Light spectrum

[Kershaw]

Is there a list out there that some one has put together, which shows what color spectrum certain corals like. I am looking for somthing that has some science behind it a little beyond just what works for you. Maybe some side by side grow outs or somthing. I would like info from softys to sps. And even anemones. I have searched and have not found any compelling evidence beyond what all the light company's say and advertise.

 

[Kershaw]

Everything I see says 450nm. But don't allot of hobbiest that run leds run many different spectrums through out the day?

 

[kevlow]

Most of the LED manufactures list some studies, facts, and opinions on their websites. If your read enough of them you start getting a good picture.
The SB Reef Light site gives a pretty good explanation as to what corals want and why he chose specific peaks in the color spectrum to target.

 

[Kershaw]

So there are a million led threads where some people have amazing growth with ai lights for example and then allot of people that don't. the only thing I can think of that causes this assuming all other factors of there aquarium are in line to grow coral like alk, cal, mag. Is that even though the leds are capable of growing them people don't have them set up right. I will take a look at sb lights site to see what they say. I am really looking for an unbiased comparison on spectrum. And if it's the same for all coral. I know that intensity of light changes with coral.

 

[kevlow]

So there are a million led threads where some people have amazing growth with ai lights for example and then allot of people that don't. the only thing I can think of that causes this assuming all other factors of there aquarium are in line to grow coral like alk, cal, mag. Is that even though the leds are capable of growing them people don't have them set up right. I will take a look at sb lights site to see what they say. I am really looking for an unbiased comparison on spectrum. And if it's the same for all coral. I know that intensity of light changes with coral.

Clearly different corals like different par. But I believe most lights can grow corals. I just think that many brands sell feature that are for the keeper and not the reef. The big reason why some people have success with one type of lighting and not another is because of all their other parameters.

 

[jsker]

My only input would be, is when I upgraded my light last year from a lower end LED light bar to a upper end light my corals colored up very nicely instead of being brown. I agree with @kevlow that parameter are also a big factor to growth and color.

 

[Kershaw]

I get great growth with my kessils which allot of people don't. I have kept sps anemones with out issue. I was just hoping to find a better answer as to why two people can have two dramatically different results on the same light with same coral beyond par and lux. Which to my knowledge are measurement for intensity

 

[shred5]

Is there a list out there that some one has put together, which shows what color spectrum certain corals like. I am looking for somthing that has some science behind it a little beyond just what works for you. Maybe some side by side grow outs or somthing. I would like info from softys to sps. And even anemones. I have searched and have not found any compelling evidence beyond what all the light company's say and advertise.

Look up Dana Riddle he has done lots of studies on spectrum. He has published them several places like Advanced Aquarist.
Problem is we do not know what we have most of the time what depth our coral came from, If we knew depth our coral comes from we would have a better idea. Worst thing is we throw all these corals in this little box that would never be next to each other in the wild. They are receiving the same light and flow and in the ocean it might be the complete opposite on both light and flow.
Shallower corals prefer wide spectrum while deeper more blue we know this because we can measure this.
What makes things worse is some of the colors/spectrum that corals do not like is what makes them color up. Red is a spectrum that hurts corals but is also the spectrum that helps some sps color up because they produce pigments and proteins to block this light. UV also can cause corals to color up and is the spectrum in which leds stink but are getting better. Problem is the some UV leds are way to expensive right now.
Tullio Dellaquila just did a nice little write up on that.

As far as par goes as long as you have a good fixture with good lamps/leds/bulbs either led, t-5 or halide they all produce plenty of par and should be of no concern now a days really. People waste way to much time on it.

 

[Kershaw]

i will search for those articals. I hope to find a grow out study logging the spectrum.

 

[shred5]

i will search for those articals. I hope to find a grow out study logging the spectrum.

Good luck there. I know Dana did some on Pocillopora I believe. The problem with most corals and especially sps is we can not identify allot of them and even if we do some have wide ranges while others do not. A coral that sits in 5 feet of water and sits baking in the sun at low tide has totally different requirements than a coral in lets say just 15 feet of water. Providing a wider spectrum can be better in some cases because corals can adapt.
UV might be a little more tricky as we start to add more UV into our light it has the possibility to a negative affect on those corals that are not used to it and it could kill them but shallow water corals like sps will thrive much better.

To make things worse there are so many other things that affect coral growth and color like flow or available food and nutrients etc.

 

[kevlow]

Look up Dana Riddle he has done lots of studies on spectrum. He has published them several places like Advanced Aquarist.
Problem is we do not know what we have most of the time what depth our coral came from, If we knew depth our coral comes from we would have a better idea. Worst thing is we throw all these corals in this little box that would never be next to each other in the wild. They are receiving the same light and flow and in the ocean it might be the complete opposite on both light and flow.
Shallower corals prefer wide spectrum while deeper more blue we know this because we can measure this.
What makes things worse is some of the colors/spectrum that corals do not like is what makes them color up. Red is a spectrum that hurts corals but is also the spectrum that helps some sps color up because they produce pigments and proteins to block this light. UV also can cause corals to color up and is the spectrum in which leds stink but are getting better. Problem is the some UV leds are way to expensive right now.
Tullio Dellaquila just did a nice little write up on that.

As far as par goes as long as you have a good fixture with good lamps/leds/bulbs either led, t-5 or halide they all produce plenty of par and should be of no concern now a days really. People waste way to much time on it.

Agreed.
Corals are not one size fits all and as you stated, they certainly are not all together in the wild.
We can control so many factors in our tanks and manipulate colors that would never be seen in the wild. We can hit corals with spectrum and intensity they would never see naturally and force them to color up. We deplete their zoa so their pigments stand out.

Having dove in several oceans I can say that no matter how cool reefs may be, they do not have the colors that we see in our glass boxes.

What we do with lighting is really incredible. What I think us hobbyists struggle with is the mass import/export capabilities of the ocean. I think that is why water parameters is the wild card.

I really agree with you that all types of lighting produce plenty of par and yes we waste far too much time on it. lol.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

why two people can have two dramatically different results on the same light with same coral beyond par and lux.

flow and nutrints. trace elements(food)..
Read everything by Dana Riddle in advanced . Its a start. The only thing Id like to speak to him about is Over lighting. Ive seen the most beautiful tanks with "was too much light" . But In truth I think i know the answers,

https://www.google.com/webhp?source...=2&ie=UTF-8#q=dana+riddle+advanced+aquarist&*

 

[Kershaw]

Thanks for all the info. I have a large list of reading ahead of me. My kessils have always worked well for me. They just ramp up ramp down. I like not having to mess with all the other colors trying to get the perfect growth. I don't farm and frag unless clonines get to big. Flow is where I spend most time trying to achieve what corals like which is hard Ima tank like mine with softys to sps. If you take a large coral frag it up into 3 different tanks all plumbed to gether with same flow. And use same lights set at different spectrum I think that would be interesting I wish I had the money to do it myself.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Thanks for all the info. I have a large list of reading ahead of me. My kessils have always worked well for me. They just ramp up ramp down. I like not having to mess with all the other colors trying to get the perfect growth. I don't farm and frag unless clonines get to big. Flow is where I spend most time trying to achieve what corals like which is hard Ima tank like mine with softys to sps. If you take a large coral frag it up into 3 different tanks all plumbed to gether with same flow. And use same lights set at different spectrum I think that would be interesting I wish I had the money to do it myself.

I could have my own public style aquarium with all the questions I have and the animals I want..

After seeing so many tank and talking to manufactures etc etc. The most mind blowing tank is still to this day the 5g nano with no filters one powerhead one fish 1 crab 4 snails and more corals than I had at the time all growing under a Phillips led from home depot.

 

[shred5]

Thanks for all the info. I have a large list of reading ahead of me. My kessils have always worked well for me. They just ramp up ramp down. I like not having to mess with all the other colors trying to get the perfect growth. I don't farm and frag unless clonines get to big. Flow is where I spend most time trying to achieve what corals like which is hard Ima tank like mine with softys to sps. If you take a large coral frag it up into 3 different tanks all plumbed to gether with same flow. And use same lights set at different spectrum I think that would be interesting I wish I had the money to do it myself.

Kessils are nice and have some UV actually a little more into the low end than other fixtures. To me this help a little more with some sps coloration.
Unless you use the AP700 you are going to have greater shading than other two puck or more fixtures. So basically you may need more of them to help with shading vs some of the other fixtures.
Kessil uses such a tight cluster you never see the disco affect and they have great shimmer, the drawback is it requires more fixtures to help with shading.