture.
I have a 60 gallon mixed reef 48x17x18. Been running an AP700 for about 9 months and am just not happy with the amount of light spill from having to mount it high enough to span the whole tank. My tank is in the living room and there's so much light spillage that from the street it looks like I'm running a grow operation.
Even with the power of this light there are still shadows in both corners and the corals I have there - lps and softies - are doing okay but not spectacular. Ideally, I should have 2 of these for the span of this tank but I do not want to invest that much to purchase a second ap700.
My first light as a new reefer was the orbit marine loop but only the single 48 inch bar. I loved the way the colors fluoresced under this light but it was in no way powerful enough. I just ordered the additional accessory bar so now have both of those and love the look,however, I'm still concerned about the low level sps I keep up top - mostly stylos, montis, birdsnest and pocillopora. So, I've purchased a 48 inch dual T5 HO fixture arriving in a few days.
My questions are as follows and any help is greatly appreciated so thank you in advance.
Will the dual Orbit loop pro and the dual T5 be sufficient for this tank? They will all be literally on the rim of the tank or just off the rim.
How should I transition?? I've been running the AP700 from 830 am to 830 pm with ramp up to peak of 65% from 1-5 pm them ramp down. I run the deep blue color. I know the orbits are way less powerful at 90 watts but since I was running the ap700 at 65% max should I be running the orbits at or near max to equal that? Orbits are 3 inches off the water though and ap700 was 15 inches above water.
When the T5 fixture gets here in a few days how should I incorporate it into the lighting schedule? Just a couple hours a day starting out and gradually increase? I will be running a blue plus and a Fiji purple bulb.
During this transition I don't want to blast/bleach my corals but don't want them to be light starved either. I'm renting a par meter next weekend and will post my results but would great value any input and guidance.
Last question - I know this is subjective but have I made a grave mistake?? I know some will view it as a step back.
Current tank pics - top pic is with ap700, bottom pic is end shot from this morning with just the dual orbit pros, still waiting to receive T5 fixture.
