bleaching on new acro coral.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
ive done some research on the radium bulbs. the par values and a little bit lower then some 10k bulbs. but compared to most 14k and 20k bulbs it is fairly high.

also radium bulbs give best colors and par output with hamilton magnetic balasts. i ordered 1 and ill give it a shot. fixture should be here today.
 
i have 2 fixtures to choose from. i ordered both. the 18" odyssea which has a basic 14k 150w de bulb 2 t5 actinics. and the hamilton caymen hanging pendant with magnetic ballast for the radium 20k bulb. also it has 6 nightview leds built in.

im not sure how the performance of the radium bulb would be with the ballast that came with the odyssea. like a said before. ive read that the radium and phoenix bulbs are tempermental, and like certain ballasts. to be more specific radium bulbs will have a shorter life span and have a much more blue color with certain ballasts. so ive heard.

the reflector on the hamilton light is much better and i can mount it a little higher from the water to control heat.
 
now that i have the new lights, i plan to give acros another try. i deceided on a few small frags. apparently these 2 that i ordered are not as difficult as some others.

also i moved out my urchins and put them in the fuge. they can do tissue damage to stony corals. so ive heard.

anyone interested in a few long spined urchins? i have 4 all golf ball sized.

the corals i odered are
1-acropora valida tri colored
2-acropora echinata blue

both captive grown.
 
Yup, I was referring to par values. They are the best "blue halides" IMO, but compared to a good 10 or 14k bulb, in general, much lower par. Most par values drop substantially as you go up in K rating. Not all, but most.

I would use the Hamilton stuff if you have both already. Hamilton, while not the most expensive, has been around a while and makes solid stuff. I think their reflectors are among the best on the market.

Did you get a par meter?

Validas are pretty good choices, echinatas aren't bad, there are certainly worse choices to make. I wouldn't consider either of these to be among the easier Acros, but they aren't the hardest either. Having been aquacultured helps A LOT.

Good luck.
 
i didnt pick up a par meter yet. i really dont think its a neccessity at this point.

1 good thing is that im keeping them under the same lighting as far as kelvin and type (mh) as they were grown.

i think that will give them a better chance.

the 1 thing i like about the odyssea fixture is the actinics. i only use them for an hour before and after the mh but they look nice.
 
Thats mainly what I use them for as well...gives you that crazy glow stuff to enjoy a whole new aspect to your tank, I also feed my chalices during that time.
 
chalice?

i did a drip acclimate for about 30 minutes with the new corals. did a 5 minute revive drip also. put them on a frag rack towards the front bottom. turned only actinics on for a few minutes. they opened right up and showed color. u turned off all lights except night leds until tommarow and lowered the mh timers to 6 hours with 2 eggcrates on top of the tank. ill do this for a week and see how it works.

i left the current the same. about 1200 gph.
 
Chalice is a kind of plating coral.

Everything sounds good to me, glad to hear you using a coral dip, hopefully that prevents anything nasty from getting into your tank.
 
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