Questions for the Masters

deville n reef · Aug 23, 2016

So I have been reading and u guys know as well as I do there is alot of back and forth controversy and basically contradicting info everywhere....
My question is when it comes to lighting the blue (actinic) is the most crucial for photosynthesis of corals UNLESS your using led's ????
Is this the truth .? Corals can't get much from led blues as opposed to MH or t5 .?
So the full spec or white channel is the more important channel on led.?
Especially the Chinese brand .?
The LED blue only make the corals pop but no real synthesis or benefit comes from the blue LED channel

PatW · Aug 23, 2016

Take a look at the absorption spectra of chlorophyll a and b. Most of the light absorbed is between 400 and 500 nm in wave length. That is in the blue part of the spectrum. There is a smaller peak in the yellow through red part of the spectrum. There is a good reason why LED lights emphasize the blue part of the spectrum. That is where the action is.

mcarroll · Aug 24, 2016

Plain blue and white LED fixtures can grow mad corals.

Check out this DIY....this is the most basic (and inexpensive) light build I'm aware of....I've built three so far....and they do a fine job at growing corals:
http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/267432-gu10-led-build-thread-chinese-ebay-lights/

It's based on the cheapest blue and white LED's you can get.

Water quality is more important.

Consistency in dosing calcium and alkalinity (especially alkalinity) is the real key to that as far as corals are concerned. In other words, you have to take care of their water every day the same way you'd feed your fish every day. No problem, right?

You can do that by hand or with a doser – I've done both for long periods. Feed your fish and drop your dose into your DIY manual drippers at the the same time – super easy.

Most people supply plenty of nutrients for their corals just by feeding their fish, so usually no extra effort toward feeding is called for....but if you don't have a large stock of fish, you might have to do something in the way of feeding/maintaining nutrients for your corals. Nitrate and phosphate testing or presence of green algae growth will give you all the heads up you need. (All are signs of good nutrient levels....sometimes tests will read zero when things are cycling in balance.)