Does Increasing LED Red Channel Lighting Make A Difference?

[PeterC99]

Certain reefers telling me they increase their Red Channel Led lights for better pop of red & pink colors. Does this really work?

 

[blaxsun]

Yes.

 

[Spieg]

There is some evidence that deep red (~540-560nm) can benefit Zooxanthellae.

 

[MaxTremors]

Yes, coral fluorescence is basically different proteins in the coral’s tissue reflecting different wavelengths of light, and the color reflected often corresponds with the same color or wavelength of light. In an overly blue lighted tank you won’t see red, purple, or orange as well, in a tank with too much red, greens and blues won’t fluoresce as much, a tank without enough violet light won’t show purples as much. I personally go for a majority blue with a good amount of violet and white, and a slight amount of red and green, and I find that I get decent fluorescence from most colors. The reason most reefers don’t use as much red or white light is for aesthetic reasons, and because those spectrums can promote nuisance algae, also that a lot of corals evolved to depend on bluer light (most LPS and softies, really anything from deeper water).

 

[Stigigemla]

You can try wavelengths around 470 nm to get red fluorescence in some red corals.
It can make Montipora capricornis red when it is orange-brown in white light.