That Fish Place in PA anyone? And light question

CoralReeferGal · 09/16/2017, 04:07 PM

Curious if anyone happens to know what lighting they use. We got a rainbow acan from them, was GORGEOUS in store but looks dull under our MH. Weve been thinking about switching lighting anyway, since MH get so hot and eats up so much electricity... Which leads to my 2nd question, would it be harmful to our 15 year established tank to all of a sudden change lighting??

kuzko · 09/16/2017, 04:26 PM

No idea about the store you're speaking of but I don't imagine there's any reason you couldn't call them and ask them, they'll probably remember the frag and exactly what tank/lights it was in/under.

To answer your questions - Harmful is not the right word, but it will definitely shock some stuff if you were to switch over to LEDs/T5s. Bigger question though is what spectrum/brand bulb do you use, when is the last time it was changed, how powerful is it (wattage), how deep is your tank, and how high is the BULB above the water (not the ballast but the bulb). All of these things will play a factor. There is no reason you shouldn't have the same color if you're using 20K radiums with a pulse start ballast, but if you're using 14-16K bulbs then you should expect the color loss. On top of that you should really consider supplementing with T5's/LEDs if you don't already. Even corals under 20K halides will benefit from additional T5/LED spectrums.

Ngoodermuth · 09/16/2017, 06:56 PM

They use radion gen 2 pros, and heavy on the blues. Not really good spectrum long term, but makes the LPS pop.

On a separate note, make sure you QT any fish bought there...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Krzydmnd · 09/16/2017, 09:34 PM

If That Fish Place is local to you I strongly suggest checking out Aquarium Specialists in Malvern as an alternative. . I drive the extra half hour from Carlisle to buy from Mike at AS. . You will not be disappointed and will actually have someone to talk to.

CoralReeferGal · 09/16/2017, 10:32 PM

Thank you so much guys! I did finally get a hold of someone who told me they used eco tech radions. I've never been super impressed with their fish, but as far as I knew, they were the only local place with saltwater. We actually recently got a decent sized gorgeous blue mandarin Dragonet who's doing awesome... I'm suprised because I've always heard how hard they are to keep.

Well definitely have to check out AS. Malvern isnt too far from us! Thanks for the tip!

SAT · 09/18/2017, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krzydmnd

If That Fish Place is local to you I strongly suggest checking out Aquarium Specialists in Malvern as an alternative. . I drive the extra half hour from Carlisle to buy from Mike at AS. . You will not be disappointed and will actually have someone to talk to.

jda · 09/18/2017, 07:55 PM

You can have beautiful corals with lots of pop under MH. Most stores illuminate the coral to sell them, not to keep them... so when you put them under other light sources they can look dull. If it is meant to be, it will get actual color in your tank.

Light has a few functions. One is to actually color coral. The other is to show it off. Most overly blue LEDs in stores just show off coral.

Here is one of my acans under 14K MH. I kept the egg crate in there so you can see that it is actually white and the photo is not doctored at all. The one pops a bit better in person, but I would rather undersell it than oversell:

soulpatch · 09/19/2017, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krzydmnd

If That Fish Place is local to you I strongly suggest checking out Aquarium Specialists in Malvern as an alternative. . I drive the extra half hour from Carlisle to buy from Mike at AS. . You will not be disappointed and will actually have someone to talk to.

Not to mention Mike is easily 1/2 the cost of TPP and with better stock. TPP has gone to hell in recent years and new ownership has not helped. outside of dry goods, salt, and food I wont step foot int hat store.

I will go there to stock up on salt though and grab a few boxes of IO. Getting it for 30 for a 200 gal box with their coupons is a decent deal....

09/16/2017, 04:07 PM	#1
CoralReeferGal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Amish Country, PA Posts: 775	That Fish Place in PA anyone? And light question Curious if anyone happens to know what lighting they use. We got a rainbow acan from them, was GORGEOUS in store but looks dull under our MH. Weve been thinking about switching lighting anyway, since MH get so hot and eats up so much electricity... Which leads to my 2nd question, would it be harmful to our 15 year established tank to all of a sudden change lighting?? __________________ Sarah 120 gal established 15+ years, Home to a pair of clowns, Professor Khaos (the diamond goby), Oscar (green mandarin dragonette), and Larry the (purple reef) Lobster.

09/16/2017, 04:26 PM	#2
kuzko Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 147	No idea about the store you're speaking of but I don't imagine there's any reason you couldn't call them and ask them, they'll probably remember the frag and exactly what tank/lights it was in/under. To answer your questions - Harmful is not the right word, but it will definitely shock some stuff if you were to switch over to LEDs/T5s. Bigger question though is what spectrum/brand bulb do you use, when is the last time it was changed, how powerful is it (wattage), how deep is your tank, and how high is the BULB above the water (not the ballast but the bulb). All of these things will play a factor. There is no reason you shouldn't have the same color if you're using 20K radiums with a pulse start ballast, but if you're using 14-16K bulbs then you should expect the color loss. On top of that you should really consider supplementing with T5's/LEDs if you don't already. Even corals under 20K halides will benefit from additional T5/LED spectrums. __________________ "Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah" - Charlie Browns teacher I've lost count of how many tanks I have so I guess just Insert generic tank specs here

09/16/2017, 10:32 PM	#5
CoralReeferGal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Amish Country, PA Posts: 775	Thank you so much guys! I did finally get a hold of someone who told me they used eco tech radions. I've never been super impressed with their fish, but as far as I knew, they were the only local place with saltwater. We actually recently got a decent sized gorgeous blue mandarin Dragonet who's doing awesome... I'm suprised because I've always heard how hard they are to keep. Well definitely have to check out AS. Malvern isnt too far from us! Thanks for the tip! __________________ Sarah 120 gal established 15+ years, Home to a pair of clowns, Professor Khaos (the diamond goby), Oscar (green mandarin dragonette), and Larry the (purple reef) Lobster.

09/16/2017, 06:56 PM	#3
Ngoodermuth Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: York, PA Posts: 162	They use radion gen 2 pros, and heavy on the blues. Not really good spectrum long term, but makes the LPS pop. On a separate note, make sure you QT any fish bought there... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

09/16/2017, 09:34 PM	#4
Krzydmnd Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 48	If That Fish Place is local to you I strongly suggest checking out Aquarium Specialists in Malvern as an alternative. . I drive the extra half hour from Carlisle to buy from Mike at AS. . You will not be disappointed and will actually have someone to talk to.

09/18/2017, 07:55 PM	#7
jda Dogmatic Dinosaur Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 6,256	You can have beautiful corals with lots of pop under MH. Most stores illuminate the coral to sell them, not to keep them... so when you put them under other light sources they can look dull. If it is meant to be, it will get actual color in your tank. Light has a few functions. One is to actually color coral. The other is to show it off. Most overly blue LEDs in stores just show off coral. Here is one of my acans under 14K MH. I kept the egg crate in there so you can see that it is actually white and the photo is not doctored at all. The one pops a bit better in person, but I would rather undersell it than oversell: