Are whites necessary?

[Jrswish]

Or can you simply just utilize blue lights?

 

[bobnicaragua]

Maybe not necessary. You could probably survive on an incomplete diet, but that's far from ideal.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

So not what I expected this thread to be about given today’s political discourse when I read the title.

 

[Aere]

I run my kessils at 10 white, 80 blue for what it's worth. And get great growth from my sps corals and everything else as well. And tank has more of a blue look to it.

 

[Tamberav]

What light do you use? Could use all blue+ t5 but I wouldn't use all royal blue led. They make a mint spectrum that helps keep the tank bluer while covering more spectrum. I ran a LPS tank with no bright white but used the other colors + mint for a few years. Worked well.

 

[STEEZY]

Some of WWC’s templates for the Radions do not include any white if I’m not mistaken, if it does have any it is not visible enough to notice.

If they’re doing it, I’m sure you’re good.

 

[saltybees]

No

 

[thesoulpatch]

So not what I expected this thread to be about given today’s political discourse when I read the title.

I laughed louder than i should have at this....

 

[A. grandis]

Are whites necessary?​

Or can you simply just utilize blue lights?

Depends on your goal.

 

[A. grandis]

Some of WWC’s templates for the Radions do not include any white if I’m not mistaken, if it does have any it is not visible enough to notice.

There are also lot's of people following them as an example.

If they’re doing it, I’m sure you’re good.

I'm not sure the exact meaning of your last sentence, but "good" is so relative today and can have so many levels of results. Examples like WWC aren't necessarily proof of any "excellence" nor "good". They have their style and it works for what they want to reproduce. Simple as that! The bottom line is that the light you offer to your tank will promote results and if that's what you are aiming for, you are "on the right track" to reach your goal.
Everything becomes too relative when you have not chosen a specific target.
One thing we know for sure... light on the reef will be different depending on the natural factors and if you want to reproduce those specific aspects of natural light you need first to identify what you want first, understanding it's basics. You will never be able to represent 100% though. Different coral species grow and prefer different lighting in nature. That is a good beginning to start the definition of "good".
It is very true that corals will adapt and SURVIVE under many different types of lights in captivity. WWC takes great advantage of that and shows off the fluorescence when they promote the lights and corals they sell, like a fashion show. Will you think that would have any negative aspects in the long run, if that light wouldn't be enough for the optimal metabolism of the majority of the corals? Will the majority of shallow water corals we keep in aquariums absorb light throughout the whole sunlight spectrum? Humm...
What would be the optimal light for the majority of corals collected for the aquarium trade? Would the answer still be the sunlight? Do you want optimal? How much do you want that? Those are questions that everyone should try to answer, cause you won't be able to have the optimal reef tank if you don't have the optimal light source for the photosynthetic corals you keep. Also, photosynthesis isn't everything in the life of corals. It's actually important for their symbionts. And I believe there is way too many things we are still to discover in regards to lighting a reef system. I know I like to see the corals in the ocean and I try to reproduce that, personally. It's the representation of a healthy system.
But this is only my personal opinion, as everyone else have theirs. Remember... it's all relative because corals can survive under so many different types of lights and still "look cool" to your eyes.

 

[Acrofiend]

I’m pretty sure cool white LED’s contain a lot of blue, some green and red.

 

[Spare time]

I prefer having white lights for fish. We tend to dramatically underestimate how lighting can impact behavior as many fish use color/visuals for communication.

 

[STEEZY]

There are also lot's of people following them as an example.

I'm not sure the exact meaning of your last sentence, but "good" is so relative today and can have so many levels of results. Examples like WWC aren't necessarily proof of any "excellence" nor "good". They have their style and it works for what they want to reproduce. Simple as that! The bottom line is that the light you offer to your tank will promote results and if that's what you are aiming for, you are "on the right track" to reach your goal.
Everything becomes too relative when you have not chosen a specific target.
One thing we know for sure... light on the reef will be different depending on the natural factors and if you want to reproduce those specific aspects of natural light you need first to identify what you want first, understanding it's basics. You will never be able to represent 100% though. Different coral species grow and prefer different lighting in nature. That is a good beginning to start the definition of "good".
It is very true that corals will adapt and SURVIVE under many different types of lights in captivity. WWC takes great advantage of that and shows off the fluorescence when they promote the lights and corals they sell, like a fashion show. Will you think that would have any negative aspects in the long run, if that light wouldn't be enough for the optimal metabolism of the majority of the corals? Will the majority of shallow water corals we keep in aquariums absorb light throughout the whole sunlight spectrum? Humm...
What would be the optimal light for the majority of corals collected for the aquarium trade? Would the answer still be the sunlight? Do you want optimal? How much do you want that? Those are questions that everyone should try to answer, cause you won't be able to have the optimal reef tank if you don't have the optimal light source for the photosynthetic corals you keep. Also, photosynthesis isn't everything in the life of corals. It's actually important for their symbionts. And I believe there is way too many things we are still to discover in regards to lighting a reef system. I know I like to see the corals in the ocean and I try to reproduce that, personally. It's the representation of a healthy system.
But this is only my personal opinion, as everyone else have theirs. Remember... it's all relative because corals can survive under so many different types of lights and still "look cool" to your eyes.

Yes, the original question was “Are whites necessary, or can you simply utilize blue light?”

I’m not debating the value of white light, simply pointing to the fact that a well known, clearly successful reef company uses a lighting schedule that does not use white light. To me, this answers the question that it is possible, thus “I’m sure you’re good” or in other words “I’m sure you too can accomplish this if you wish”. I’m sorry if I spoke too colloquially for you.

They didn’t ask if it would be “optimal” or if it would simulate natural conditions. They asked if it was possible.

 

[ForTheLoveOfCoral21]

White is for our eyes. It's not something that in the depths of the ocean corals get. If you look at all the big coral growers in the hobby, such as Jason fox and WWC, they are using all blues.

Whites are great for watching your fish and what not, but it's not something that will affect corals negatively if they go with out.

 

[Just John]

White is for our eyes. It's not something that in the depths of the ocean corals get. If you look at all the big coral growers in the hobby, such as Jason fox and WWC, they are using all blues.

Whites are great for watching your fish and what not, but it's not something that will affect corals negatively if they go with out.

Spot on. However I have tried this and unfortunately some of my corals will close for the night when the tank switches to all blues. Mostly some zoas. They also don't open back up in the morning until there are some whites on. Perhaps these are shallow water corals that are used to the signal of more white light to open. I don't know. Just for a visual representation, the graphs below from Orphec lighting show that white light is not necessary for the chlorophyll a and b in the corals and the larger graph shows how they have incorporated that into this particular light's output. In other words, white light is not necessary except for our viewing purposes, just as others have said.

 

[Rubberfrog]

White is for our eyes. It's not something that in the depths of the ocean corals get. If you look at all the big coral growers in the hobby, such as Jason fox and WWC, they are using all blues.

Whites are great for watching your fish and what not, but it's not something that will affect corals negatively if they go with out.

JF and WWC use all blues to enhance their ridiculous phony colors.

 

[Forty-Two]

White is for our eyes. It's not something that in the depths of the ocean corals get. If you look at all the big coral growers in the hobby, such as Jason fox and WWC, they are using all blues.

Whites are great for watching your fish and what not, but it's not something that will affect corals negatively if they go with out.

ya I watched a video tour of Jason Fox's farm - and he makes the same statement. In order to get the pop - they need to be in blue. White light will wash out the colors.

 

[ocncheffy]

I had always thought the white spectrum assisted with faster growth in SPS. I usually run my whites at the AB+ spectrum with Radions (24%) for around 3 hours, then back to only blues.

 

[A. grandis]

Yes, the original question was “Are whites necessary, or can you simply utilize blue light?”

I’m not debating the value of white light, simply pointing to the fact that a well known, clearly successful reef company uses a lighting schedule that does not use white light. To me, this answers the question that it is possible, thus “I’m sure you’re good” or in other words “I’m sure you too can accomplish this if you wish”. I’m sorry if I spoke too colloquially for you.

They didn’t ask if it would be “optimal” or if it would simulate natural conditions. They asked if it was possible.

We CAN do anything we want. Problem is if we SHOULD, and what will be the consequences (results). See also post #2.

 

[A. grandis]

JF and WWC use all blues to enhance their ridiculous phony colors.

... and to sell that image. Then people need to continue with the "blues" in order to make sure they have that product in their private store display.