I don't know if I qualify has having good SPS color but I do get solid growth. I've recently upgraded to Hydra 52s from the Vega fixtures and in the process of tweaking settings but I figured I'd post where I am at in case it helps:
Fixtures are mounted 14" AWL 5 x Hydra 52 spaced evenly across 84" tank.
I have three separate "zones" setup with certain fixtures grouped into each zone depending on the needs of the majority of the corals underneath those fixtures. For instance, my center fixture is in a separate zone with the lowest settings as that is where I am keeping a lot of chalices and LPS. The outer most fixtures are set highest because those areas a dominated by SPS.
Here are the settings I am running for each zone:
Color Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3
UV 10% 10% 10% (plan to raise higher but acclimating)
Violet 35% 40% 50%
Deep Blue 40% 50% 60%
Royal Blue 35% 40% 50%
Green 15% 25% 25%
Red 15% 25% 25%
White 20% 30% 40%
1 hour ramp up to levels listed above, then 7 hours before 1 hour ramp down.
These are the settings that a large wholesaler who runs Hydra 52s gave me when I asked what they were doing for their SPS tanks with Aussie and Fiji corals:
White – 50
Violet – 70
Red – 50
Green – 70
Blue – 70
Royal – 70
UV – 50
