Thinking of running MH on your Zoanthid & Palythoa Reef, read this.

[MUCHO REEF]

If so, please click on the link below. It is a wealth of very informative documentation on the ins and outs of understanding MH's and what is best for your system and bulb/ballast compatibility.


http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php



What type of lighting are you using?

Getting good, great or spectacular growth?

Coloration?

Tank size, wattage and K value?

PAR?

Happy or let down by your choice?

Anyhting else informative to share?

Thanks, Mucho Reef

[JGoslee]

What type of lighting are you using? Metal Halide and T5

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Average growth. About 1-3 polyps a month.

Coloration? A nice white with a hint of blue.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 58gal tank, 2-250watt MH de 14k phoenix and 2-39watt t5 super actinic

PAR? not sure

Happy or let down by your choice? I'm very happy with my lighting.

[djscribz]

What type of lighting are you using? Current Sunpod 150w HQI

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Good at 2-3 polyps a month

Coloration? Some color bleaching from blue zoos at 14k, switched to 20k recently

Tank size, wattage and K value? 20g, 150w, Ushio 20k

PAR? dont know

Happy or let down by your choice? Happy, very blue and very nice appearance in tank

Anyhting else informative to share? DBTC

[norcal99]

What type of lighting are you using? TEK T5HO Retros

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Great growth (4-5 polyps/month)

Coloration? Nice blue, with a hint of white.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 20H, 4x24W, 20kish?

PAR? no idea

Happy or let down by your choice? Happy, but miss the clarity of MH

[Questin]

Lighting: 2-150 watt MH (double ended) and 2-96 watt compact, 3 Lunar Lights

Growth: Good

Coloration: White 10ks. Needs more blue, will be going 14k next time around.

Tank: 60 Gallon with 492 watts

Photosynthetic Available Radiation (PAR): I dont know how to measure that

Happy? I want more!

Anyhting else informative to share? My Hydnophora is growing out of control, it has attached to the glass of the back of the tank and has already taken over 7 onch area making a nice circle

[gflat65]

What type of lighting are you using? DE MH and VHO/MH(2 tanks)

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? somewhere between good and great growth (near bottom of the tank for zoas-primarily SPS tank)/dismal to decent growth...

Coloration? Nice and blue, but not too much (for me anyway)/Blue but not blue enough-adding VHO's soon.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 125 gallon, (3)-250W DE and (2)-160W VHO, 14K Phoenix/120 gallon, (2)-175W SE Ushio 14K

PAR? Supposedly high. Tested with photosynthetic photon flux meter and got wildly different readings under the (3) 250W DE's (PFO ballast and pendants read about 400-500 just below water surface, but AquaMedic ballast/pendant read about 800-900 just below water level). Ushio 14Ks on 175W elec read around 250-350 just below water surface. None were new bulbs and holding the meter completely steady was not accomplished. Values cahnged drastically by distance from buls through air, then dropped quite a bit once it entered the water. Values at bottom of 125 read around 150. Values at bottom of 120 read around 90.

Happy or let down by your choice? Ecstatic with 125 lighting, though too much for most zoas unless they are at the bottom. Midly happy with 120-adding VHO's for more color (not overly concerned with growth, but hope to see a slight improvement in this tank).

Anyhting else informative to share? 125 is primarily SPS tank, but I put some of my nicer zoas in it for better coloration and growth (this bulb combination is great for my SPS-get some algae growth, but have at least as good coloration than most-better than alot of shots I see, even with DSB;)). Heavily skimmed. 120 is primarily LPS/softie tank with no skimming yet (may be why there is slower growth?). Will connect the two tanks to simplify process (one volume of water to test for proper levels and for filtration).

[Blitz99]

What type of lighting are you using? 175 watt metal halide, with 110 watt pc actinic supplementation

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? non spectacular growth, color is nice though.

Coloration? sometimes my color seems to fade a bit on certain zoos and palys

Tank size, wattage and K value? 24' cubed tank (60 gallon) 175 watt 14K hamilton bulb

PAR? dont know

Happy or let down by your choice? let down a bit... i see better growth from people using t-5's.

Anyhting else informative to share? in the 24" cubed tank my palys and zoos (PPE's and RPE's and nuclear sunshines) all have taken a dump a bit... ppe's just started to open (only one of the 4 polyps) after i moved it under a shaded ledge and did not turn the halide on for the day. i dont know but it actually seems like the 175 is "too much" for the PPEs... which i'm sure is NOT the case in general as many use 250's on their tanks and keep them happy.

[MarvinsReef]

What type of lighting are you using? MH

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? good on some, great on some

Coloration? okay.. but could look better w/ more actinic or 20k for zoas IMO

Tank size, wattage and K value? 32g breeder; 250w MH DE; 14k Phoenix, no actinics

PAR? dunno

Happy or let down by your choice? happy for now but will probably add T5 for actinic supp or try 20k XM's

[MinibowMatt]

What type of lighting are you using? Mh/ VHO Actinic

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Spectacular growth

Coloration? A-freaking-mazing

Tank size, wattage and K value? 50G 36x18x17
2x175W XM 15K and 2x75URI actinic

PAR? i dont know for sure, but it must be good enough!

Happy or let down by your choice? Im somewhat happy. I like the coral colors, but the blue is a little much for me. I have gotten used to it though.

Anyhting else informative to share? I have noticed an extreme jump in growth in the last 3 months.... My tip: I dont do water changes often..

[KafudaFish]

T5 HO retro kit
slow growth (but think this is due to flow)
Very pleased with their coloration
95 gal 48" x 24" x 17 "
4 x 54 watts: 2 blue+ 2 aquablues
unknown PAR
Happy overall but would like better growth. When I move my tank I am going to try and redo the rockwork. I don't do many WC's and stopped my skimmer for 5 months. I may change my husbandry procedure.

[ecotoxlady]

Thank you for the link Mucho. Very informative article!

What type of lighting are you using? PC lighting

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Good growth with some and poor with others though I attribute poor growth more to flow than lighting.

Coloration? I love the coloration I get with these lights. In fact some morphs have better coloring under these lights than under MH in my experience, especially when placed in high positions in the tank.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 12g DX nanocube with 72w lighting. Not sure of the K value on these though.

PAR? I dont know for sure

Anything else informative to share? I have found that PC lights work great for small tanks and don't have the evaporation problems associated with MH. I've used MH in the past on a larger tank and though I loved the coloring it gave some of my zoas I also found that some morphs just didn't like the intensity even when placed in a shaded area. With PC I never have to worry about that and I've found that those morphs that like higher light are perfectly happy when placed in a higher position in the tank. I also have been successful with growing and retaining bright colored sps in this tank so the lighting must not be too bad :)

[MUCHO REEF]

Died too soon

[Eklikewhoa]

What type of lighting are you using? Metal Halide w/ T5HO actinic supplement

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? I would say spectacular but not all of it has to do with lighting

Coloration? I love the color! like a double shot of blue on white light

Tank size, wattage and K value? 30g cube, 250w MH Phoenix 14000k + 4x24w T5HO actinics

PAR? Sure beats me but supposedly good :D

Happy or let down by your choice? Couldn't be more satisfied!

[Lytehouse]

What type of lighting are you using? 8 bulb Tek T5

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? very good

Coloration? Really like the coloration I get

Tank size, wattage and K value? 48 x 36 x 8 frag tank

PAR? Unknown

Happy or let down by your choice? Happy, I have some issues with UV which causes some problems with bleaching. Working on that.

[Skeptic_07]

What type of lighting are you using? Current Sunpod 150w HQI

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? seems to vary on placement and type but overall growth was much better with the 14k that came with the fixture.

Coloration? better under the 20K because of the light color

Tank size, wattage and K value? 20g, 150w, Ushio 20k

PAR? dont know

Happy or let down by your choice? mixed, very blue and very nice appearance in tank, more growth would be a nice bonus.

Anyhting else informative to share? i like the current USA 14k lamps, ushio 14k was horrible, ushio 20k is nice looking but not as bright as id like (too dim), phoenix 14k is my next bulb to try if that stinks i'm going back to current.


(yes djscribz i pretty much copied your response and edited it to my liking, crazy how similar our tanks are setup?)

[jjmcat]

What type of lighting are you using? 3 250 watt mh

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? great growth

Coloration? Love the colors but I am thinking of adding 2 vhos

Tank size, wattage and K value? 110g, 250watt,XM 20K

PAR? I havent tested since the bulbs were knew so as of now not known

Happy or let down by your choice? I would have to say I am very happy. When I first started I ran VHOs and they were ok until I started using the MH.

Anyhting else informative to share? I will also add that the colors and growth have increase since I have been using Vit C.

[stoneroller]

What type of lighting are you using? MH, T5HO, and PC
Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Depends on the polyp, some great some ok

Coloration? excellent IMO

Tank size, wattage and K value? 72g; 250W MH (12K), 2x65W PC (50/50) & 2x24W T5 (actinic) = 428W

PAR?

Happy or let down by your choice? Very happy but plan to replace PC with more t5s 2x36w
Anything else informative to share? Likely to go back to 10K after this run to see if overall growth increases and color remains

[dtpollard]

What type of light are you using? MH, PC
Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Great on most zoos and palys.
Colors are GREAT.
Tank size, wattage and K value? (2) 250mh DE 20K (4)65w PC actincs on 75 gal.
At about 11 watts per gallon I am really getting good growth my purple death frags are doubleing every 2 months. In the past used less light and my tank struggled, not anymore.

[capture]

What type of lighting are you using? HQI MH

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Much better growth then using PCs.

Coloration? Coloration is great. Bright vivid colors.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 16 gallon bow front, 150W, 14K Phoenix

PAR? I have not had the opportunity to check this out.

Happy or let down by your choice? Definitely happy.

Anyhting else informative to share? I recently made the change from PCs to MH and have not looked back. The lighting change made significant changes to a few of my zoanthids. Some morphs took an instant liking to the change while others I was very close to thinking I was going to lose them.
I have witnessed changes in polyp size, color, and growth rate. I can only attribute these differences to my change in light as that is the only change that occurred to my tank. Some polyps shrank and are thriving now but much smaller than they were previous to the change in lighting. Some changed colors completely, one morph went from brown with a green ring to peach with the same green ring. As for growth rate, wow, I'm extremely impressed with the growth of the polyps under this lighting. some obviously slower than others but I continue to find small polyps growing at the base of all my colonies.

[MUCHO REEF]

Great info everyone. I think this will go a long way in helping others here who are looking for some direction.


Thanks again


Mucho Reef

[jefathome]

What type of lighting are you using?
400w 14k MH with 1 actinic T5 and 1 Aqua Blue T5

Getting good, great or spectacular growth?
Spectacular for Eagle eyes, pinks, and greenbay Packers (Hate that name!! Mine are peach mouth, teal body, and yellow skirt... how is that a packers color?) Moderate growth for Armor of gods. Tried them near surface and they hated it. Near rthe bottom now and little growth.

Purple and pink palys near the bottom have medium gorwth

Coloration? Awesome color. Very vivid, esp near the top

Tank size, wattage and K value? 30in deep 70g

PAR? Lots ;)

Happy or let down by your choice? Used to have a 250w MH (same K) but I didn't have the growth and/or color that I have with this 400w setup.

Anyhting else informative to share?

[impur]

What type of lighting are you using? TEK 6-54w T5 fixture

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Depends on the zoas. I'd say great growth on colonies, and good growth on frags

Coloration? Wonderful. The light is bright enough to bleach certain zoas out even on the sand, so placement is key.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 75gal. 54w. K Value front to back:

UVL Superactinic
UVL Aquablue
UVL Aquasun
GE 4500k
UVL Aquablue
UVL Superactinic

PAR? Unknown

Happy or let down by your choice? Yes, cheaper to run, less heat, bulbs last longer. I do miss the MH shimmer though.

Anything else informative to share? I've run both MH and T5s and i get similar growth under both light sources.

[Peter Eichler]

What type of lighting are you using?

250w HQI MH over one tank and 6x39w T5 over another.

Getting good, great or spectacular growth?

Depends on the polyp and growth seems pretty similar under the two types of lighting.

Coloration?

Very good, though polyps that need lower light levels have a real hard time even at the bottom of a 24" tall tank with the T5s.

Tank size, wattage and K value?

36x18x24 and 36x18x12 bulbs are a Geismann Megachrome rated at 13,500k and a Phoenix 14,000k. Manufacturer ratings are useless on these as they are with many other bulbs, they are VERY different spectrums. The Geismann is a pretty crisp white with just a touch of blue and the Phoenix is onnoxiously blue IMO. As for the T5s, I've changed it around a lot but I stick with ATI and UVL bulbs slanted a little more towards the blue side.

PAR?

Haven't measured with the new setups but I assume it's pretty high with both.

Happy or let down by your choice?

I'm still iffy on the T5s, they're just too intense for some of my LPS and zoanthids.

Anyhting else informative to share?

Be especially careful with intense T5 setups, they can bleach corals like no other lighting I've experienced. Even slow acclimation to the light doesn't seem to help in some instances as I have things that have been in the tank for years and as soon as they are moved a little out of the shade on the bottom of a deep tank they start to bleach. I have had these same corals under fairly direct MH lighting in a shallower tank and they do not bleach.

[MUCHO REEF]

What type of lighting are you using?

Dual 250 SE MH 14 K Phoenix

Getting good, great or spectacular growth?

Good growth, that's what I prefer. Other polyps are growing like weeds.

Coloration?

Perfect in my opinion with the LED supplementation I am using.

Tank size, wattage and K value?

75 gallon, wattage and K value listed above

PAR?

Gonna pick up a PAR meter next week.

Happy or let down by your choice?

Very happy, I'm not looking to achieve exponential growth. I hate having to get in there to frag over growth. I simply enjoy to process and the transformation from nothing to something.

Anything else informative to share?

If you choose to which your lighting, please do so with acclimation screening with layers on top of your tank. Doing so will prevent possible like shock and/or bleaching.


Mucho Reef

[prison police]

What type of lighting are you using? Aqua Medic MH

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? good growth

Coloration?had some bleaching,moved to bottom.better color now

Tank size, wattage and K value? 29g.....250w....14,000k

PAR? ?????

Happy or let down by your choice? Happy with the 14k but i am going to Xm 20,000k bulb for the blue look

Anyhting else informative to share Started with PC lights. Then got my MH and seeing growth.Feeding cyclope eez

[MUCHO REEF]

Anyone else?

[DEEC77]

What type of lighting are you using?
Metal Halide /PC

Getting good, great or spectacular growth?
Growth is very good


Coloration?
The coloration is great.

Tank size, wattage and K value?
120 Dual 150 HQI 14 K Phoenix 2 smartpaq 96 watt 10,000k daylight 460nm actinic

PAR? Not sure

Happy or let down by your choice?
I'm very happy with my choice. Allows me to have both low light and high light corals.

~Dee~

[Abominable Reef]

What type of lighting are you using? 2X 175W MH with 2X 110W VHO actinic

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Varies from amazing to dismal depending on zoa

Coloration? Coloration is good.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 75 gallon, Iwasaki 15K MH with VHO super actinic

PAR? no idea.

Happy or let down by your choice? OK, will probably go with 14K phoenix next time around.

Anything else informative to share? Still dissapointed with not getting zoa's to look like the "WYSIWYG" photos on most vendors sites, but don't really like the overly blue look of 20K radiums, either.

[Meisen]

What type of lighting are you using? Metal Halide

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Getting good growth, some types great growth.

Coloration? Colors look awesome, havent seen a better lamp for color

Tank size, wattage and K value? 100 G, 400 W SE bulb, Radium 20K

PAR? Not sure.

Happy or let down by your choice? Happy with it

Anyhting else informative to share? Light is moved on a Guila Robotics light rail.

[MUCHO REEF]

Anyone else willing to contribute? Doing do will greatly help others who are searching for answers.


Mucho Reef

[IridescentLily]

Iinteresting, this thread tells me that that there is no one best lighting. It sounds like many have success with different kinds of lighting. Although all of you seem to have a combination of white light with blue light supplementation, in common. And most folk utilize 14k and 20k, and not so much 10k or other?

Also, Mucho Reef, you mentioned that you were looking into taking par readings from your tank. Have you tested it yet? If so, what did you find? Im partial to the look of the 14k Phoenix bulb so I was curious about yours.

[MUCHO REEF]

Correction, I need to start spell checking before I submit a reply

"Anyone else willing to contribute? Doing do will greatly help others who are searching for answers. "

Should have said, " Doing so, ( NOT doing do ) will greatly help others who are searching for answers.


IridescentLily, I did receive my PAR meter but it was busted. Sent it back and haven't picked up a new one. I have some time off work soon and will get around to a lot of stuff I've been putting off.

[IridescentLily]

Oh I see, thanks Mucho.

[dfstan]

am thinkg of upgrading from 150w to 250w for my new tank. height of tank is 22inch. if my zoas position at sand bed. will it burnt my beloved zoas? overall, 250w too much for zoas keeping? and 250w will promote better growth? many thanks in advance.

[MUCHO REEF]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13394808#post13394808 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dfstan
am thinkg of upgrading from 150w to 250w for my new tank. height of tank is 22inch. if my zoas position at sand bed. will it burnt my beloved zoas? overall, 250w too much for zoas keeping? and 250w will promote better growth? many thanks in advance.


"if my zoas position at sand bed. will it burnt my beloved zoas?"

No they won't, however I would utilize a brief acclimation period with a couple layers of window screening just to be on the safe side. Going from 150's to 250's with a 22 inch depth is not a major leap. However I always prefer to error on the side of caution.


"overall, 250w too much for zoas keeping?"

No they aren't. What's your goal with the upgrade, better growth, appearance, coloration or a combination of both?


"250w will promote better growth? "

Not necessarily, a mature system, good random moderate to high current, 10, 12 or 14 k instead or 20 k, will help promote growth. Light alone is just one of several variables which will assist in better/more growth.


Mucho Reef

[SIR PATRICK]

Very good read! Thx for all the info guys. Helped me out in a couple places.

[theJiggyfly]

lighting = 2x 400 watt 14 K with supplemental 4 VHO Super Actinic URI bulbs
growth is outstanding
color pops on most but purples tend to lighten up a little.

[MUCHO REEF]

What brand of MH bulb are you using bbspiderman?

[SnapDragon]

bbspiderman, are you using double ended MH bulbs or mogul based?

Mucho Reef, have you seen a difference with DE or Single ended bulbs with Zoa/Paly growth?

[melev]

Which tank? :)


<b>29g:</b>
Lighting: 165w of PC lighting; 50% actinic, 50% daylight

Growth: Good growth

Coloration: Varied from colony to colony. It is where my Mean Greens were first photographed.

Tank: 29g, non-reef ready. Sump & Refuigum, Remora skimmer

Photosynthetic Available Radiation (PAR): Not much back then.

Happiness: Love my 29g.



<b>55g:</b>
Lighting: 2x 175w MH 10,000K Ushio; 2x 110w VHO actinics

Growth: Good

Coloration: Varied, plus some of the boring Palythoa that came with the tank.

Tank: 55g, non-reef ready, sump & refugium, AquaC Ev-200

Photosynthetic Available Radiation (PAR): Better, but didn't have a meter back then.

Happiness: It was a nice tank with decent growth.



<b>280g:</b>
Lighting: 2x 250w 10,000K Reeflux; 400w Radium; 2x 160w VHO actinics

Growth: Better in the past. In the past 18 months or so, I've lost entire colonies, no matter where they were located in the system. They weren't even near each other, but every last polyp of that particular morph would be gone within two weeks of their decline. Sad to lose 2000+ Bytor Oranges. Recently, I lost a large amount of Mean Greens, but still have a few strays that are hanging in there. All the rest of the zoas seem completely happy, unaffected, nothing to indicate an issue.

Coloration: Good. They all seem to look like they should.

Tank: 280g reef-ready tank, sump, refugium, propagation zone, calcium reactor, Euroreef 12-2 skimmer. I've been dosing Vodka for PO4 and NO3 control for the past 5 months.

Photosynthetic Available Radiation (PAR): 220 at the substrate, and rising the higher in the tank you measure. My zoas are near the sand.

Happiness: Well, other than the losses I'm happy. Maybe I should rethink Vitamin C, which I'm not dosing.



<b>Angled tank:</b>
Lighting: 150w DE 10,000K Ushio

Growth: Decent growth

Coloration: Colors look fine, but a bit drab due to a lack of blue lighting.

Tank: 20g angled tank, tied into the 280g reef's filtration

Photosynthetic Available Radiation (PAR): 110 at the sand

Happiness: This tank is pretty easy to care for, and the Mean Greens seem to be doing well among other zoas.

[MUCHO REEF]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13969903#post13969903 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SnapDragon
bbspiderman, are you using double ended MH bulbs or mogul based?

Mucho Reef, have you seen a difference with DE or Single ended bulbs with Zoa/Paly growth?

I have seen an improvement, but that is attributed to the increase in PAR that I achieved with the upgrade to DE's.

Thanks Melev for the contribution.


Mucho

[Reefman79]

What type of lighting are you using? Metal Halide w/ Pc Actinic.

Getting good, great or spectacular growth? Could be better.

Coloration? yes/no I think T5 is the way to go in the future.

Tank size, wattage and K value? 125g ,1 250w MH Ebay 20000k, 2 175w Ebay 14000k + 200w Pc actinics.

PAR? Beats me !

Happy or let down by your choice? Not bad, But could be better.

[MUCHO REEF]

What brand of MH bulb are you using bbspiderman?

[alanmorehead]

What type of lighting are you using?
2x Icecap 660 ballasts
60" lamps (ATI BP, GE, ATI BP, ATI PC, ATI BP, ATI AB)
Tek 2 Reflectors
Mounted 4" above water surface

Getting good, great or spectacular growth?
Great

Coloration?
Great

Tank size, wattage and K value?
180g (300g total)

PAR?
2 week old lamps
At water surface (above water): 825
6" below water: 628
12" below water: 417
At sandbed: 295

Happy or let down by your choice?
Happy (switched from MH)

[MUCHO REEF]

Anyone else want to share their lighting scheme and results?


Mucho

[MUCHO REEF]

Anyone else want to share their lighting scheme and results?


Mucho