Lighting question (odd) - does a freshwater light instead of reef light bring out the colors more of the fish...?

[salty150]

I am looking to keep a new FOWLR (with dry rock) for the first 2 years - and then eventually start to add corals.

My question is: does using a freshwater light instead of a reef light bring out the colors more of the fish...?

Flame Angel, Powder Blue Tang, Purple Tang, etc.

Looking at the light spectrum of both:

Freshwater:

Reef:

I don't mind changing the lights after the first two years when I start to add corals - I just want to get the light initially that will bring out the colors the best for the FOWLR for the first two years.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[chip shop]

Don’t think my light has same readings as that reef light,I would say all depend on light you buy certain colours don’t do well under heavy blues

 

[nereefpat]

A lot of us think that fish look better under more "daylight" lighting than under blues.

 

[Doctorgori]

A lot of us think that fish look better under more "daylight" lighting than under blues.

Yeah go over to one of those Metal Halide “tribute band” threads …
to those ole foggies blue light is blasphemy …also check out thier fantastic tanks while you are at it …
…for the record there was a time long long ago when all light above the tanks were daylight…oh the humanity

 

[salty150]

So the answer is yes...

 

[AquaLogic]

Yes, many fish tend to look better under warmer lights.

If you want the best of both worlds Kessil is probably the easiest way to do it. Kessil logic allows you to tune the color to whatever you want, so regardless of what it looks like, it's still providing proper spectrum for growth. That way you can have corals, or not have corals. You can literally just turn the color knob until it looks the way you like and not worry about it.

If you're sure you don't want any corals, then a cheap daylight light would work fine. You could use any light you want. If you like shimmer, a Noo-Psyche has a shimmer close to kessil in my opinion. For FOWLR it's all about aesthetics so get the light you like the look of most.

 

[nereefpat]

So the answer is yes...

I would argue that it's more complicated than that. You didn't give us much detail, like what specific light you're looking at. Some freshwater lights are going to be bad for looking at reef fish, and some will be fine. Most LED reef lights can be adjusted to the spectrum that you like.

 

[salty150]

I would argue that it's more complicated than that. You didn't give us much detail, like what specific light you're looking at. Some freshwater lights are going to be bad for looking at reef fish, and some will be fine. Most LED reef lights can be adjusted to the spectrum that you like.

That makes sense.

The lights that I am currently looking at are:

Aqua Illumination 32HD (Freshwater) - 3 of them
Aqua Illumination Prime (Freshwater) - 4 of them
Aqua Illumination Blade 21" (Freshwater) - 3 of them

The tank is 84" long x 27" wide x 26" high

 

[AquaLogic]

That makes sense.

The lights that I am currently looking at are:

Aqua Illumination 32HD (Freshwater) - 3 of them
Aqua Illumination Prime (Freshwater) - 4 of them
Aqua Illumination Blade 21" (Freshwater) - 3 of them

The tank is 84" long x 27" wide x 26" high

I would do Noo-Psyche K7 pro 3's instead. Way cheaper, better looking shimmer.