Enough for sps in a 17" deep tank?

[FritoBandito]

Hey guys, I have a 4x39w Tek Light T5 setup over my 46g bow. Its 17" deep, and has a dsb of almost 3". So at its deepest, its 15" max at the lowest level of sand. Is this enough light to keep any sps, if so could you post some pics or give me some examples of some to start with, thanks guys!

[bmartin]

you could keep some monti caps and the digitota. You could also keep some pocilpora.

[SnookSlayer08]

I'm no expert on HOT5's but I have a single 150w halide over my ap24 which is 17" deep and keep frags of my sps on the bottom no problem.

[FritoBandito]

Thanks for the input guys, wife's lookin to get me some xmas gifts and I told her I wanted to convert the 46g into a reef tank. Monti caps are her favorite too lol.

[FritoBandito]

So my wife got me a 2.5" x 1.25" orange monti cap frag yesterday as a xmas gift. Cost $20, and it looks great. I've got it in the upper third of my tank, currently my light setup is from front to back

Aquablue +
Midday 6000k
Aquasun 10000k
Aquablue +

Current setup has quite a bit of yellow to it, what bulb should I replace and with what bulb should i use to get a crisper more white look? Thanks for the help.

[BNS77]

14k depending on what brand bulb u get. Go to the lighting forum alot of info on which bulbs are what. Some bulbs manufacturers state 14K for instance but actually may be 20K or 10k depending on who makes it.

[FritoBandito]

Hey thanks for the reply, got a quick correction, my front and back bulbs are just blue plus's not aquablue plus's. Should I still be lookin into a 14k?

[BNS77]

Well the blues are going to make the color POP more. The 6000k is a really yellow spectrum as is 10k but not as much. Like I said look at the lighting forum on which bulb is best. One manufacturers may say its 14k but actually be 10k. and vice versa it may be closer to 20

[BNS77]

with the blues you already have a true 20k will be to blue for u IMO. It depends on personal preference.

[FritoBandito]

Yeah, I like the blue look, definately alot more than the yellow look i'm getting now with all the lights on. I'm lookin at replaciing the midday 6000k with a 14k, hopefully that'll give it a crisp whiter look when all the lights are on. I'm currently reading in the lighting forum on bulb choice.

[Reefaddict79]

I have acropora valida under t5s and it looks GREAT. really good color and reasonable growth. I would recomend giving it a try

[FritoBandito]

What bulb setup do you have Reefaddict? I'm currently tryin to decifer which bulb i need to replace and what bulb will go in to get rid of the yellow look when all 4 lights are on....pics of your tank and the acro would be great. I just got my first coral, its an orange monti cap. Hope it grows great, the color right now is a dark orange almost brown so hope that changes to a brighter orange too....

[ataller]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14003719#post14003719 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FritoBandito
Hey guys, I have a 4x39w Tek Light T5 setup over my 46g bow. Its 17" deep, and has a dsb of almost 3". So at its deepest, its 15" max at the lowest level of sand. Is this enough light to keep any sps, if so could you post some pics or give me some examples of some to start with, thanks guys!

I light a 30 gallon long with a 4x39w tek fixture. There is nothing that I cannot keep.

Get some good bulbs (ATI are very good) and you will be good to go. Right now I have 2 Aquablues and 2 Blue+. I used to run 2 Blue+, 1 aquasun and 1 aquablue but I found that was too purple.

Blue+ are a great compromise between PAR and blue light. You could probably light the tank with all blue+ though I think that would be way to blue (at least for my taste).

Adam

[FritoBandito]

Hey adam checked out the pics on your red house. Pictures are awesome, two quick questions for you: What bulb setup do you have from front to back? What camera do you have, looking to get one come tax refund time.

[chadfarmer]

you can keep acros on the bottom of your tank

[teddyb]

my sps are kinda browned out under a 4x39watt T5 current sundial. I put a green birdsnest at the bottom and it is one of the few sps that look good in my tank. Are all monti's easy to keep? I have a cap that is doing good, but i wanted to get a rainbow and sunset.