Metal halide and euphyllia

[Rocks reef]

Well i have 10K Metal Halide. If you go that route, just be prepared that the colors are a little different compared to heavy blues. My hammers looks great/ growing a nice shape, my torches are finally growing at a decent pace but slower than normal as it is getting blast with some heavier flow due to being a mixed reef. In my tank Under 10k my golds will look brown. i do have a heavy blue leds that i can turn on at night once the metal halides turn off and i can see all nicely gold colors on the hammer and torch and other corals.
IF they are grown under led and lower par, they will need some time to adjust it takes a few months and once acclimated they grow very fast. They used to be under led but once they are under metal halide their flesh band are more healthier and big/ thicker. Depending on the flow and par polyps can vary.
Some other torch variant i have retain their color more such as the cotton candy torch (green with puple/pink tip)
I have a regular indo green (green on green tip) but its a more dull green.
My purple tip green hammer seem to retain its color.
My gold/rainbow wall hammer seem to be more peachy brown.
Everything seem to have a tinge of brown/orange hue due to my kelvin rating.
So depending on your camera and settings photos can look different.
Definitely have your vendor your buying lps turn on the whites and see what the colors looks like. Youll be amazed.

So depending on which kelvin you go for is your preference.

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@madlos123

What watt halide are you running? Is that a 40g breeder?

 

[madlos123]

What watt halide are you running? Is that a 40g breeder?

I have 2x 250 Watts 10,000K Reefbrite Single Ended Metal Halide. Standard Aqueon 90 gallon tank. I also have 2X T5 Actinic for supplemental and some cheap royal blue led strip to turn on manually at night.

 

[madlos123]

I keep my tank at 75 -76 at off hours then it will rise to about 78 during winter. In the summer its usually around 76-77 then it will rise to about 80 F. Its on for 6 hours each staggered by 3 hours. I dont use any fan or chillers. My tank is in the basement so its cooler and the heat rises and let the natural covection do its thing.
I keep my house temp at 74 in the winter and about 76 during summer.

 

[madlos123]

If your looking at the tank, Bulb wise i have not changed the right side so almost 3 years now. Left side bulb stopped turning on somehow and changed last year. I dont have a par meter/ spectrum meter so I dont know what the spectrum is if they have deviated specially on the right side. But corals seems to be growing fast and no ill effects specifically on the right side.
Corals are growing more shaped naturally such as round shape due to the blanket spread.
They are both from Reefbrite.

 

[Rocks reef]

Well i have 10K Metal Halide. If you go that route, just be prepared that the colors are a little different compared to heavy blues. My hammers looks great/ growing a nice shape, my torches are finally growing at a decent pace but slower than normal as it is getting blast with some heavier flow due to being a mixed reef. In my tank Under 10k my golds will look brown. i do have a heavy blue leds that i can turn on at night once the metal halides turn off and i can see all nicely gold colors on the hammer and torch and other corals.
IF they are grown under led and lower par, they will need some time to adjust it takes a few months and once acclimated they grow very fast. They used to be under led but once they are under metal halide their flesh band are more healthier and big/ thicker. Depending on the flow and par polyps can vary.
Some other torch variant i have retain their color more such as the cotton candy torch (green with puple/pink tip)
I have a regular indo green (green on green tip) but its a more dull green.
My purple tip green hammer seem to retain its color.
My gold/rainbow wall hammer seem to be more peachy brown.
Everything seem to have a tinge of brown/orange hue due to my kelvin rating.
So depending on your camera and settings photos can look different.
Definitely have your vendor your buying lps turn on the whites and see what the colors looks like. Youll be amazed.

So depending on which kelvin you go for is your preference.

Videos at YouTube
Search
@madlos123

That P. Ancora is awesome!! Really like the Pavona too! Nice reef my friend!

 

[Rocks reef]

If your looking at the tank, Bulb wise i have not changed the right side so almost 3 years now. Left side bulb stopped turning on somehow and changed last year. I dont have a par meter/ spectrum meter so I dont know what the spectrum is if they have deviated specially on the right side. But corals seems to be growing fast and no ill effects specifically on the right side.
Corals are growing more shaped naturally such as round shape due to the blanket spread.
They are both from Reefbrite.

If you are only running them for 6 hours a day, changing yearly is not needed.
I plan on running Radium 20K bulbs and will supplement dawn/dusk with two Quanta Meso Blue bars.

I'm not concerned about heat as I'll have the lights mounted 12"-15" off the water. Plus, we keep our house 68 in the winter and 72 in the summer.

How high are your lights off the water?

 

[madlos123]

That P. Ancora is awesome!! Really like the Pavona too! Nice reef my friend!

Thanks I have this P.Ancora since I started 10 years ago. Started at a 2 inch frag and now its probably a good 10 inch or so. Growth has exploded since under halides 3 years ago.
I used to grow all kinds of coral but now i have forcused on different shapes and colors

 

[madlos123]

If you are only running them for 6 hours a day, changing yearly is not needed.
I plan on running Radium 20K bulbs and will supplement dawn/dusk with two Quanta Meso Blue bars.

I'm not concerned about heat as I'll have the lights mounted 12"-15" off the water. Plus, we keep our house 68 in the winter and 72 in the summer.

How high are your lights off the water?

I have it about 12 inch off the water. Thats from the water line to the bottom the halide/shield. If you include the insides (water level to the bulb) probably 2 more inches

 

[Rocks reef]

@X-37B you run Halides or used to right?

 

[X-37B]

@X-37B you run Halides or used to right?

I ran them for years but switched to all leds 3 years ago.
Old 120 running 2-250 watt de 14k Phoenix. 12" off the surface.

 

[Rocks reef]

I ran them for years but switched to all leds 3 years ago.
Old 120 running 2-250 watt de 14k Phoenix. 12" off the surface.

I do miss the Phoenix bulbs. That is what I ran previously as well. I wish they still made those. The color was absolutely perfect, you didn't have to supplement unless you really wanted to.

 

[Rocks reef]

I ran them for years but switched to all leds 3 years ago.
Old 120 running 2-250 watt de 14k Phoenix. 12" off the surface.

That's right, I remember going through your build thread. Your light mount is something of genius with the articulating arms!

 

[djf91]

Here’s a long list of beautiful, mostly Metal halide run aquariums from the heyday of SPS: https://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/totm-list

 

[Rocks reef]

Thank you for sharing that! There are some beautiful reefs in that list!

 

[oreo54]

Here’s a long list of beautiful, mostly Metal halide run aquariums from the heyday of SPS: https://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/totm-list

Funny, the very first one is under leds.
https://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/153-tank-of-the-monthSorry couldn't resist.

x6 (AI) VEGA Color in the main display and a RapidLED SOL kit on frag tank

The first light system was based on ATI Blue Plus T5 bulbs (80W), mixed with Phillips Aquaviva and KZ Fiji purple T5 bubs (54W) running under a pack of IceCap ballasts, due to the success accomplished by a friend with this kind of mix on his tank. After the first year, and 3 defective ballasts, I changed to a 16 T5 bulb system with only ATI 54W. It consisted of mixed Aquablue, Blue Plus and Purple Plus running under a pack of Phillips ballasts. This system gave me very good results in color and growing, but changing 16 bulbs every 8~10 months in Brazil, a place where you simply can’t find good T5 bulbs at a reasonable value, was a big problem.


All of this led me to change to a LED based lighting system in December 2012. During 2012, I made a vast research endevor to learn about LED fixtures and the systems that were running it. A LOT of bad reviews, complaints, and back to T5/MH histories are out there, but some good experiences too. I finally decided to give it a shot with AI VEGA Color fixtures which provide good coverage, a good color spectrum, easy control, flexibility and a fair price.

Interesting...

The 6 fixtures lie 10 inches above the water line running blues/purples at 100% of power, whites varying between 80~100%, and reds and greens at 70%.

Yes "back in the day" ................... LED's weren't their best.

 

[djf91]

Thank you for sharing that! There are some beautiful reefs in that list!

Sure thing!

 

[Rocks reef]

Funny, the very first one is under leds.
https://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/153-tank-of-the-monthSorry couldn't resist.


Interesting...

Yes "back in the day" ................... LED's weren't their best.

Oreo, I saw that as well, but some of the tanks were nice.

 

[Rocks reef]

over 400-450 at peak for 3 hours. Then drops down to 300-350 for 5 hours.

Drew, what bulbs are you running? 14K or 20K

 

[SpSDrew]

Drew, what bulbs are you running? 14K or 20K

14k Aquabright currently. Next bulb change will be to 6500k

 

[madlos123]

14k Aquabright currently. Next bulb change will be to 6500k

I havent tried or seen 6500K in person but for max growth and color but i read they will make the coral yellowish rendering wise as a standalone light for depth of up to 12". I thought my 10,000K made the coral looks slightly yellowish, i could imagine will 6500K be more. Got any picts of 6500K?
Thanks