An alternative to t5 for supplementation?

[cilyjr]

Since switching to LED from metal halide, I have been supplementing with t5. No matter how good LED gets, I still feel like you don't see the coral health that you do without some sort of supplementation.
What I mean is, look underneath the corals near the base on tanks that run exclusively led you will see more exposed skeletal structure as opposed to tanks supplementing with a less point source lighting which will have tend to have low pigment flesh in those areas never exposed to direct light.

I'm in the beginning of planning a new tank and know t5 is going extinct albeit slowly. I'm planning on my last tank as it will be a monster.

I'm hesitant to give up t5 supplementation but also know that at some point even finding bulbs will be a challenge.

My question is how do people feel about the new strip lights as supplementation. Do you feel they work as well as t5, as t5 is a non-linear light source and throws light in a very different manner?
Is there something else I'm not considering?

 

[Chris A.]

You could always angle your main LEDs so they’re not flat with the surface. At that size of a tank you’ll probably be around 6-10 fixtures and if you set them up in angles pointing at your rock work you can get light underneath more of the shaded areas. The LED strip lights do essentially the same thing. Some people like them some don’t.

 

[rock-n-reef]

^+1

Great point above to mount the fixtures at an angle. Even a very small angle will help.

Also substrate in the tank makes a difference. Having run systems with both bare bottom as well sand, you can easily observe how sand helps reflect light back and create a dispersion effect lighting (or reducing shadow) the underside of the corals.

 

[cilyjr]

You could always angle your main LEDs so they’re not flat with the surface. At that size of a tank you’ll probably be around 6-10 fixtures and if you set them up in angles pointing at your rock work you can get light underneath more of the shaded areas. The LED strip lights do essentially the same thing. Some people like them some don’t.

Have you used a strip led? Do they act more like a linear light source? I'm having a hard time seeing how that works especially with the Aqua Illumination ones, too much space between diodes.

 

[Chris A.]

Have you used a strip led? Do they act more like a linear light source? I'm having a hard time seeing how that works especially with the Aqua Illumination ones, too much space between diodes.

They spread is in a focused line as you’d expect. I’ve used the xho and the Orphek bar and in my tank 40b it added 100par and it didn’t spread to far -8” I needed more of a angle than my tank has to get more under the corals so I ended up pulling them and just turn up my main LEDs. 2 x Mitras lx7206.

Still have some shadows but seams tolerable for now.

 

[cilyjr]

They spread is in a focused line as you’d expect. I’ve used the xho and the Orphek bar and in my tank 40b it added 100par and it didn’t spread to far -8” I needed more of a angle than my tank has to get more under the corals so I ended up pulling them and just turn up my main LEDs. 2 x Mitras lx7206.
View attachment 222037View attachment 222038
Still have some shadows but seams tolerable for now.

Shadow is fine, but Do you know what I mean about the undersides of coral (particularly acropora and stylophora) having more exposed skeletal portions than in pre led days?

 

[Chris A.]

Definitely understood what you’re saying and I don’t think there’s a real good option. Some people have good luck increasing the flow to go under the skeleton so it it can get some nutrients as well. The MH and T5 would reflect the light a lot more than LEDs imo but the flow might make up for it like in the wild. I have a significant amount of flow in this little tank right now and everything seams to be doing pretty well so far. 1 powerhead set to 2500hph ( random flow )and the other around 2000gph on a sea sweep pulsing for about 5sec apart

 

[cilyjr]

Some people have good luck increasing the flow to go under the skeleton so it it can get some nutrients as well.

This is an interesting aspect I hadn't thought of. Wonder how much of it is actually light versus good flowing nutrient. My current tank has a significant amount of flow. It's a 6-ft by 3-ft tank. That's 30 in deep and I have four MP40s and 2 mcp-180 that claim 9000 gph.