Don't know what to do, some input on lighting please.....

[Zoaelite]

I'm not personally a fan of the fixtures you are running, they have REALLLLLYYY bad reflectors. Tek 5 fixtures are cheep, why not upgrade to 2 4' 6-8 bulbers?

[The Grizz]

Originally Posted by zoaElite

I'm not personally a fan of the fixtures you are running, they have REALLLLLYYY bad reflectors. Tek 5 fixtures are cheep, why not upgrade to 2 4' 6-8 bulbers?

That could be a possibility Levi, I had to do with what I could afford at the time but I could upgrade now.

[lorenz0]

I'm with levi on this one. For sure will make a huge difference in your tank

[lobsterboy]

Hey Greg,

yeah I am with the guys on this one too.

you have an awesome tank, but imagine with a killer fixture like the tek E or an ATI

[fishytime]

+4........but you could also try swapping out those fiji purps for a bulb that will actually benefit your coral, not just make them appear pretty

[BlueTang<3]

Stay away from the tek elite. Nothing but problems they are burning peoples hoses down. Guy in the city bought it and for the price and all the upgrades he had to do it was not worth it. I would go with 2 6 or 8 bulb Ati powermodules. Depending it you plan to keep sps or not.

[sphelps]

I'd say you've got more than enough light, whether the reflectors are crappy or not considering that the tank is 22” wide and 18” deep 16 bulbs is tones for what you have. And you run them for a pretty decent amount of time. In fact clams open up more when light levels are low and tend to not open as much when light levels are high. If you want your clams to open more try decreasing your light. Slowly cut back your lighting duty cycle first to see if that makes a difference or eliminate some bulbs all together. Either way, make sure you try cutting your lighting back before spending money on a new fixture which will do the opposite and possibly make things worse.

[fencer]

Irrespective of the brand. Look at what the kind of wattage the people who replied to this post are using.

8x80 t5 ati powermodule
2x tek 6x39w HOT5s
I think John is using the same setup as Doug
I am using 8x 54watt T5HO's

IMHO you need more light. MH are a good choice too. 2 x 400 watt MH ights on that tank should just about do it.

[globaldesigns]

Originally Posted by fishytime

+4........but you could also try swapping out those fiji purps for a bulb that will actually benefit your coral, not just make them appear pretty

I agree with Doug, why not use bulbs that give more par value, Figi's and blue bulbs enough blue/purples in coral, but IMO do not give the light par value that would enhance growth, and what clams would use.

Before spending money on changing the fixtures, I would suggest just trying a different bulb combo, replacing maybe one or two bulbs only for now. See how that goes.

I am a fan of the MH, but I must say many of you have gorgeous setups and happy coral with only T5HO, so getting the right config and right number of bulbs is the key here. I wouldn't just change to MH, just yet, if you don't need to.

[Lance]

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

I agree with Doug, why not use bulbs that give more par value, Figi's and blue bulbs enough blue/purples in coral, but IMO do not give the light par value that would enhance growth, and what clams would use.

Before spending money on changing the fixtures, I would suggest just trying a different bulb combo, replacing maybe one or two bulbs only for now. See how that goes.

I am a fan of the MH, but I must say many of you have gorgeous setups and happy coral with only T5HO, so getting the right config and right number of bulbs is the key here. I wouldn't just change to MH, just yet, if you don't need to.

I agree with Doug and Sphelps. I think you have enough light now on an 18" tank. Before you go and buy a new fixture try some other bulbs. More bulbs in the 10000K range and you should have plenty of the right light.