If white color does nothing for corals, does the increased par do nothing?

[mbarber87]

I see a lot of YouTube videos lately and articles about White spectrum being useless to corals. Most say it’s only for visuals. But it increases par so how is it useless?

 

[KellyCorals]

I wouldn’t agree that white light does nothing for corals. Lately I’ve only been running my main white lights for one hour a day for a couple different reasons. I have some new corals and the white lights provide the most par and seemed to be too much for the new corals and they weren’t opening up. Second, I’ve been playing with my lighting to see what the right amount of (white) light is to grow my corals but not cause algae to grow out of control. Long story short my corals definitely react to the one hour of white light. Some by opening up more and some by closing up because of the intensity. I’ve read that in a real reef the white light doesn’t actually reach most corals and the blue spectrum is the main source of light for the corals. So I have a 48” led light that’s all 420nm blues but I also have other lights that provide whites and a full spectrum of colors. Long story short your right, PAR is PAR and light energy is light energy. But I recommend running strong blues with a small window of whites for viewing and extra PAR and light spectrum variety.

 

[tbaity1401]

Novice here but I think white light still provides spectrum that corals use...just not as efficient as blue

 

[Oscar47f]

Yeah so white lights can still provide the energy corals need for photosynthesis, it’s just that blue spectrum lighting allows for peak performance...

 

[Crashnt24]

Blues are what reaches most coral in nature. Shallow corals will still use some whites. Most people have success running mostly blues while having a smaller window for whites peaking at 50-60%.

Problem is that all blues is hard to look at. I find I enjoy looking at my tank the best when whites are peaked. The problem with higher whites for longer run times, is increased algae in the display tank. Even with a refugium, with top dollar refuge lights. The fact is, you have white/green/red light and nutrients, algae WILL grow, no matter your refugium or turf scrubber.

Therefore, majority prefers running blues/violets at highest intensity for that PAR value and supplement whites for the viewer.

 

[Bpb]

Algae isn’t a result of white light. Algae is a result of 3 things. Light, nutrients, lack of herbivores.

those of us who have run or still run 500-1000 par of 10,000k metal halides with basically zero display algae to speak of are a testament to debunk the ever popular “if you run white lights you’ll have tank crashing algae” myth that has become popular. It’s just not true. Algae is almost always more prevalent in younger tanks as well, with poor biodiversity, and volatile nutrients.

Corals can and do make use of just about the entire visible and some of the invisible spectral range. The new popular advice focuses on chlorophyll A and C alone. There are many many more photo receptive pigments than just those two, that are able to make use of more than just 450nm blue light. Some people on here can and likely will go into much greater detail on that, but some of the conventional “wisdom” being spread about the evils of dull spectrum light are wrong.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You need to balance it. many coral are photosynthetic and need a level of white lighting.

 

[dave57]

White light is usable by zooxanthellae. Do corals prefer white light? Depends on the species, acclimation, intensity and light source. There are certain chromoproteins that require specific wavelength of light for them to switch on or express itself, many of the NFP seen in corals are brought out from “white light”. I believe having a broad spectrum light such as metal halides, LEDs, And or t5 can maintain healthy corals. Also keep in mind green light can give you 500 PAR, will it be a good idea? Will 400 PAR give you more growth than 250 par? I have no clue.. maybe someone can chime in..

 

[Crashnt24]

Algae isn’t a result of white light. Algae is a result of 3 things. Light, nutrients, lack of herbivores.

those of us who have run or still run 500-1000 par of 10,000k metal halides with basically zero display algae to speak of are a testament to debunk the ever popular “if you run white lights you’ll have tank crashing algae” myth that has become popular. It’s just not true. Algae is almost always more prevalent in younger tanks as well, with poor biodiversity, and volatile nutrients.

Corals can and do make use of just about the entire visible and some of the invisible spectral range. The new popular advice focuses on chlorophyll A and C alone. There are many many more photo receptive pigments than just those two, that are able to make use of more than just 450nm blue light. Some people on here can and likely will go into much greater detail on that, but some of the conventional “wisdom” being spread about the evils of dull spectrum light are wrong.

Not "tank crashing" algae but algae growth regardless. Nutrients + favorable light = algae. Not everyone stocks herbivores to keep growth under control. I know you want to defend your setup, but conventional wisdom isn't wrong.

There are many factors to account for, but the overall tone is: white/red/green light + nutrients = algae. No way around that.

 

[oreo54]

There are many factors to account for, but the overall tone is: white/red/green light + nutrients = algae. No way around that.

No, that isn't near right..
But back o the white thing a bit
First, Plenty of blue in a white LED:

Second "white' in things like metal halides/t5's is made w/ RGB..Both blue and "some" red is great for photosynthesis.
Green ehh..another debate.
Take 6500K iwasakis.. at one time the growth bulb..Lots of red,green AND blue.

White isn't a "color"..

 

[Bpb]

Not "tank crashing" algae but algae growth regardless. Nutrients + favorable light = algae. Not everyone stocks herbivores to keep growth under control. I know you want to defend your setup, but conventional wisdom isn't wrong.

There are many factors to account for, but the overall tone is: white/red/green light + nutrients = algae. No way around that.

care to share with the group what the primary photosynthetic peak Is of chlorophyll a? Hint... it’s blue

 

[jda]

This is going to sound crass and unhelpful, but it is the best advice that you might get... stop watching or paying attention to folks who have videos and posts that white light is worthless for corals. Who knows what other wrong info that they might be spreading... they either have no idea, or they are so into hyperbole that there will nary be anything useful in their thoughts.

BTW - nearly everything that we have in our tanks was collected on one-breath by a person with a mask and snorkel. While there are some things collected deeper, the rebreathers and expensive equipment (and risk) are saved for catching fish which can command 100x more than a coral. If you ever go to Indo or the Coral Sea, you can find collectors that will take you out with them for a few hundred bucks.