candy canes

[tgoeujon]

i recently changed from T-5 lighting to PC and it might be coincidence but my candy canes are losing there color. they are still eating well and are fat but have gone from pink to bright white. would it be the lights? any thoughts how to fix things

[Myka]

They are losing their color because you went to a lesser light. Can you give more information about the wattage of the T5s you were using, and how many vs the PCs you're now using?

[bv_reefer]

couldn't it just be a color morph from a change of K in the pc's from the t5's, if the pc's are more white than wouldn't you get less green fluorescence from green corals?

[Myka]

Ya, but he said they are losing color. So I assume he means that the color loss is progressing. My guess is that the PCs aren't strong enough for the Candy Canes to thrive.

[tgoeujon]

im going to try adding a T5 set up to my PC and see if that helps. hopefully ill have something good to report soon

[bv_reefer]

what wattage were the t5's? consider a couple other things, did you change anything other than lighting? flow, tank placement, ?

[Myka]

Why did you change from T5 to PC anyway? That's like going from a BMW to a Toyota.

[tgoeujon]

the T5s were only lasting me 3 months at a time and i kept having to replace the whole unit, so one of the lfs in kamloops suggested the PCs. i wanted halides but couldnt find anything to fit my tank ( only 12 in. by 4 ft). im starting to think the store was just trying to make a quick sale though

[Myka]

Is that a 55g you have? What T5 unit did you have? I've had my cheap Hagen Glo unit for a year and a half now, and it's going strong. I replace bulbs every 8 months like you're supposed to; due to normal changes in color spectrum.

[tgoeujon]

they were coralife and if i just had to replace bulbs that would have been great but replacing everything all the time was getting frustrating. especially since its just about 2 hours drive to anywhere that has anything to do with saltwater tanks