SPS AB+?

[rovster]

Who's running it? Anyone change from a schedule that was working and notice a difference? I actually asked this question on FB and most basically said leave well enough alone. No question I'm getting good results with the program I'm running which starts blue ramps through most of the presets to 12k and back down to blue.

The coral labs paper is very intriguing and insinuates that the AB+ program is comparable to T5 and MH for color and growth. I'll be the first to admit I feel T5 and MH grow better, based on observations of my friends tanks, but I am content with the results I'm getting, just not "thrilled".

I'm also surprised there is not so much discussion on this program. Sure lots of newbs jumping on the bandwagon, but I want to hear from someone that was getting good results and then switched. I've been running my radions for about 18 months now. Here is s recent FTS for reference. Everything grown from small frags....

 

[helldiver]

I use over frag tank with good growth running 45%

 

[helldiver]

What color t5 supplements are you running and fro how long at what time frames

 

[rovster]

What color t5 supplements are you running and fro how long at what time frames

I run front to back: ATI Actinic, B+, C+, B+. The outer bulbs are run about 7 hours and the inner about 5 last I checked but I may be off a little. My Radions run almost 12hrs with a really intense period in the middle (13.5K-12K-13.5K). Just for kicks I played around with the AB+ setting and I thought it was too blue, I really like the 14K setting on the Radion but if there is some magic mojo to that program that is missing from mine, then I'd consider changing. I run my lights at 45% but recently set them to a 4 week acclimation to 55%. I've had them as high as 65% without issue but that's before I had T5 and when I had 3 units instead of 4.

I have some corals that grow well in my system and some that just don't do anything, but are really colorful. Some grow incredibly well actually. I did notice a difference in the back of my tank when adding T5 in some of the more poorly lit areas but that's probably due to the fact that they were poorly lit areas, LOL!

Its just surprising to me that there isn't any more buzz about this program given the results extrapolated from the "study". Shoot, comparing growth to T5 and halides are strong "fighting words" as far as I'm concerned. I'm not an LED fanboy nor hater. I believe they work. But I'm OCD and want to squeeze every last bit of juice out of my setup as I can.

With this program, I would definitely run them at a higher intensity, where as my current program, I'm limited due to my midday peak. I was wondering if a more intense bluer but longer period would positively affect growth as opposed to my schedule that has to ramp up and is intense for a shorter amount of time and the blue periods are not as intense (although I do flatten my curve somewhat).

Here is my curve....well actually I may have tweaked it but its essentially the same. just lower intensity and a few more intermediate points....

 

[Birddog]

I'm running it over my 65g mixed reef. From my perspective you've got to have some nutrients to run this at a high percent... I'm about 3-4 ppm nitrate and .06 phosphate. I've read a number of posts of individuals running at anywhere from 45-65%. I started running the AB+ approximately two months ago. I was at 85% peak at the time I switched and now I'm 93% increasing intensity 1% every 3-5 days. I could not be happier with growth and color and as I have increased intensity both color and growth have continued to improve in everything, SPS and LPS.

 

[thirst]

Is this the right apex setting for ab+?

Ab+ is more blue than 20k. Does that sound right?

Thanks

 

[rovster]

I'm running it over my 65g mixed reef. From my perspective you've got to have some nutrients to run this at a high percent... I'm about 3-4 ppm nitrate and .06 phosphate. I've read a number of posts of individuals running at anywhere from 45-65%. I started running the AB+ approximately two months ago. I was at 85% peak at the time I switched and now I'm 93% increasing intensity 1% every 3-5 days. I could not be happier with growth and color and as I have increased intensity both color and growth have continued to improve in everything, SPS and LPS.

Thanks this is the feedback I'm looking for. What was your schedule before this? How were your results?

 

[Birddog]

Thanks this is the feedback I'm looking for. What was your schedule before this? How were your results?

Before I switched I was at;

• 15% G
• 15% R
• 100% B
• 100% RB
• 80% UV
• 30% CW
• Overall peak intensity at 85%

Truthfully I thought I was doing pretty well, but a few of my new SPS frags were slow to settle in and color up. Growth was on the slow side, but I was happy. Upon changing to the AB+ I started to see changes in all of my coral within several days to a week at most. Pretty amazing that the spectral change to the AB+ would have an impact that quickly. As I mentioned earlier as I have continued to increase intensity slowly the color has improved dramatically. With a few of my SPS I can see growth on a daily basis... My fastest growing SPS are RR Aussie Gold, ASD Mille and RMF Jared's Rainbow Mille and I would say that my GARF Bonsai, Cali Tort, PC Rainbow, BC Spainbow and Pink Lemonade get honorable mention. Even my chalices; Rainbow Crush, JKR Bubonic Plague and WWC King Pin have additional color and growth beyond what I was experiencing earlier. I've had a few zoa colonies that have changed / morphed slightly, but even with the change I am still seeing good growth in my zoas. I am pretty excited and couldn't be happier.

 

[rovster]

Alright so I guess what do I have to lose. Just uploaded it. Started at 45 and ramp to 60 in 5 weeks. In 2 months I guess we'll see. Only issue I have is that it's really blue so how do you evaluate color improvement? To me color can only be evaluated at 12-14k. I suppose I can whiten up my T5. Looking forward to seeing what this special sauce does to my corals lol.

 

[Birddog]

Alright so I guess what do I have to lose. Just uploaded it. Started at 45 and ramp to 60 in 5 weeks. In 2 months I guess we'll see. Only issue I have is that it's really blue so how do you evaluate color improvement? To me color can only be evaluated at 12-14k. I suppose I can whiten up my T5. Looking forward to seeing what this special sauce does to my corals lol.

You can still evaluate color... I thought the same when I changed... the tank looks a little on the blue side. A couple of thoughts;

• You're eyes will adjust and your tank won't look so blue next week as it does today.
• Your coral color has certain attributes under this new spectrum... the way the colors look. Over time you will see that the coral colors are changing for the better and becoming richer under this new spectrum.
• I saw changes quickly, but I was already at 85%. You're starting at 45%, I wonder how quickly you'll seed changes at that peak intensity??

Oh and by the way that a pretty strong attitude in your pup in your avatar

 

[rovster]

Lol, I am currently at 50%. Also keep in mind I'm running 4 Radions over a 4 ft tank AND T5. My tank is also only 19" deep.

 

[powderblue14]

Has anyone noticed a decrease in PAR value using the AB+? I have been using this program for over 3 months now and have had to increase my intensity all the way up to 100% in order to get higher PAR values.

 

[david p.]

i'm using the program at 100% with the wide lens, it gets me about 200-300 PAR from mid to top section. i did not liked the 'regular' lense, was getting hot spot at 500+ PAR with uneven light distribution.

i still have a young system, but i like color and growth. can't compare to T5 or MH, but i'm happy.

 

[CJBuckeyes]

I think it's still too early for definitive results. I'm using the SPS AB+ on two gen 3 pros with wide angle lenses. I like this setup, but this is a new build with all frags. Should have a better idea in a few months.

 

[Wilsoni]

G4 Pros/SPS AB+ FTW

 

[kyle1284]

is it only radions that you can do the SPS AB+ with or can you program a hydra 52 lighting schedule with similar results?

 

[rovster]

You could probably make your own version utilizing relative percentages. Its very heavy in the blue, which is why some notice a loss of PAR assuming they were running a whiter program....

 

[rovster]

i'm using the program at 100% with the wide lens, it gets me about 200-300 PAR from mid to top section. i did not liked the 'regular' lense, was getting hot spot at 500+ PAR with uneven light distribution.

i still have a young system, but i like color and growth. can't compare to T5 or MH, but i'm happy.

Really nice looking tank. I like how you laid out the corals, should look wonderful once it fills in. How high off the water are your radions? How deep is your tank. I have had my wide lenses on my garage shelf for a year now and always debate putting them in. I'm convinced I have some hot spots because I have certain areas in my tank that no coral survives and bleaches while other spots seem to be sweet spots where any coral placed there does amazing.

 

[chomoney]

Can anyone that has experience with this program give me a rough estimate on what percentage intensity I should start out at?

I'm going to give it a shot on a 120gal standard with 2 G3 standards. Lights are about 14 inches from water level.

I've been poking around for awhile for some more info, but haven't had much luck. Thanks very much for any help.

 

[Wilsoni]

Can anyone that has experience with this program give me a rough estimate on what percentage intensity I should start out at?

I'm going to give it a shot on a 120gal standard with 2 G3 standards. Lights are about 14 inches from water level.

I've been poking around for awhile for some more info, but haven't had much luck. Thanks very much for any help.

Have pics? It's hard to say what intensity you should run them out without coral placement for reference.