Effects of using only blue LED's

[RyanAbuhoff]

i have a custom LED setup without dimmable drivers. I like the blue tint so much more than the white or white/blue mix so I tend to run blues for a majority of the day.... is there any effects on corals if I only use the blue LED's and no whites?

 

[ReefLEDLights]

i have a custom LED setup without dimmable drivers. I like the blue tint so much more than the white or white/blue mix so I tend to run blues for a majority of the day.... is there any effects on corals if I only use the blue LED's and no whites?

That depends on which Blue

Royal Blue 450-455nm or Blue 465-480nm

The 420-460nm is your primary growth for zooanthellae algae

I did an experiment a few years back and the Royal Blue by itself grew SPS frags just fine




l

Bill

 

[Barky]

I run apollo led blues over my reef with great results, I supplement 2 purple plus and 2 coral plus T5 to get a 14k look for color temp. my tank is a 240 gl. 72 long x 30 wide x 24 inches deep, 2 T5 on the left and right side of the reef. Be careful with the the blues I have read they can burn your corals just as easy as the white.

 

[RyanAbuhoff]

Hey Bill, I am pretty sure I have normal blues and not the royal blue :/.... does that mean I should run whites for longer? I currently run my lights for 8 hours, 2 hours blue, 4 hours blue and white,and 2 hours blue to end the day

thanks for your response btw

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Hey Bill, I am pretty sure I have normal blues and not the royal blue :/.... does that mean I should run whites for longer? I currently run my lights for 8 hours, 2 hours blue, 4 hours blue and white,and 2 hours blue to end the day

thanks for your response btw

It really depends on the whites.

I cant speak for other than Cree as I'm very familiar with their spectrum.

The Blue by itself given the same drive current may offer more "Grow Light" but it really depends on a lot of things like which exact whites and then their bin.

Either way the Blue 470-480nm is still well above the efficiency midpoint for photosynthesis.

Personally I prefer more Royal Blue 450nm as its spectrum is more efficient for photosynthesis and it offers an actinic colour pop similar to the old school 420nm VHOs.

The bottom line is if its working, corals are growing and you like it...Dont change it...

Bill

 

[P3FE]

That depends on which Blue

Royal Blue 450-455nm or Blue 465-480nm

The 420-460nm is your primary growth for zooanthellae algae



I did an experiment a few years back and the Royal Blue by itself grew SPS frags just fine




l

Bill

Love the graph! having a hard time understanding it, specially with the colors and spectrum numbers at the bottom. I run one Radion G2 over my 60 cube and I'm still tweking colors to get good growth and color on my SPS, any advice? Have you ever tried this lights?

 

[EW_Fish]

Thanks for the graph

 

[Reefing Madness]

My Softies like a bit of whites throw in there, when I had almost all blue, they didn't like it to much, IE- Yellow Figi wouldn't open up all the way, with a bit more whites, but still blues at 100% it opens up all the way. My Devils Hand on the other hand didn't care at all, it opened all the way will nothing but Blues on.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Love the graph! having a hard time understanding it, specially with the colors and spectrum numbers at the bottom. I run one Radion G2 over my 60 cube and I'm still tweking colors to get good growth and color on my SPS, any advice? Have you ever tried this lights?

I can honestly say that I have never tried the Radion on my reef (I like my LEDs best) but have compared it over other reef tanks.

That said they use quality LEDs and my mix of binned LEDs have also given great results...

Growth is simply the Royal Blue and the Violet 420-460nm...Everything else in their programming is looks. Most LFS with their fixture have the Royal Blue and UV(410-430nm) Max and tweak the rest for looks.

After growth is covered looks is like the bar question "who is hotter?...Ginger or Mary Ann..."

Its personal preference and a lot depends on the type of coral

Bill

 

[ManOfSalt]

My heliofungia recently left the blue LED fan club. I used to run my whites when i got off work then hit the blues when I went to sleep so about 4 white 5 blue (i need more sleep). I woke up one morning and it was all squished up. Switched to the whites and it stretched out. I'd have to mess around with it a bit more to confirm but thats been my latest negative experience with blue LEDs.

 

[P3FE]

I can honestly say that I have never tried the Radion on my reef (I like my LEDs best) but have compared it over other reef tanks.

That said they use quality LEDs and my mix of binned LEDs have also given great results...

Growth is simply the Royal Blue and the Violet 420-460nm...Everything else in their programming is looks. Most LFS with their fixture have the Royal Blue and UV(410-430nm) Max and tweak the rest for looks.

After growth is covered looks is like the bar question "who is hotter?...Ginger or Mary Ann..."

Its personal preference and a lot depends on the type of coral

Bill

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Timfish]

I suggest you read Dana Riddles numerous articles on fluorescing and chromo proteins made by corals. (This is a seperate subject from the absorbtion spectrum of chlorophyll a posted above by ReefLEDLights.) I don't doubt many corals can be grown under just RB leds but there many of the fluorescing proteins are excited by wavelengths much shorter (UV) and much longer (green, yellow red) than just the blue spectrum. Chromo proteins also are utilized to reflect light by corals so if the right spectrum is not provided you won't see the colors the coral is capable of displaying. Since corals are actively making and adjusting proteins for the light they receive it selectively subjecting a speciman to a specific spectrum of light over time may cause it to produce very different colors than it's parent colony.

 

[WhoKnew]

I run the Allumination Super SolBlue. Wish I knew more about the lighting. My tank does not look like it is growing. Just maintaining. What is a good percentage to run lights.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I suggest you read Dana Riddles numerous articles on fluorescing and chromo proteins made by corals. (This is a seperate subject from the absorbtion spectrum of chlorophyll a posted above by ReefLEDLights.) I don't doubt many corals can be grown under just RB leds but there many of the fluorescing proteins are excited by wavelengths much shorter (UV) and much longer (green, yellow red) than just the blue spectrum. Chromo proteins also are utilized to reflect light by corals so if the right spectrum is not provided you won't see the colors the coral is capable of displaying. Since corals are actively making and adjusting proteins for the light they receive it selectively subjecting a speciman to a specific spectrum of light over time may cause it to produce very different colors than it's parent colony.

Very true and I totally agree.

One of the most byzantine aspects of this hobby are the results of simple light changes to the coral environment.

This is a tad off the subject but I like to look a Reef Keeping at four levels.

-Keeping salt water fish alive.

-Growing softies

-Growing SPS and fragging SPS

-Optimizing the looks of SPS

Bill

 

[ManOfSalt]

Sorry I have an ignorant question: Are the corals that that thrive in the sort of darker end of the spectrum (violet, blue etc) the ones that originate from deeper parts of the ocean?

 

[PaulKreider]

Very interesting topic.

 

[ReefLEDLights]

Sorry I have an ignorant question: Are the corals that that thrive in the sort of darker end of the spectrum (violet, blue etc) the ones that originate from deeper parts of the ocean?

Not at all an ignorant question.

Coral do not use any light. The zooanthellae algae they host do.

This algae provide them with sugar and oxygen. If you give them more light the coral adjust the amount of algae in their tissue so they do not get too much oxygen as too much oxygen is toxic. SPS corals also develop pigments to reflect excessive light during peak periods.

The Violet to Royal Blue just happens to be the wavelength that penetrates water the best along with being the most efficient for photosynthesis.

Given the current commercial lighting needs based on remote phosphor applications the 450nm Royal Blue just happens to be the most efficient light per watt available. Its rather coincidental that it also provides a dominant photosynthesis spectrum along with giving some pigments an awesome colour pop

Coral species from deeper parts of the ocean are also found at more shallow depths. Their difference is simply the amount of algae they host.

Its true that all men must die but coral and anemones may be immortal as they can split or break and then move to a different area as long as there is light for their algae.

Bill

 

[ReefLEDLights]

I forgot to mention that LPS corals often extend or expand their tissue so their algae receive more light.

Their first response to too much light is to shrink.

This expansion also aids in prey capture.

Once acclimated LPS corals adjust their algae to optimize their size for prey capture.

Bill

 

[ManOfSalt]

Not at all an ignorant question.

Its true that all men must die but coral and anemones may be immortal as they can split or break and then move to a different area as long as there is light for their algae.

Bill

I suppose I should refrain from viewing forums in a public place in the event that I laugh juuuust a little too much.

Thanks for the clarity!

 

[StikHedRon]

Gonna follow along on this one and see where it goes. Pretty interesting topic here.