Surprise change in reef and at a crossroad with lighting

trameaa · 09/03/2012, 09:45 AM

Sorry so long-winded...

I've had a reef system in some form for about 4 years now. It has been through several iterations, but is now a 75 gallon mixed reef, pretty much fully automated system.
For the last year or so, I was running 2 x 175w Iwasaki 15k bulbs in lumenbright reflectors running off Galaxy select-a-watt ballasts which I did so I'd have the option of going to a 250w bulb.
Anyway, over the last year I really struggled with SPS, they would grow just fine, but ultimately fade to pastel colors.
I always thought it was a nutrient and flow issue, so I moved to MP40's and used GFO and carbon pretty aggresively, but that didn't seem to help.
One day I discovered that one of the branches from a blue stag had broken off and fallen to the bottom of the tank. Much to my surprise, it was a beautiful blue/green color, just like it was supposed to be.
This seemed to point to too much light.

Shortly after this, a really bad storm came through my area, and we lost power for a full week. I wasn't able to keep all the critical systems on the tank running, no lights for a week, etc.
Needless to say, I lost just about all my SPS during the outage, which was a real setback, and I felt responsible for the loss of that life.
I was so frustrated with the whole thing that I let the tank sit for over a month and didn't touch it at all.
During this month, I kept the topoff and dosing pumps running, and fed my fish (which all survived much to my surprise) but the GFO, carbon, and protein skimmer were completely offline.

Over the last week, I started the cleanup effort and started bringing everything back online, but I had not run any tests.
Yesterday, I ran a series of tests to check the water chemistry. Much to my surprise:

Salinity 35
Alk 10.5
Cal ~400

Coralline algae has also grown all over the back of the tank, and even started to take hold on the front and side glass.
Next thing I did was pull out my Hanna ULR Phosphate test and check the phosphate levels.

Unreal, completely undetectable even on the Hanna ULR.
I did it twice because I thought I was going crazy - same result.
....and there is no visible algae in the tank, other than coralline.

It seems like over the last month with me just not touching anything, and letting the tank just do whatever they do when you leave them alone, there has been some kind of shift in the water chemistry or change in the tank and its "balance". Does this make sense to anyone, or am I going crazy??

Now I'm starting to rebuild, and going with a new approach of keeping my hands out of the tank and leaving things alone unless there's a good reason to intervene.

However, I do need to make a choice on lighting. I'd like to make a choice, then leave it the heck alone until the bulbs need replacing. These are the bulbs I have available to pick from currently:

2x250w Radium
2x175w Iwasaki 15k
2x175w AB 10000

What do you guys think? I don't mind the white/yellow color of a full-spectrum bulb at all, but I also don't want to torch my new inhabitants as I start introducing more life back into the tank.

Could really use some input/thoughts.

Peter Eichler · 09/03/2012, 10:40 AM

I've used many many bulbs through the years. If you don't mind something a little on the blue side, I haven't seen anything that can top Radiums when it comes to coral color.

09/03/2012, 09:45 AM	#1
trameaa Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 19	Surprise change in reef and at a crossroad with lighting Sorry so long-winded... I've had a reef system in some form for about 4 years now. It has been through several iterations, but is now a 75 gallon mixed reef, pretty much fully automated system. For the last year or so, I was running 2 x 175w Iwasaki 15k bulbs in lumenbright reflectors running off Galaxy select-a-watt ballasts which I did so I'd have the option of going to a 250w bulb. Anyway, over the last year I really struggled with SPS, they would grow just fine, but ultimately fade to pastel colors. I always thought it was a nutrient and flow issue, so I moved to MP40's and used GFO and carbon pretty aggresively, but that didn't seem to help. One day I discovered that one of the branches from a blue stag had broken off and fallen to the bottom of the tank. Much to my surprise, it was a beautiful blue/green color, just like it was supposed to be. This seemed to point to too much light. Shortly after this, a really bad storm came through my area, and we lost power for a full week. I wasn't able to keep all the critical systems on the tank running, no lights for a week, etc. Needless to say, I lost just about all my SPS during the outage, which was a real setback, and I felt responsible for the loss of that life. I was so frustrated with the whole thing that I let the tank sit for over a month and didn't touch it at all. During this month, I kept the topoff and dosing pumps running, and fed my fish (which all survived much to my surprise) but the GFO, carbon, and protein skimmer were completely offline. Over the last week, I started the cleanup effort and started bringing everything back online, but I had not run any tests. Yesterday, I ran a series of tests to check the water chemistry. Much to my surprise: Salinity 35 Alk 10.5 Cal ~400 Coralline algae has also grown all over the back of the tank, and even started to take hold on the front and side glass. Next thing I did was pull out my Hanna ULR Phosphate test and check the phosphate levels. Unreal, completely undetectable even on the Hanna ULR. I did it twice because I thought I was going crazy - same result. ....and there is no visible algae in the tank, other than coralline. It seems like over the last month with me just not touching anything, and letting the tank just do whatever they do when you leave them alone, there has been some kind of shift in the water chemistry or change in the tank and its "balance". Does this make sense to anyone, or am I going crazy?? Now I'm starting to rebuild, and going with a new approach of keeping my hands out of the tank and leaving things alone unless there's a good reason to intervene. However, I do need to make a choice on lighting. I'd like to make a choice, then leave it the heck alone until the bulbs need replacing. These are the bulbs I have available to pick from currently: 2x250w Radium 2x175w Iwasaki 15k 2x175w AB 10000 What do you guys think? I don't mind the white/yellow color of a full-spectrum bulb at all, but I also don't want to torch my new inhabitants as I start introducing more life back into the tank. Could really use some input/thoughts.

09/03/2012, 10:40 AM	#2
Peter Eichler Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 6,081	I've used many many bulbs through the years. If you don't mind something a little on the blue side, I haven't seen anything that can top Radiums when it comes to coral color.