rainbow wellso help

[kgeezy83]

hello I have several wellsos in my tank including two rainbow wellsos.
I have the nova extreme pro 6x39
with a 40 breeder tank ( pretty shallow)
in my tank I have ONE single 20lb live rock in the center of my tank which 3 rose anemones are attached to. (tanks been up about 2yrs)
what is going to be my best bulb combo so that my wellso maintain great color without having to create "shaded areas" in my tank.
I am looking to have more of a bluish than white tint to my tank.
as of late I have noticed my wellsos dulling in color and I think its because of too much light. So I have moved them closer to the rock and they hide in the shade of the anemones when they expand. The center of my tank looks like a big cluster right now. since then they have seem to somewhat regain the color, but Im needing to get some new bulbs so they can be placed where ever on the sand bed vs tucked in the shadows of the anemone.
I guess the main question is 234 watts going to be the same regardless of whatever bulbs I decide to get or are there bulbs that are going to give a less intense "feel" to the wellso?
ex: is a 20k bluish look going to help vs a 14k whitish look.
Sorry to keep rambling, just want to make sure people are understanding what Im trying to say.

Thanks in advance for the help reefers

 

[Ian]

If you're just looking for some nice color and POP, go with maybe

1 ati aqua blue special
4 ATI blue+
1 KZ fiji purple

 

[jmuzzey]

Just remember that with T5s, the blue bulbs such as ATI blue plus have almost as much PAR as the white bulbs. So you still have to keep an eye on the corals for bleaching or light shock.

 

[kgeezy83]

oh I see, so there really no way to get around this issue im having, is there
jmuzzey?

 

[kgeezy83]

bigian, is that combo from front to back, also do you have a pic of what that combo looks like?
thanks

 

[Ian]

That's jjust a combination suggestion. You'd have to play around with the order.

Jmuzzy is right, the B+ are still a pretty high PAR bulb but the amount and lack of ABS should make a considerable difference in strength of light...

 

[kgeezy83]

ok cool thanks bigian

 

[jmuzzey]

You could screen the light and slowly acclimate the brains to the light over a period of weeks. Light shock is what causes most problems, and if you slowly acclimate any coral to new lighting, it should be okay.

But......I noticed over the last year doing different experiments with lighting and lps, that many chalices and rainbow brain corals and acans do not like light. Or at least it will change the color of the coral.

I have a chalice coral that is in half light half shade(the shaded area is completely shaded) and the area in the light is brownish with slight pink highlights, the shaded area is green(teal), blue with flourescent pink highlights. Rainbow acans will go mostly red and lose their rainbow colors if under intense light for the most part. They love to be in the shade or indirect light also. Rainbow brains tend to lose their purple or blue coloration under intense light, but will regain it in the shade.

I am not saying this is how it is with all the corals I stated above, just what has happened in my tank and my experiments. My rainbow brain is getting beautiful purple color with deep red highlights, along with green after being put into the shade about two months ago. It had lost most of it's rainbow coloration before then.

 

[kgeezy83]

that seems to be what's happening with mine , the half of the rainbow that is shaded has way more vibrant color than the other half. I guess im going to have to find a way to shade the entire tank, but it feels like im going to be cheating myself with my light! lol lol Oh well, I rather my corals do well than me getting full use out of my light.

 

[jmuzzey]

Just get a nice tabling acro to mount on the rockwork and let that acro shade out wellso. A nice plating monti will do the same thing as well.

Does the nova fixture let you run seperate bulbs? If it does, only run all 6 for like two hours, and run 4 for most of the day. You save on electricity that way too.

 

[kgeezy83]

it only has two switches 4 bulbs and 2 bulbs