Lighting Question

[JKKomm]

Hey Gang,


I wanted to see what you guys think about this idea.


Currently, I have a 29 gallon 3" substrate. EI dosing, running co2.


Co2 provided by GLA inline diffuser


Plants are:


italian val


Rotala "bonsai" (best guess LFS says rotala species)


ludwigia repens


Stauro. Repens


Rotala Nasheem (sp.)


Myriio Red


Anacharis


Life stock:


cories


blank neons


rummy nose


Eheim 2217


Lighting is on for 8 hrs provided by Finnex ray2. Co2 starts 2 hrs before the lights turn on.


I was thinking about using my coralife t5ho with the finnex in a stagered set up. Something like this:


Coralife turns on at 10:00am, then at 12:00pm the finnex turns on with the coralife. At maybe 2-3pm the finnex turns off and only the coralife remains on till 6:00pm. Co2 turns off 1 hr. Before the lights turn off.


The coralife has two 6500k bulbs, but I can change to the "pinker" bulb.


What do you think about this. Good, bad and why.


Thank you for your time

 

[burr740]

A couple red/pink bulbs in the CL would be a nice compliment to the Ray. CLs arent know for being very efficient in the first place, single reflector, weak ballast. My guess is you could probably run the ray for 4-5 hours in the middle. Again that's a pure guess though. Either way it would definitely give you some better color options.

 

[JKKomm]

Thank burr. I've been doing some reading, and wanted to get a 2nd opinion on some information.


Based on the PAR of the coralife fixture, the best "guess" is that with a 6500k bulb and a color max bulb the PAR value is sub 50. A 30" finnex planted + with the depth that I have, I would get somewhere between sub 50 to 60 PAR at 3:00pm/max setting.


I like the color rendition the coralife is giving me, reds pop a lot better now, but I dislike the aesthic of the tank (coralife and ray2) on my tank.


On on the other hand, If I had a planted+ (Monster Ray is not available in the 30"), based on the information out there I could get the color rendition I'm looking for and have a more "aesthetically pleasing" look to it. So here is the question. With the species and types of plants and livestock, would running a planted+ in its 24/7 mode, in conjunction with the ray2 turning on from 12:00pm to 4:00pm be too much light? Yes, I know I'm in the experimental area, but you guys have been doing this far, far longer than I.

 

[JKKomm]

Thanks burr for your response. While I like the color rendition the coralife is giving me, I really don't like the look of the tank with it on (coralife and ray2). Do you guys know of any led that can give me the color rendition I'm looking for? The Monster Ray 30" seems like it has not been made in a while.