DaveR11
Well-Known Member
Guess I must have got lucky. I got a mix of blue/whites and pinks but no actinics. Have you got yours in the house and on the stand yet?
Eric's RSM650
- Thread starter eric w
- Start date
Guess I must have got lucky. I got a mix of blue/whites and pinks but no actinics. Have you got yours in the house and on the stand yet?
DaveR11
Well-Known Member
I will.
Best of luck tomorrow Eric. I was trying to line up 3 friends last night after work but could only manage 2 so hoping to lift the beast onto the stand at the weekend. It will be nice to have some space back in my lounge! Also keen to finish off the construction and get some water in the tank!
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
Actinics is what gives the corals the 'pop' in color, the fluorescence. If you haven't run any actinics, I suggest you get a hold of some and try them out. Adding them to the mix of other bulbs can make a world of difference in coral color.
DaveR11
Well-Known Member
Thanks Oxy.
Do they make much difference to coral growth? I have to confess I find the very blue fluorescent effects somewhat artificial. I love the shots of your tank with the sunlight coming in from the side. I know photosynthesis works on blue and red light but the extreme blue and UV is it important for coral health? My LFS has some fancy LEDs on their display tank and they can alter the spectrum on their smart phone. All very cool but it looks artificial to me....
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
I have 2 actinics out of 6 T5HO bulbs on my tank and it is not blue. Maybe slightly blueish, but not blue....I'm with you there, not liking blue lit tanks.
I mix the 2 actinics with 2x ATI Coral Plus, a ATI RB special and a 10K RS bulb (10K to achieve faster growth). At least that is my current mix. I'm currently mixing it up from what I had been running the last year or so.
You will get the fastest growth with a 10K bulb over a 12K bulb. And you will get faster growth with a 12K bulb over a 14K bulb. The 10K will be more white light and the 14K will be more blue light. The actinics are blue light in the 400-500 wavelength, where the corals fluoresce at.
There are pinks you can through into the mix. The ATI RB special is kinda pinkish.
Having a nice mix of several different bulbs allows you to achieve a light level that you like looking at (white light, slightly blueish, or really blue) and the light levels that bring out the colors in the corals.
Sometimes it takes playing w/a couple different bulbs and the arrangement in the light fixture to find the best combo for you.
I mix the 2 actinics with 2x ATI Coral Plus, a ATI RB special and a 10K RS bulb (10K to achieve faster growth). At least that is my current mix. I'm currently mixing it up from what I had been running the last year or so.
You will get the fastest growth with a 10K bulb over a 12K bulb. And you will get faster growth with a 12K bulb over a 14K bulb. The 10K will be more white light and the 14K will be more blue light. The actinics are blue light in the 400-500 wavelength, where the corals fluoresce at.
There are pinks you can through into the mix. The ATI RB special is kinda pinkish.
Having a nice mix of several different bulbs allows you to achieve a light level that you like looking at (white light, slightly blueish, or really blue) and the light levels that bring out the colors in the corals.
Sometimes it takes playing w/a couple different bulbs and the arrangement in the light fixture to find the best combo for you.
eric w
Active Member
Another question.. I'm likely going to have to run a chiller .. I'm in Vegas.. I'm also going to do a small fuge, and reactors if needed.. So I'm going to do a dedicated pump/manifold.. Here is what I was looking at doing.. Running a pump (I have a mag 12 but could by something else) with 1 inch flex pvc from the sump through the wall to my closet.. It will then hit the manifold.. Gate valves on the outputs.. Then do the same manifold design to receive the outputs from fuge, chiller, etc and have it gravity feed back to the sump with the remaining water from the first manifold (whatever is not used by the chiller, fuge, etc... Plumbed at the end of the second manifold if that makes sense.. Or do I just make it all one big closed loop.. I just didn't know how if the output from let's say a reactor was so little it would have a hard time going back into the second manifold.. Here are some crude pics of what I'm talking about.. One is the tank side wall the other the closet.. Thanks
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Gorgeous !!!
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
Great spot for it, fits that wall perfect.
I like the rockscape proportions too.
I like the rockscape proportions too.
Pat24601
Well-Known Member
Definitely. Looks great!
DaveR11
Well-Known Member
Not got water in mine yet but there are plenty of great S series tank threads on here - Joey, Dave etc where the answers might be. What size filter sock are you using and how are you fixing it (or not) on the down-flow pipes?
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
You might need to raise the water height in the sock chamber to lessen splashing. Just a guess since I never had a RSM.
Pic?
Pic?