SPS dominant lighting help. T5 experts

[Scorpius]

^ I have a lot of sps that are starting to shade one another. I would like to pack as much even blanket of light as I can to make most of my Acropora happy. The more my sps grow the more they shade each other's base etc. leading to some tissue loss/lightening. I like a packed tank of coral so if I can get more light bouncing around to fill in the shadows more that would be great.

I used to run only my Kessils and never had the greatest luck with them. Things turned around last year when I added the T5 retrofits.

I am still an sps noob and I do have parameter swings from time to time, but I get good growth and decent color from my stuff. I'm currently slowly lowering nitrates and phosphates to combat turf algae which my cyano is also currently helping me destroy. lol

 

[Luno]

24" T5s can cover a 36" tank without issue. Especially if they are 8-10" above the tank. I ran a 4x24w ATI Sunpower over my 40B and kept anything I wanted. Most people don't have rock from wall to wall. There is a gap of 3-6+" on each side meaning only a 24-30" area to light.

I'm a big fan of this leaving say 10-15% of the length edges with the lights short to give almost a drop of look with the light fading out on the edges. Main structures in the middle and good distance between the end of the structure and the end of the tank. So nothing requires full light at the end of the tank.

 

[Luno]

^ I have a lot of sps that are starting to shade one another. I would like to pack as much even blanket of light as I can to make most of my Acropora happy. The more my sps grow the more they shade each other's base etc. leading to some tissue loss/lightening. I like a packed tank of coral so if I can get more light bouncing around to fill in the shadows more that would be great.

I used to run only my Kessils and never had the greatest luck with them. Things turned around last year when I added the T5 retrofits.

I am still an sps noob and I do have parameter swings from time to time, but I get good growth and decent color from my stuff. I'm currently slowly lowering nitrates and phosphates to combat turf algae which my cyano is also currently helping me destroy. lol

me personally I do prefer using led and t5's combos mostly for controllability of light and the t5's to add par and avoid as much shadowing as possibly.

I know the look you after the trouble is it's actually more difficult than most people think, for the reasons your saying. What you don't see when you see these tanks that have matured with sps growing so close to each other, is the process and how much didn't make it in the process. Not alone the shadowing of light, but by the close proximity and when they end up touching competing with each other. It may not look like it but a lot of constant for lack of a better work "pruning" goes into these sorts of tanks

 

[Scorpius]

I like pruning. My lfs takes my cuttings and I get store credit to buy stuff.

 

[BigJohnny]

24" T5s can cover a 36" tank without issue. Especially if they are 8-10" above the tank. I ran a 4x24w ATI Sunpower over my 40B and kept anything I wanted. Most people don't have rock from wall to wall. There is a gap of 3-6+" on each side meaning only a 24-30" area to light.

Sure they can, but they also can't. It depends on the situation. I have a 36" 6 bulb ati sunpower over my 90g 48" tank, and if i did not add kessil supplements on each end, my par would be insufficient on the right and left 6 inches of the tank (insufficient for what i was trying to get there). I know because i tried it first without them. Also just because rocks dont go 3-6+ on the sides of the tank, doesnt mean corals dont. Especially acro colonies that can shoot out/table in all directions.

 

[jda]

I hated the dull 6" on the ends of my tank. I bought extra lights for those areas as well.

As it is, the ends are dimer than the middle since they only get light from above and one side, instead of above and two sides.