Natural light spectrum.. Why do we use these so much blue lights?

[areefer01]

This last photo of yours - do you know which depth the photos was taken?

Sincerely Lasse

And if a filter was used. Pretty important.

On topic though not everyone cares for the heavy blue, AB+ look. It is a personal preference. Dana Riddle has done some real world tests on lighting in oceanic conditions.

Scuba diving does change ones perspective though.

 

[djf91]

There is someone on this forum that runs 6 Blue plus with 2x reef Brite XhO actinic.

I think the blue tanks with fluorescent corals look bad. You can tell most people have never seen wild coral that have reef tanks.

Yep. The hobby has regressed in terms of general knowledge of coral reefs, ecology, biology, what coral reefs actually look like. It’s less about replicating the ocean and more about what neon colors will look best on instagram.

You can already see the disinformation in this thread. No, most corals are not collected deeper than 50 feet. No, corals do not only need low par, blue light. Yes, corals can exist on this the same way we could exist on candy but it’s not ideal.

 

[BryanM]

What I had read is that blues/purples are better for coral growth and helps with photosynthesis.

Seems some in this thread are calling that BS.

 

[Lasse]

1-3 meter deep all photos

I was not reacting to the colours - I react on the growth pattern of the Seriatopora coral. I never get this slender type of growth with my Seriatopora.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[areefer01]

Seems some in this thread are calling that BS.

Or maybe they are asking for the data to back up the market speak? Who knows. Such a hot topic.

 

[rhitee93]

Not necessarily the same thing, but this has crossed my mind more than once since I have gotten back into reefing:

I am also into tortoises. A lot of people take these desert/arid animals and feed them all they can eat. They grow incredibly fast, but tend to develop heavily pyrimaded (lumpy) shells. I have taken a different approach and have relatively slow growing, but very normal looking animals relative to their wild counterparts.

 

[Outlaw Corals]

That is why i like the newer Kessil light’s, you just set them how ever you like and they will tune it into full spectrum automatically

 

[areefer01]

That is why i like the newer Kessil light’s, you just set them how ever you like and they will tune it into full spectrum automatically

Sort of. The base kits for the a360x and a500x have the on-board controls. Two knobs one for adjusting the color spectrum and the other for intensity. In this use case you are correct in that the hobbyist can adjust however they like and Kessil takes care of the rest.

On the other hand if one is using the WiFi dongle or spectral controller then it opens up the color spectrum by providing access to the red, green, and violet channels. So now the hobbyist has more control and Kessil Logic isn't involved.

I can't speak on the AP7X or AP9X. I've only personally used the a360x and found them enjoyable. Good support staff too. At least when I was using them.

 

[WvAquatics]

I like the whiter look. That's why I'm thinking of switching from reefbreeders to the Quanta atlas. On and off no channel control much like mh. Turns on amd off

 

[nickng]

I have to admit I don’t like the blue AB+ on radions that I have. It looks so artificial compared to the ocean. However I use that setting because I am led to believe that it’s a good spectrum for coral growth and most aquacultured corals are grown under mostly blue light.
If there’s sufficient evidence/scientific study that a 6500 to 7300K spectrum is good for corals and fishes, I will drop the AB+ spectrum right away.
By the way when viewing my reef tank, I change the spectrum to a 6700K momentarily. Can’t stand the artificial looking blue glow…. And the blue lights makes the deep blue zoas I have look dull/washed out

 

[sfin52]

Algea will grow with blue light no problem. Red light helps algea reproduce. It's just a myth that algea won't grow in full blues. You just don't see it as easily in full blue

 

[djf91]

I’ll also say I’m a little leery of the photo-inhibition studies/claims. Just anecdotally from what I’ve seen, people who have longer photoperiods have faster growth.

I’m sure some people on here are sick of me talking about the past, but from what I’ve seen, tanks from earlier decades used to run their metal halides for 10-12 hours a day and had crazy amounts of growth. Just food for thought, I know electricity use is something to consider here too.

Tropical, shallow, stony coral reefs are very competitive environments where faster growth = a competitive edge over the coral next to you and thus survival. I have a hard time believing that these stony corals aren’t taking advantage of every last minute of sunlight during the day.

 

[Waters]

Algea will grow with blue light no problem. Red light helps algea reproduce. It's just a myth that algea won't grow in full blues. You just don't see it as easily in full blue

Very true......blue light hides most algae. I have had hair algae grow in complete darkness in a brute can shut off from nothing but ambient light turned on roughly 15 minutes a day.

 

[mucky1957]

under blues..what is not to like

 

[Zeeth]

I like the BRS modified AB+ that dials up the cool white compared to regular AB+. It seems pretty close to my experience scuba diving where there is a blue tint under the water, but it's not the windex color some people are running.

 

[Reefering1]

under blues..what is not to like

 

[rhaetuluscrenatus]

It's because of the incomplete research that's show how colour up corals by spectrum and they called it's the PUR, many lighting companies take advatage of it, especially the LED companies.
But even in the research for PUR, it's lacking of many essential thing: they don't show up the impact of the radiation from
UV-C, B, A to 380nm and ultra red to the growth and colour of the zooxanthellae, only doing research the impact of viewable radiation,
AND, the research didn't say that the reef needs only these PUR, but people, especially the hobbyst and manufatures thought that PUR is enough for reefing. Inside the reef, it's also many other photosynthesis creatures, like algae, bacteria, etc..., and how many affected by UV, Ultra red, green and red light also,

they make a trend to imitate the water quality like in the sea, but never imitate lighting like what is in the sea...not good for selling corals, many rainbow corals are brown under white light.

But now the reef industy is too big ,who can control the media and created the trend,
The more your corals are weak and died, the more you have to re-buy and fill out the empty space, the more coral shop be happy. The game is not easy like before.

 

[djf91]

under blues..what is not to like

Because you painted everything in blue light except for a few neon green and orange corals. You can’t see the definition of anything. You can’t see any of the subtle color changes in the coral, rocks, fish. Everything looks drab except for neon glow.

There is so much more to a coral reef than neon corals but that’s all people really care about now.

 

[nickng]

under blues..what is not to like

That's the kind of color I get from my AB+ radions. Personally, I don't like it because it looks very artificial like a disco/laser quest setting compared to the real ocean in around places like "redang islands & perhentian", Malaysia or Surin island, Thailand. In real life the lighting looks closer to a 10k spectrum or 7K with a touch of blue+green shade.
Plenty of colors in the real ocean.

 

[madlos123]

That's the kind of color I get from my AB+ radions. Personally, I don't like it because it looks very artificial like a disco/laser quest setting compared to the real ocean in around places like "redang islands & perhentian", Malaysia or Surin island, Thailand. In real life the lighting looks closer to a 10k spectrum or 7K with a touch of blue+green shade.
Plenty of colors in the real ocean.

Yeap I have 10K Metal Halide with 2 T5 Actinic Bulbs for that touch of blue shade.

I missed snorkeling and scuba diving. Maybe in the next few years ill be able to do some.

On my next set up some day, i will do a blue/green gradient for the background and have a hidden or side oveflow.

But for what knowledge and budget I had for setting it up my self, I think its pretty close.

I just need that one elusive oregon tort for my collection lol.

But look at that, you can see the yellow color.