chalices changing colors under leds

ParkerB · Feb 1, 2013

RavePartyReef said:
I agree with all posts above. I don't want to come across as led opposed because I have owned an AI Nano, love the shimmer and have had some sps that did just fine while under it. After switching to t5 due to convenience and reading that was sufficient for my 20 gal Long I gave it a try. Some corals changed color, and I believe any coral would change color when exposed to different lighting than what it is used to. If you just place some led fixture over a tank without knowing its par and spectrum at spots in your tank where you will have corals, you will maybe experience loss of color. Or maybe luck out and have the appropriate amount for the species at that place.
I am in touch with many reefers here in NYC, people that are very serious about keeping corals and that know what corals are supposed to look like. I'm talking store owners, sps retailers. Many of them if not all jumped on the led wagon like everyone else, because of the benefits that we are all sick of hearing already. Than I started seeing corals that used to be red look pink, bright greens turn light yellow. Lots of people thinking their water was at wack. Then as the led technology matured, new systems came up and more, potent fixtures started bringing the same results to too many corals. Once in a while you see a person saying it because this or that, then another says its not true, the main manufacturers start popping generation 1, then 2. We don't know what the heck to buy. What makes us panic these days is that LOTS of people are on the other side of the road, switching back to t5 and mh, hoping to revive the colors that they once had. I can say this effect will become more common, because some say(DIY aficionados, before you jump fangs on my comment, show proof this is untrue ) led fixtures lack actinic, and therefore more light sensitive corals leave the colors to desire. I'm not talking growth, COLOR.
I must say for starters and reefers without experience, many things could go wrong in the tank and blaming on the light(led or not) should not be necessarily the reason your corals are losing color. I understand lots of people are mad when this led discussion comes up, as they spent lots of money, were promised something and now are not getting it. For those that have LEDs and like them, great.
T5s come up because they were in the market for a long time and are proven to allow for coral coloring with success. The issue with them is the penetration is not as high as LEDs, and deeper tanks owners feel the need to switch. The future IMo(at least for now) is hybrid fixtures, with the benefits of led penetration, shimmer and some color "pop" with t5s ability to bring coral colors to what is desired. With hybrids, there is no room for mistakes if you want to bet on the best choice.

Looks the best, my local store upscales.
He's running 10t5s on his Red Sea 150 and 3kessil a350s in the middle for shimmer and I can say looks amazing. I'm adding t5s to my orpheks even tho I like em.

Me z · Feb 2, 2013

Actinic is available in fixtures. I have 420-460nm on my radions. So I dont think its a lack of spectrum causing things to morph. My sps are brighter under leds than they ever were under halides. Just lps fleshy corals seem to change color on me. I dont lose any color. Here is some daylight shots of my tank. I have a thread on my local forum documenting improved growth with the leds over the halides and the majority of the corals colored better. Granted some looked better under halides but you get that with any light.