Lighting please explain??

[Jguido1987]

lighting is obviously a huge part of growing and sustaining a healthy and happy reef tank. I am hoping someone can explain the basics to me. There is so much information out there it is almost overwhelming and almost kept me out of the hobby completely. I currently have a jbj nano cube 28gal intermediate. Everything as far as lighting is stock. Only has 25x1 watt (14K) daylights and 4x0.5 watt (465nm) moon lights. My tank seems to be doing ok. I'm having success with a variety of lps and softies and I have started to try some SPS now.

My main question and concerns are for a tank I want to eventually have.
Like I said there is just so much information out there it is overwhelming.

What should be the overal goal to create. As far as color lights whites/blues/reds...??
Why would someone spend so much money on high output lighting to have to scale it down?
How do they determine par ratings?
Can you get larger and deeper penetrating par ratings depending on wattage or is that on color balance?

I understand that color balance can effect the way the corals look. But is that based on just light reflection producing color to our eyes or is that because the coral is actually changing color.

My lights are obviously low wattage and are 14k so I don't have really any of that "blue" color reflecting?

Sorry if this is a loaded question and if I didn't make my point and concerns too clear.
Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again to everyone.

 

[Tahoe61]

@saltyfilmfolks

 

[pickupman66]

SSSSSOooooo.. Good questions. Let me see if I can address each.

What should be the overal goal to create. As far as color lights whites/blues/reds...?? IMPO< the goal with colors is to (1) provide the proper spectrum that encourage coral growth and (2) also be pleasing to your eye when you look at the tank.
Why would someone spend so much money on high output lighting to have to scale it down? Money invested in high end light is not necessarily for wattage output but also the spectrum and quality of the product. Also, it is usually better on the LEDs to run them at below max capacity to minimize heat and prolong their effectiveness. a High end light will have high quality LED and drivers so it will last longer and produce the desired spectrum. Some have better controls and adjustments of the individual colors. For instance. take a 24x24" area. you can buy a cheap chinese black box full spectrum that has generic diodes. all of the "blue" ones are on one channel, and then all of the warm whites, cool whites, reds, greens etc are on the "white"channel. you can only adjust those two, and they may or may not be ramping programmable. Whereas a Radion or AI Hydra HD each set of a single color LED (UV, royal blue, blue, white, lime, red etc) can be adjusted to hit the sweet spot you want. they can also be programmed for a ramp up and down and have endless possibilities.
How do they determine par ratings? Par ratings are measured with a par meter both in and out of water. IIRC BRS did a great explanation of this.
Can you get larger and deeper penetrating par ratings depending on wattage or is that on color balance? Yes on both. Blue colors will go deeper. also the more wattage you throw at the water, the higher the par curves will be down to the bottom of your tank. Wattage is the biggest factor here I believe.

I understand that color balance can effect the way the corals look. But is that based on just light reflection producing color to our eyes or is that because the coral is actually changing color? yes and yes. SPS for example will brown when they dont get enough light. as their light increases they can "color up" and will look stunning. Too much light and they can bleach. I believe this coloration is dependent on teh amount of zoox algaes in their tissues.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Like I said there is just so much information out there it is overwhelming.

HI. And yes its weird and convoluted. Here's a pretty good article with the basics.

What should be the overal goal to create. As far as color lights whites/blues/reds...??

Corals have been known in this hobby to grow under many different Kelvin temperatures. BUT each of those does contain the the spectrum that corals need. and as many species live in many different color temps they're all ok as long as the light contains enough of what it wants.

A manufacturer or lighting guy can make 14k in several different ways with several different combinations and amount of colors. This produces signature looks to the lights and such, but it does mean 14,ooo kelvin is relative to the manufacturer.

SO the goal really is to provide a good spectrum with the correct intensity. Intensity however is the trick. coral will generally grow in a wide range of intensity as long as it has acclimation to that intensity and enough nutrients to support that growth. (more reading https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/h...d-i-dont-know-what-to-do.210035/#post-2401666

Can you get larger and deeper penetrating par ratings depending on wattage or is that on color balance?

Both kinda yes. Some colors have more par. Each type of light has its own characteristic of light penetration. A t5 has little penetration compared to an led with a lens(beam is focused.)
Also some leds have less par but higher intensity, from wattage and lenses.(not a good fixture)

Another way to test intensity is a lux meter.

Par consists of two elements. color and intensity. Basicly A par meter calculates both. A lux meter only measures intensity. So if you know you have a light that will grow coral, all you need to do is to adjust the intensity.

I understand that color balance can effect the way the corals look. But is that based on just light reflection producing color to our eyes or is that because the coral is actually changing color.

My lights are obviously low wattage and are 14k so I don't have really any of that "blue" color reflecting?

Both. Its a visual the engineers have designed to make the colors pop for us yes. Some spectrums do change the color of the coral, but not as often.
(this may hurt your head a bit, but a great article.)https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lighting-spectra-photosynthesis-and-you.100170/#post-1108955

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

IMO, for most folks hey balance the amount of food (no3/po4) to the light that have. esp back in the day of MH and T5 as it was a set PAR. Dimmers have IMO become quite burdensome as its another thing folks adjust and play with. and that's not stable. My recommendation to most now is to adjust the light to your eye and make it look good to you, then adjust the intensity. Except for extreme color choices, we know it will grow coral, so really you just now need enough. The length of time does make a difference too. Think of it as cumulative PAR. How much for how long.

I had actually the JBJ advanced. I believe it may be the same one you have with the same specs. at 14k native(as many leds are) it designed to be able to mix the color. lees white, more blue=20 basicly. why they dond includ a dimmer I dont know.

I do have to say in the jbj it has very high intensity, but, IMO, very low par. I have a similar JBJ light, even more power, same spectrum. And sadly I have to report I dont like them at all. After taking coral back and forth and changing lights I had much better growth. WHY? I assume the spectrum does not contain enough of singular frequencies, ones the coral really like. The mixed it poorly imo.

So as you continue on in your addiction...ahem Hobby, and learn more about light, you may want to try different lights at the same intensity just to see what happens.. Most of us do.

The basic recommendation is to have 100 par min on the sand(a little more imo) for stuff like zoas. 200+ on the sand for clams and nems.

 

[Jguido1987]

Thank you for the help. This def helped me understand lighting a little better.