elegance...sick?

[tony1021]

is my elegance coral sick or does it not open up more than this?

 

[tony1021]

 

[melosu58]

A few questions? What type lighting do you have? How much flow is where he is?

 

[tony1021]

at the moment i have pc with dual 65 watts daylight (current usa) and dual 65 watt royal blue (coralife)

flow where he is at is moderate to low...should i redirect my ph to give it more current?

 

[tony1021]

everything else in the tank opens up fine

 

[tony1021]

bump...

 

[melosu58]

I personally dont think you have enough lighting. And even though the WPG rule is quite broad you are only about 2 wpg which is not much. PC`s are not high on intensity either. Just my observation

 

[tony1021]

im considering buying a T5...do you think this is worth it Nova Extreme Pro T5 High Output Lighting Fixture - 6 x 18W - 20 in. | T5 Lighting | Lighting Systems | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

only thing is that i was doing the math...108 / 55 gallons is 1.96 wpg...you mentioned above that the ratio is not good...

right now with my pc's i have 2 96watt bulbs which gives me 3.49 wpg???

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Hmm... which is it, 2x 96W or 2x 65W? Yesterday you said 2x 65W.

Regardless, it doesn't look abnormal to me. In a low flow area, the tentacles won't get very long. But expansion-wise... it looks fine to me.

 

[tony1021]

Hmm... which is it, 2x 96W or 2x 65W? Yesterday you said 2x 65W.

Regardless, it doesn't look abnormal to me. In a low flow area, the tentacles won't get very long. But expansion-wise... it looks fine to me.

my bad, got confused...it is 2 x 65w...

i still don't understand how T5's would be better if i would only get 108w instead of 130w i have now

if someone could clarify this i would really appreciate it

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Pretty sure someone can explain it better than me since I've never fully understood that either. But...

It all gets down to intensity. The T5HO may use fewer Watts, but they are more intense... I think the measurement of it is in "PAR". And the increased intensity also penetrates deeper into the tank. So for a given Wattage, the T5HO setup give more PAR at deeper levels, providing more photosynthetic energy to the corals. Same goes with Metal Halide... even more intense than T5HO.

 

[melosu58]

It all gets down to intensity. The T5HO may use fewer Watts, but they are more intense... I think the measurement of it is in "PAR". And the increased intensity also penetrates deeper into the tank. So for a given Wattage, the T5HO setup give more PAR at deeper levels, providing more photosynthetic energy to the corals. Same goes with Metal Halide... even more intense than T5HO.

Right on the money

 

[pat8you]

Agree with kurt. T5 is usually a little better at penetrating water but it would be my guess that because you would have less wattage it would balance out to about equal. If you are going to upgrade i would save up for a 4 bulb or higher T5 fixture.

The coral looks fine to me expansion-wise as well. I have heard elegance corals do appreciate occasional feeding. Just don't over feed and foul your water.

 

[tony1021]

about feeding the coral, i've been feeding it everyother day. i'll feed it some phytoplankton one day then next time some mysis...

about the T5 fixture there is a 24" 4 bulb 24w ea and a 24" 6 bulb 18w ea...i'm going to go with the 6 bulb because of the extra wattage.

the problem i have is i know i need a stronger light but since i have a corner tank i can't fit a larger lamp so im stuck with low wattage unless i go with metal hallide and i really can't afford that now nor anytime soon

thanks for clarifying my concern about lighting though

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I'd skip the phytoplankton... that's not what it eats. Mysis and other meaty foods (chopped clams and the like) are OK though.

 

[tony1021]

sounds good...thanks

 

[tony1021]

haven't gotten the new lamps yet but the elegance seems to be doing much better...