JP's 240. A decade of work.

[rtparty]

Joe,

ATI LED PowerModule. Problem solved. It would already be up and running had you gone that route. I absolutely love mine and they're only getting better!

[Maximus]

I love that blue stag in the first pic. Who owns it? I'm also thinking about a fixture that will incorporate all three technologies. I have the Kessil and ordered a t5. My next order could be a 250 watt d/e hqi fixture.

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by rtparty

Joe,

ATI LED PowerModule. Problem solved. It would already be up and running had you gone that route. I absolutely love mine and they're only getting better!

I was just waiting for pictures of your blue corals to pull the trigger

No seriously I think that is an AWESOME fixture that is 99.9% of what I wanted and when I first started looking to replace my Sfiligois it was number one on my shopping list BUT I really really want to try and get my SPS to spawn. I've seen videos of SPS spawning in aquariums online and the one common thread seems to be the use of artificial moonlight with phases. So if ATI would go one step further in their programming and make a moonlight that is phase controlled, I would be on that like a fly on manure

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

I was just waiting for pictures of your blue corals to pull the trigger

No seriously I think that is an AWESOME fixture that is 99.9% of what I wanted and when I first started looking to replace my Sfiligois it was number one on my shopping list BUT I really really want to try and get my SPS to spawn. I've seen videos of SPS spawning in aquariums online and the one common thread seems to be the use of artificial moonlight with phases. So if ATI would go one step further in their programming and make a moonlight that is phase controlled, I would be on that like a fly on manure

Lol you're funny! I actually don't own any blue SPS but will go get one and try it out. On my little tank, colors can be tough to keep at times. Stability is tough with only 20 gallons...

Moonlight phases could be incorporated by ATI in the future but I haven't heard anything.

[jschultzbass]

Originally Posted by Maximus

I love that blue stag in the first pic. Who owns it? I'm also thinking about a fixture that will incorporate all three technologies. I have the Kessil and ordered a t5. My next order could be a 250 watt d/e hqi fixture.

That is Copps Aussie Azure Stag. I got a frag from him myself under T5s right now. I hope it maintains its color under my new LEDs!

[jschultzbass]

I sure hope mine comes in. He said 4 weeks. I ordered the biggest Pandora....not cheap. I will not be happy if I get the runaround. You got me worried now Joe!

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by jschultzbass

I sure hope mine comes in. He said 4 weeks. I ordered the biggest Pandora....not cheap. I will not be happy if I get the runaround. You got me worried now Joe!

No need to worry alone. We're in the same bucket. Just don't let my schizo obsession of SPS drive you to any rash decisions. Pac Sun is one of the best LED makers out there.

[cFloor]

Today I read through this entire thread. I learned quite a lot and you gave me a great deal of inspiration. I'm also going through a lighting change at the moment and am a little nervous about doing so. Im looking forward to following along with your "new tank." Thanks for the good read, eye candy, and motivation!

[yuckywacky]

Joe i hope you dont ever go offline. For some reason your thread is very capivating. Maybe its the scape,the anemone, the struggles you went thru..i dont know. Im saving the last 2 pages for tonight before bed. I usually save the best read for last. BOL

[biggles]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

I was just waiting for pictures of your blue corals to pull the trigger

No seriously I think that is an AWESOME fixture that is 99.9% of what I wanted and when I first started looking to replace my Sfiligois it was number one on my shopping list BUT I really really want to try and get my SPS to spawn. I've seen videos of SPS spawning in aquariums online and the one common thread seems to be the use of artificial moonlight with phases. So if ATI would go one step further in their programming and make a moonlight that is phase controlled, I would be on that like a fly on manure

In regards to coral spawning and moonlight, how would you explain an acro spawning 9 months after being collected from a Western Aus reef and kept in a room with one window that was basically blacked out to prevent the neighbours freaking out over the blue glow. The acro never received any light but 400W Radiums and overdriven T8 actinics. Standard daylight 8/12 hours for the bulbs and near total darkness the rest of the time. The acro spawned the exact same night that the reefs off Western Aus spawned and failed to spawn again the following year. Eric Borneman thought it suggested the spawning event was 'locked in' prior to collection 3 months after the years previous spawn on the reefs. It could still be the moon phases responsible but the example above would lead you to believe that the timing is set earlier perhaps than thought, no idea but i thought i'd make the choice of lighting set up you're thinking about even more confusing Joe, that's what SPS mates are for...

[Big E]

T5s tend to make corals look pastel, which is beautiful, but I simply prefer the more saturated look of the metal halides.

Hi Joe,

Just wanted touch on this........I'm not sure where this is coming from? I think part of the issue is people that use these fixtures have them too low and with too many bulbs......the high par makes the corals pastel. Many people are also driving their nutients so low it's no wonder corals are pastel.

I can only comment on my T5 lighting and I have no issue with bleaching or dark blues.
My light is old school-- DIY ice cap ballast overdriven. Par ranges from 500 to the top to 200 at the bottom.

My Tort I've had for almost 10 years is every bit as deep and dark as it was under my halides. My deep reds are much better under t5 than I ever got with my MH.

I think since the advent of the Coral+ bulb it has been easier to get the colors you're talking about..............deep and vivid which is also a passion and demand for me also.

I don't want to clutter your thread with pictures, so you can go here at your leisure, just one for reference.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...2197142&page=5

[IMG][/IMG]

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by yuckywacky

Joe i hope you dont ever go offline. For some reason your thread is very capivating. Maybe its the scape,the anemone, the struggles you went thru..i dont know. Im saving the last 2 pages for tonight before bed. I usually save the best read for last. BOL

Thank-you! I do try and make it entertaining and informative so it just makes me smile when I know some folks are actually enjoying this thread

Originally Posted by biggles

Eric Borneman thought it suggested the spawning event was 'locked in' prior to collection 3 months after the years previous spawn on the reefs.


. . . no idea but i thought i'd make the choice of lighting set up you're thinking about even more confusing Joe, that's what SPS mates are for...

That is way cool no matter what the reason was, and I'm so light crazy you'd be hard pressed to make me any crazier

Originally Posted by Big E

Hi Joe,

Just wanted touch on this........I'm not sure where this is coming from?

You have some amazing corals! I couldn't agree more. T5s can and do produce great, awesome, and deep colors, BUT the corals LOOK different to my eye and I think they have different coloration as well. Photos online are a really lousy way to compare, but just look at your 10 year old tort and my tort when it was 10 - both are spectacular and beautiful but I would say definitely not the same . . . super close, but not exactly the same. I really believe metal halides just make a different looking tank. Not better, not worse just different and my personal preference is most definitely the metal halide look.









The Pac Sun fixtures arrived today, but in all my craziness I'm pretty sure I'm not even going to open the box. I think I'm going to put them up for sale if Pac Sun won't take them back. After much soul searching I realize I do not believe in my "Heart of hearts" that the LEDs will give me the growth and color I want. There is simply no tank I have yet seen that uses LEDs that I want to mimic. What I really wanted was moonlight and a nice dawn dusk and a replacement for my Sfiligois. Somewhere along the way I convinced myself that it would be ok to try Pac Sun because it seemed to offer it all, but now I realize I really don't trust LEDs yet and more to the point I talked to the boys at Giesemann and found out they offer a 400 watt Spectra with 4x54 watt dimmable T5s AND a MOONLIGHT option! Sadly I may eat a big loss on the Pac Sun fixtures, but then it's only money


Gotta love Fed Ex delivery though . . . .









Finally, I want to note that I am LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVIN' my new Tunze Sea Sweeps. I think the variable flow I'm getting will make for some spectacularly beautiful growth forms. Perfect tables, awesome bottlebrushes, and nice round seris. We'll see!

[jdamon]

I can completely understand why you like MH more, but if you are gonna take a loss on the PS's anyway, why not try em' out? Throw them up for a month or two and see what you think, you will be able to sell them for the same money after two months.

[NaH2Ofreak]

LOL! Sent my Hydra 52 fixture back this morning. I just don't trust the LED's with my tank full of extremely valued (not necessarily "valuable") coral. I tried it for a week and became a little inpatient with the dimness of the fixture. Ended up turning up the blue a bit and toasted the coralline and started a little bleaching spot on one coral. The LED's were only up for a week but I knew they weren't for me. Boxed 'em up and sent 'em back. Put the old gman infinity, 250W DE 14K, 4 T5, blue plus, fixture back up and that completes my curiosity about LED's.

[blackthunda77]

Gotta love Fed Ex delivery though . . . .

[/QUOTE]


UPS is not much better. This is how i found my salt this evening. Didnt even bother to climb the 3 steps up to my door and leave it under the covered lanai.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by NaH2Ofreak

LOL! Sent my Hydra 52 fixture back this morning. I just don't trust the LED's with my tank full of extremely valued (not necessarily "valuable") coral. I tried it for a week and became a little inpatient with the dimness of the fixture. Ended up turning up the blue a bit and toasted the coralline and started a little bleaching spot on one coral. The LED's were only up for a week but I knew they weren't for me. Boxed 'em up and sent 'em back. Put the old gman infinity, 250W DE 14K, 4 T5, blue plus, fixture back up and that completes my curiosity about LED's.

I'm in the same boat as you and bought a Kessil a360 and your absolutely right about the dimness of LED's. I've ran nothing but 250 d/e and 400 watt halides in the past 20 years and I just cannot get used to the dimness of LED's, Luckily, I bought a Sunlight Supply MH reflector from Reefgeek on clearance as I had a feeling LED's were not meant for me. I prefer an extremely brightly lit tank and LED's just don't cut it in that department. I'm going to give the Kessil's a month or so and if I can't get used to the brightness or if the acro frags start bleaching, I will be finished with LED's for good.

[Big E]

Not better, not worse just different and my personal preference is most definitely the metal halide look.

Yup, I agree it's different................I was referencing that T5's = pastel coral........not true at all.

[vitodog]

JP, What exactly are Tunze Sea Sweeps? I went on their web page and could not find them. Thank you.

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by jdamon

I can completely understand why you like MH more, but if you are gonna take a loss on the PS's anyway, why not try em' out? Throw them up for a month or two and see what you think, you will be able to sell them for the same money after two months.

Hey Jeff,

No doubt Pac Sun has some of the best LED fixtures on the market today, and many users have beautiful tanks.

My issue is that I genuinely believe I would incur some losses from the experiment. There are countless stories about LED and SPS success stories, but when you dig deeper there is always that chalice or scoly or acro that somehow died during the transition. I thought I would overcome that by gradually acclimating my corals, but as time got closer and I saw some PAR readings for the Pac Sun lights and I realized that it just wouldn't be possible to rely on the four T5 tubes long enough to acclimate everyone safely. It should have been obvious to me before I bought them, but the truth is I didn't "get it" until this weekend. Bottom line: I don't want to risk losing any coral by trying LEDs. I need new fixtures because my Sfiligoi's are broken, but that's not a reason to try LEDs on my main tank.

Originally Posted by vitodog

JP, What exactly are Tunze Sea Sweeps? I went on their web page and could not find them. Thank you.

Sorry about that. I knew the term "Tunze Sea Sweep" would cause confusion. They are Sea Sweeps made by Sea Swirl that attach to Tunzes. The variable flow I now have is the best flow I have had since I got into this hobby.




I'll try taking a video later today

[JPMagyar]

Turns out Pac Sun has a "No Returns Policy". I respect their rights, but boy that seems shortsighted. Anyways, anyone looking for a deal on a Pandora S2 light can find a good bargain right here:

2 Pandora Hyperion S2s For Sale

[jdamon]

Got it Joe! If I had a tank full of 10 year old beauties, I would be sceptical also. I have the luxury of starting from scratch. There is definitely something to be said for corals being acclimatized to certain conditions, and changing those doesn't guarantee success. Good luck with the sale and the new geissmans!

[jdamon]

Oh, I also bought 2 mp40's in the Black Friday sale... And then I saw the sea sweeps . They do look really amazing, and I think the tunze's are quieter. Oh well, I will try the mp40's and maybe go for the sea sweeps in a year or something. Doh!

[mrdobie]

take pride and show it off your work has paid off.

[biggles]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

Somewhere along the way I convinced myself that it would be ok to try Pac Sun because it seemed to offer it all, but now I realize I really don't trust LEDs yet and more to the point I talked to the boys at Giesemann and found out they offer a 400 watt Spectra with 4x54 watt dimmable T5s AND a MOONLIGHT option! Sadly I may eat a big loss on the Pac Sun fixtures, but then it's only money

Don't forget to store the 400W Radium bulbs away from the tank until you're ready to use them Joe, acros will crawl out of the tank to get to them if they get a sniff of a Radium...........

[jschultzbass]

Well I have never used MH, just T5 on my tank. Hopefully my Pandora will do well on my new build. I understand what you're saying though Joe and I think if I wasn't already getting the PacSun I would be getting the 400W Spectra myself. I'll keep you updated on mine if you like though!