How to make green pop?

[NormanB]

I recently picked up some zoas that have a rich green skirting and would like to make it pop more with my lights. They had the nice green under the lighting the seller had.

Not sure what light he had, it was over a small tank, maybe 10 or so gallons so I wasn't big. It may have been a Kessil and the Tuna Blue looks about right.

Ok, I've got a Reefbreeder Photon V2+ and would be very apprecative of advise to make these bad boys really shine!

Maybe more green LED intensity? Or something else?

Thanks so much!!

 

[Rtaylor]

Blue light is what gives the fluorescent look

 

[NormanB]

Thanks, perhaps I need to increase the blue level? Should it one, two or all three blue leds?

The light has Royal Blue 450nm, Cool Blue 480nm and Violet 420nm

What are your thoughts?

 

[NormanB]

I'm getting some of the green, just not the intense green I saw.

 

[Rtaylor]

Try it and see what works best. The shop probably had expensive lighting. Depending on your lights, you may not be able to get the same effect.

 

[NormanB]

Try it and see what works best. The shop probably had expensive lighting. Depending on your lights, you may not be able to get the same effect.

The more I look at the Kessil Tuna Blue A80, the more I'm sure that was the light over this small tank.

Perhaps I won't be able to duplicate it 100%, but I would have thought I could do better than what I'm currently seeing. I don't think my light is a slouch, yeah not like these super expensive ones, but still decent. Perhaps I'm wrong.

I was hoping for some direction instead of trial and error.

Thanks

 

[tbrown]

The white takes the "pop" out so the more white you have the more blue you need. I turn my blues all the way up (I think the Royal blue is what really pops). Add greens and reds to suit after that. Then I start my whites at 0 and increase the until the pop goes away, then back off until I'm happy with the look.

 

[NormanB]

The white takes the "pop" out so the more white you have the more blue you need. I turn my blues all the way up (I think the Royal blue is what really pops). Add greens and reds to suit after that. Then I start my whites at 0 and increase the until the pop goes away, then back off until I'm happy with the look.

Thanks! I can see during my peak times that the white changes the coral colors, yet I leave it as such as it makes the fish look normal, so to speak.

I'll try different color settings in the Moon menu as my place to experiment of color settings.

Looking at the wavelengths of the LEDs in my light, I'd agree that the Royal Blue 450nm would pop, and I think the Violet 420nm would do a lot too.

 

[oreo54]

The more I look at the Kessil Tuna Blue A80, the more I'm sure that was the light over this small tank.

Perhaps I won't be able to duplicate it 100%, but I would have thought I could do better than what I'm currently seeing. I don't think my light is a slouch, yeah not like these super expensive ones, but still decent. Perhaps I'm wrong.

I was hoping for some direction instead of trial and error.

Thanks

Animation of the possible spectrum of the A80.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/BRSImages/brsContent/brsKessil/Saltwater_A80_Feature_spectrum.gif
Major "blue" peaks.395-ish,425,455.
From "blue" setting (salmon) to less blue setting (grey).

Ch 3, and ch6 (450,420) . Keep ch 5 low.
You don't have any "true uv" though.
Add red and green for more "color" (RGB=White) not white.
That would be where I'd start based on the DATA not actual tests.

 

[NormanB]

Animation of the possible spectrum of the A80.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/BRSImages/brsContent/brsKessil/Saltwater_A80_Feature_spectrum.gif
Major "blue" peaks.395-ish,425,455.
From "blue" setting (salmon) to less blue setting (grey).

Ch 3, and ch6 (450,420) . Keep ch 5 low.
You don't have any "true uv" though.
Add red and green for more "color" (RGB=White) not white.
That would be where I'd start based on the DATA not actual tests.

Very good information. Thank you. I'll play around with this and see what happens.

Would you recommend always leaving channel 5 lower than 3&6, and if so, why?

 

[oreo54]

Very good information. Thank you. I'll play around with this and see what happens.

Would you recommend always leaving channel 5 lower than 3&6, and if so, why?

Well it was starting point.
The ratio of royal blue to blue is a personal choice.
A bit of info:

For example, radiation of equal power is perceived 27 times brighter for the 555nm wavelength than for 450nm; this difference increases to 57 times for 420nm, and 135 times (!) for 410nm.....

As you go bluer green gets " brighter"
But you also have to consider 1) what wavelengths " create" the pigments and 2) What wavelength gets absorbed and re- radiated as green.

Light in the Reef Aquaria

Light is one of the main life-supporting resources on our planet. Being photosynthetic, many marine invertebrates require light to live; Their symbiotic zooxanthellae need light for photosynthesis to produce sufficient nourishment both for their own use and for the host coral.

reefs.com

Simply put blue (470) is brighter ( at equal power) than royal blue (450).

Note that the strongest fluorescence will be observed in 400-450nm range, particularly because the eye sensitivity in that range is very low. The light in this range is usually called “actinic light.”

 

[vlangel]

I recently picked up some zoas that have a rich green skirting and would like to make it pop more with my lights. They had the nice green under the lighting the seller had.

Not sure what light he had, it was over a small tank, maybe 10 or so gallons so I wasn't big. It may have been a Kessil and the Tuna Blue looks about right.

Ok, I've got a Reefbreeder Photon V2+ and would be very apprecative of advise to make these bad boys really shine!

Maybe more green LED intensity? Or something else?

Thanks so much!!

I have the same light as you and some of my green palys really show nice. I do use the green channel at a lower intensity but also use both blue channels and the white channel at a more dominant intensity, around 65 and 75%. I even have the red and purple too at low intensities.

 

[NormanB]

I have the same light as you and some of my green palys really show nice. I do use the green channel at a lower intensity but also use both blue channels and the white channel at a more dominant intensity, around 65 and 75%. I even have the red and purple too at low intensities.

Thanks for sharing. Would you mind posting some of your light settings?

 

[The_Skrimp]

Little bit of color theory - if you put them next to a coral that is opposite them on the color wheel (in this case reds, pinks, or magentas) then the colors will compliment each-other and give you maximum contrast and pop. It might not help in this case but could help with placing coral in the future.

 

[vlangel]

I am not real tech savvy being in my 6th decade but will try to share generally.
I start out in the morning with just the royal blue on at 1% to similate a moonlight look. Then as the morning progresses by 9 am I add small percentages of all the colors but up the royal blue to 5%. I slowly increase the colors but upping the percentages of the blues and whites and purple much more than the other colors. By noon the red and green colors are only about 10% or less but the royal blue, white, cool blue and purple are all above 40% and the blues and white in the 50-60% range. By 2pm - 4pm the lights hit their peak with royal blue, white and cool blue in the 75% range and the purple in the 50%. The red and green are still under 20%. If I did not have a heavy macro algae emphasis in my display I would probably have the red at an even lower percentage to discourage cyano but plants need more of that red spectrum. After 4pm everything ramps back down much in the same way it ramped up in the morning only a little faster. I hope this helps.

 

[tbrown]

If you want the "pop" that is going to require more blue as that's the color that will make them almost glow. The UV helps but typically the true UV LEDs are in the almost invisible spectrum to our eyes. Add white until it looks better to your eyes would be my recommendation. My pico tank was running full blue and 0 white because the white washed everything out. My 125 runs about 20% white.

 

[NormanB]

Thanks to all for the advise. I'll play around and see what I can get. I have to admit, sometimes I get agitated by playing the color/number game and say...good enough.

 

[NormanB]

I am not real tech savvy being in my 6th decade but will try to share generally.
I start out in the morning with just the royal blue on at 1% to similate a moonlight look. Then as the morning progresses by 9 am I add small percentages of all the colors but up the royal blue to 5%. I slowly increase the colors but upping the percentages of the blues and whites and purple much more than the other colors. By noon the red and green colors are only about 10% or less but the royal blue, white, cool blue and purple are all above 40% and the blues and white in the 50-60% range. By 2pm - 4pm the lights hit their peak with royal blue, white and cool blue in the 75% range and the purple in the 50%. The red and green are still under 20%. If I did not have a heavy macro algae emphasis in my display I would probably have the red at an even lower percentage to discourage cyano but plants need more of that red spectrum. After 4pm everything ramps back down much in the same way it ramped up in the morning only a little faster. I hope this helps.

What size tank do you have and which Photon light are you using?

Thanks

Oh, and by the way, I'm just about to the mid of my 6th decade, too!

 

[vlangel]

What size tank do you have and which Photon light are you using?

Thanks

Oh, and by the way, I'm just about to the mid of my 6th decade, too!

My tank is a 56 gallon column tank, (30"x18"x24"), so it's a tall tank. I originally bought it for seahorses but when the ponies lived out their lives, I turned it into a high nutrient macroalgae/softie tank.

Mine is the Photon 24-V2+ which is exactly what yours is if I remember. I have it hung 14" above the tank top. Before I bought this light I was a T5 gal because the plug and play aspect was easy. However 30" length bulbs are getting impossible to find so I bit the bullet and went LED. I watched the BRS LED showdown to determine which brand and light was right for me. I liked that I could hang it a little higher so I can work in the tank without moving the fixture. Of course I liked the price for a light from a reputable company that offered good customer service. I have been really happy with it, although the shimmer is a bit more than I would prefer.

What size is your tank and fixture? Did you struggle at all to program it and do you use a remote? I think they have an app for your phone now but since I finally learned to use the remote, I am not learning anything new, LOL.

I took a pic of the green end of the tank so you can see the different greens at 10 am.

 

[vlangel]

Thanks to all for the advise. I'll play around and see what I can get. I have to admit, sometimes I get agitated by playing the color/number game and say...good enough.

I know what you mean, it can be very tedious! I think that comes with our age.