Reefkeeping Magazine Tank of the Month Lighting Survey

[sammy33]

I have been following the Tank of the Month on reefkeeping.com for several years now. These reef aquariums have offered tons of inspiration for me.

I began to wonder some things about what type of lighting that these hobbyists were using on their tanks. I decided to survey each of the TOTM (tank of the month) articles starting from the year 2000 to the February 2007 and come up with a list of the most popular lighting arrangements. The list shows the number of TOTM using a certain style lighting. I really wanted a general overview of lighting types without excessive details as there are just too many variables. The results:

http://www.samsreef.com/images/lighting-chart.gif" alt="" />

and the raw numbers:

[B]MH + VHO – 38

MH + PC – 9

MH + T5 – 8

MH – 6

MH + NO – 4

VHO – 3

PC + NO – 3

T5 – 2

PC – 2

T5 + NO – 2

NO – 1

VHO + NO – 1

MH + VHO + T5 – 1

MH + VHO + PC – 1

MH + T5 + PC – 1

MH + VHO + PC + NO – 1

MH + T5 + SUN – 1[/B]

I was not suprised that the metal halide with VHO supplement combo was the most common. The interesting thing was the T5 supplement and T5 only tanks only appear in the last couple years.

The other interesting thing is that my personal vote for the best looking tanks are the ones that use multiple sytles of lighting.

[IMG]http://www.reefcentral.com/totm/2001-08/index.php">August 2001 TOTM </a>
using metal halide, VHO, power compact and normal output fluorescents.

[IMG]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/totm/index.php">February 2006</a>
using metal halide, T5 high output and natural sunlight.

One of my other favorite TOTM is a softy tank that uses only power compact and normal output fluorescent.
[IMG]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.php">August 2004</a>

[IMG]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/subject/totm.php">Here is the whole list of the TOTM's for anyone that is interested.</a>

Why am I posting this? Because I am still trying to decide on the lighting to use on my reef. I have a 125g that has been running for several months with only live rock, live sand and a few cleanup critters. I seem to like LPS and soft corals more than SPS. But, some of the soft corals I want are still light and flow lovers (Sinularia, Sarcophyton). Some of the LPS that I like seem to do better with less light (Acanthastrea, Blastomussa). I like shimmer but do not want heat. Try something kinda new? MH + T5? T5 only? Or go with the tried and true?

Hmm? :unsure:

 

[tsciarini]

This is a great post Sammy! Thanks for the write-up!!
(+rep points)

 

[kh971]

How deep is your tank, dimesions also. This will help in the lighting decision. Alot of people love t-5's. A friend of mine got a par meter and brought it over and we checked his new t-5's next to my 400mh's. His new t-5's are producing almost as much par as my 400 mh reeflux 10k's. I still prefer MH but T-5 are promising.

 

[sammy33]

Tony - Glad you like the post.

kh971 - The tank is 22" deep with 18" from water to sandbed. The footprint is 72" x 18".

My canopy is 8.5" tall but with the recess on the aquarium frame support and the closed loop pipes I only have about 4.5" of clearance for lights. The total clearance from the water is about 6.5".

Now this is a prime situation for a few T5 retrofits. Not really a great situation for metal halide as I fear the low clearance will lead to a heat issue.

I was thinking of cutting holes in the top of the canopy and mounting MH pendants on top? This would get me at least a 6.5" clearance and most of the pendant heat would be outside the canopy.

I am thinking something like three 150w HQI pendants with some T5 actinic supplement.
http://samsreef.com/images/stories/lighting-2.gif" alt="" />

I guess I need to really look at this list of corals that I have and come up with a reference on their lighting requirments:

[B]Soft corals[/B]
Zoanthid [I]Zoanthus sp.</em>
Mushroom Coral [I]Actinodiscus</em>
Ricordea [I]Ricodea florida</em>
Green Polyp Toadstool Leather [I]Sarcophyton sp.</em>
Fiji Yellow Leather [I]Sarcophyton elegans</em>
Green Finger Leather [I]Sinularia</em>
Green Pineapple Tree [I]Capnella</em>
Clove Polyp [I]Clavularia</em>

[B]Hard Corals[/B]
Orange Plate Coral [I]Montipora Capricornus</em>
Red Blasto [I]Blastomussa</em>
Red Open Brain [I]Trachyphyllia sp.</em>
Green Candy Cane [I]Caulastrea</em>
Frogspawn [I]Euphyllia</em>

I can make some generalizations like - Medium to Medium-High Lighting for the corals on this list, but how do I quantify that?

I would much rather have a more specific reference for light requirements.
<ul>
<li>At what depth is a certain coral usually found?</li>
<li>What lumen level is a certain coral usually exposed to?</li>
<li>What PAR level does a certain coral usually receive?</li>
<li>What spectrum - i.e. more blue, less blue?</li>
</ul>

There must be some reference books that contain some of this information? I know that [B]Julian Sprungs Corals Reference Guide [/B]has a chart with a 1-10 range for lighting values. Most other references use the low, medium and high light requirements. [B]Tullocks Natural Reef Aquarium [/B]refers to depths that corals are found at. [B]Delbeek and Sprungs Reef Aquarium Vol. 3[/B] has a good bit of information on lumens intensity on the oceans surface. [B]Sanjay Joshi Reef Lighting Archive[/B] website has PAR and spectrum values. Now I would like to see this information compiled into a basic reference that says this coral requires this much light (lumens and PAR) with this spectrum (more or less blue based on it's native depth) and should be placed at this level in the aquarium.

Hmm? :huh:

 

[kh971]

The 150 HQI would be a great way to go, especially with the setup you drew out. You would also get a bigger variety of bulbs to use.

 

[matttvi]

3x 150w or 3x 175w for just a little more PPFD...

Nice info, I'd give you some rep., but I have to spread it around more...

 

[kwl1763]

My question would be do you plan on keeping any of the more ligh loving things in the future? Acros, Croceas, etc?

If not I would go pure T5s and I'm a big MH guy but there is just no need with those corals.

 

[sammy33]

kwl1763 wrote: My question would be do you plan on keeping any of the more ligh loving things in the future? Acros, Croceas, etc?

If not I would go pure T5s and I'm a big MH guy but there is just no need with those corals.

Now see...there is a good question. I actually am split right down the middle. :unsure: I do love zoanthids and have started on a decent little collection of them. I also like acanthastrea and blastomussa (have a couple of those too). My softies and LPS are under T5's and seeming doing well.

Then on the other hand I have a few acros, a crocea or two and a rose bubble tip anemone all of which seem to be starved for light (little to no color on the SPS). These guys were under a 150HQI 20K that I upgraded today to a 150HQI 10K with 64w PC actinics (Current Sundial fixture). These guys are only in 12" of water so I expect that they will improve with the almost doubled PAR. :confused2:

I have probably put way too much thought into this lighting thing. Part of the problem is that my 125g has been running with live rock, live sand, minimal light, a skimmer, a couple of snails and a hermit or two since last September. Going on 6 months now...talk about letting a tank cycle.

I was pretty well set on the LPS softy thing (6 months ago)...but now I have taken a fancy for the challenge of keeping SPS. I stumble on to threads

 

[tsciarini]

sammy33 wrote: I stumble on to threads http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1053276">like this one on RC about an awesome SPS reef</a> and begin to change my thinking. Hmm?[/QUOTE]

A fine example of how to spend ALOT of money on a system. I was quite impressed until I saw the tank go from "average" to "AMAZING" in the period of about three months (May7th2006 - July24th2006).
The majority of the corals were bought as VERY large colonies.
Tho I do admit, I'm very jealous and he still gets my respect for the design and maintenance of a system like that. I'm still impressed anyway. lol
I'm only dreaming of the day my system can mature to a stage a percentage of that!!!

 

[sprayin70]

WOW!!!!!!!! One day. LOL!

 

[dough]

Sam, did you see a change in the numbers of T5 tanks in the last few years as they have began to get more popular in the last year and half?

 

[sammy33]

Yes, most of the T5 lit tanks was in the last year or two. I am thinking that we will see more T5 tank of the months this year.