This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit down and read the January/February 2009 issue of Coral Magazine. (If you are not subscribed to Coral, I strongly suggest it. I would not hesitate to say that Coral is one of the top reef publications–both in print and online.) In typical Coral/Koralle fashion, this recent issue is [...]
This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit down and read the January/February 2009 issue of Coral Magazine. (If you are not subscribed to Coral, I strongly suggest it. I would not hesitate to say that Coral is one of the top reef publications–both in print and online.) In typical Coral/Koralle fashion, this recent issue is loaded with quality images and information.
The descriptive writing and photographs of Marlen Hundertmark and Christian Hepperger sealed the deal on a future trip to Madagascar… and Mauritius. Knop’s piece on Triggerfish shinned a bright light on a group of fish that are often ignored. While Wittenrich increased my affection for Mandarin Dragonets and Calfo highlighted the flaw in many reef lighting discussions that occur among aquarists.
Coral also had a one page ad to spread the word of their 2009 Marine Aquascape Contest. Possibly the first for the hobby, the grand prize winner will be presented with a Goldern Staghorn trophy at this coming MACNA in Atlantic City. In additon to the trophy more than $10,000 in cash and reef keeping prizes can be won. Judging will be based on one high resolution digital photograph of the aquarium. For more information head over to the brand new Coral Magazine US website: CORAL Aquascaping Contest.
(Note: The main photo CORAL uses is of Iwan Lasser’s reef back in 2005. It depicts the “T5 effect” well which I touch on later.)
Overall the issue was another one worth adding to the bookshelf for future reference, but after reading Calfo’s piece titled A New Perspective on Reef Lighting, I was left wondering why T5s–arguably the most energy efficient reef lighting currently available–were completely left out.
Before delving into the T5 omission, I must applaud Calfo for bringing up species specific lighting and photoinhibition. Although some may deny it, not all hard corals do best when blasted with 400w Metal Halides! This is an area where we can take notes from the Japanese. There, lighting intensity and spectrum is dictated by the specific animal and the environment from where it was collected. Some Japanese bulbs don’t even include kelvin, instead they list the water depth that the spectrum best mimics.
Back to T5s. With the current line up of T5 fixtures available that incorporate individual parabolic reflectors and active cooling, it is difficult to compete against them from an efficiency perspective. One large benefit that T5s have is in their placement. They can be placed extremely close to the water surface, reducing incidental light that is cast outside of the aquarium, and instead focus it downwards into the tank. Aquarists are noticing less T5s can achieve coloration and growth beyond what you would expect from their increased luminous efficacy. Without a doubt there is a pastel effect from T5s which needs to be researched more until we have a firm grasp on exactly why.
Nonetheless, T5s are making waves and I was surprised to not find a mention of them in this issue. With Mr. Calfo’s arrival at IceCap I would have placed money on their inclusion before reading his piece!
Fauna Marin’s new Star Fire unit boasts SLRs & active cooling
A similar omission was included in Fenner’s write up on the captive care of Bubbletip Anemones. While he does state that, ”fluorescent bulbs would suffice” he went on, “Metal Halide or intense LED lighting is advised for water over 24in. in depth.” Yes, the point source nature of metal halides and LEDs (with appropriate optics) allow them to penetrate well, but we have seen many tanks over 24″ that have adequate par on the sandbed with T5s only. These are not the same Triton tubes we used many many years ago. T5s can pack a serious punch, even at depths if the proper amount of bulbs and single lamp reflectors (SLR) are used. All to often aquarists underestimate their intensity and come home to a “burned” reef after just one day of T5 use!
Energy consumption is currently a concern to nearly all aquarists and for this reason I would encourage aquarists to consider T5s when applicable. Not only are they extremely efficient, they are packaged in some of the best looking fixtures aquarists can buy.
Overall this is another great issue from CORAL, that seemed to go flawlessly as they switched publishers. Get working on your aquscape and remember more watts does not always equate to healthier animals.
