Should I switch to all blue?

[jda]

How would you even know? Do you have a reef tank yet? I have made it pretty clear that I have no idea when you are going to be helpful or a troll, but this is a troll moment. I like the helpful moments better. Get a tank. Nobody wants to reef with links and quotes.

 

[stephj03]

Maybe Hamilton needs to spend some change on a "study"..

https://ecotechmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ReefWholesale_CoralLab.pdf

Pretty "honest" if you ask me...


But the thing about "science" it is not really to prove stuff but to disprove stuff.
If not disprovable then it is accepted fact..

There's No Such Thing As Proof In The Scientific World - There's Only Evidence

What do you think is the most counterintuitive yet relevant result in physics? This question was originally answered on Quora by Jack Fraser.

www.forbes.com

You do realize that those are the written opinions of a guy who hadn't yet started his PhD posted on Quora and linked to by Forbes right?

And that the PhD he went on to pursue is in a theoretical field?

As in he has no chlorophyll containing corals to generate empirical data and observations from?

He's at a great school though. Several Nobel laureates. Hopefully by the time he graduates next year, he will no longer think those awards were bestowed for all the things that were "disproven". Lot of discoveries generated those awards......

 

[stephj03]

Not that a PhD is required in order to arrive at good conclusions.


Far less than that is required to very quickly understand that all blue LED lighting is non-standard for good reason and hobbyists often move back towards full spectrum via addition of T5 Blu+ bulbs

@Gordi what exact make and model of like lights do you have and how long/intense do you run them?

What exactly do you feel your tank is lacking? Growth, color, extension?

In a sane world we would have started there and I apologize in part for not asked ng this yet.

 

[Hermie]

I'd quote everyone who responded about Jason Fox but it's too many, to say this: I stand corrected, in that Fox uses T5 bulbs which have a lot more "white" (ie non-blue spectrum) than blue LEDs alone would.

Which part? Because both are fairly easy to prove

About this, "running blues only reduces the amount of algae they have to clean up"

Can you show me any evidence? From my understanding, running blues gives the appearance that less algae is growing, but nuisance algae still grows, to what magnitude is the unresolved question. I have not seen any studies done where blue light grows LESS algae than white light. And if it does grow less, it has to be significant enough IMO to warrant modifying spectrum.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

I'd quote everyone who responded about Jason Fox but it's too many, to say this: I stand corrected, in that Fox uses T5 bulbs which have a lot more "white" (ie non-blue spectrum) than blue LEDs alone would.


About this, "running blues only reduces the amount of algae they have to clean up"

Can you show me any evidence? From my understanding, running blues gives the appearance that less algae is growing, but nuisance algae still grows, to what magnitude is the unresolved question. I have not seen any studies done where blue light grows LESS algae than white light. And if it does grow less, it has to be significant enough IMO to warrant modifying spectrum.

Maybe you haven't been looking?

• "The primary reason why violet and blue lights do not cause algae to grow is that they correspond with photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophylls and carotenoids . These pigments absorb the specific colors of the light spectrum (blue and violet) rather than creating algal cells (red)."
• Source: https://meekbond.com/does-blue-light-cause-algae-growth/

If you'd like more information I'd be glad to find it for you, took 10 seconds to do a Google search.

 

[Hermie]

Maybe you haven't been looking?

• "The primary reason why violet and blue lights do not cause algae to grow is that they correspond with photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophylls and carotenoids . These pigments absorb the specific colors of the light spectrum (blue and violet) rather than creating algal cells (red)."
• Source: https://meekbond.com/does-blue-light-cause-algae-growth/

If you'd like more information I'd be glad to find it for you, took 10 seconds to do a Google search.

Honestly google search is not my go-to for credible information, it's only a starting point. That said, I have "looked" before on this topic.

From my understanding, reducing PAR in a tank environment, regardless of spectrum, will reduce algae growth. Therefore, if someone reduces blue light or totally removes "white light," the net effect is reduction of energy input to the nuisance algae.

I'm not trying to be rude or anything. Only to highlight a common misconception about blue light and algae growth.

For example, why does nuisance algae grow "at all" in tanks totally lit with blue spectrum? If blue spectrum was the cure-all to nuisance algae, why don't we recommend ALL reefkeepers with a nuisance algae problem to use only blue lights? Of course there are compounding reasons to answer that last question for example the reefkeeper's visual preference of their tank. But it's a useful thought experiment as to why people go to lengths beyond "only blue light" to remove and prevent algae, ie introducing herbivores and manual removal.

 

[Gordi]

Anyway, now all the science and diving is out of the way, I changed my lighting to all blue.
And it looked bloody awful.
So I changed it back.
Question answered.

 

[outhouse]

it looked bloody awful.

There ya go.

Full spectrum required for best growth, but that can be done without blasting white light, giving your tank a nice 20k look.

Best growth i ever had was from MH 14k and actinic or a 50/50 supplementation which filled a 210og tank in 2 years with LPS.

my current tank was running with 1% white which gave the 20k look and growth was crazy with just 2 different colored blue leds and white barely on. Could growth be better with more spectrum? factually yes.

MANY WAYS to skin this cat

 

[JCOLE]

I wonder if these corals get any white light?

 

[djf91]

I wonder if these corals get any white light?

Bingo

 

[Saltydog69]

I was just in my LFS yesterday and my coral vendor farm shop 2 weeks ago and saw no white light or if they were running then the percentage was so low the eyes can't pick it up.

There have numerous successful tanks running nothing but blue spectrum variations but I can't think of one reef tank that runs all white and no blue or UV

lets see a picture of your tank plz> i want to see what all blue spectrum coral look like?

 

[Adam1985]

IT INCREASES PAR….

Absolutely agree…however, increasing PAR by increasing white intensity might not always be helpful.

How about PUR? I’ve heard and seen quite a lot about indicating that certain parts of the visible spectrum aren’t really useable for corals (and plants). That brings us to PUR (the portion of PAR that’s usable for photosynthesis).

If that were true, PUR might be drastically lower than PAR when measuring white light.

BRS and Kessil have some interesting reading and videos on this.

 

[Adam1985]

Guys will leave it as it is. Every tank is different and every reefer can use their own preferred methods.

Fully agreed and well said.

And after all, the only person you should really try to impress with your tank is yourself.

 

[Hermie]

I wonder if these corals get any white light?

Devil's advocate I'm sure they get a lot of blue too.

 

[Lavey29]

lets see a picture of your tank plz> i want to see what all blue spectrum coral look like?

Here is my tank at 9 months. Still far from mature but some things improving. I run the AB plus program 10 hours with ramp up and down. White lights at 8% in the middle of the day only for viewing. Blues and uv 100%. Just got my first free SPS test frag about 1.5 months ago. It's doing OK not great but it is more based on my water stability then lighting. I'm hand dosing 2.5ml of alk daily so my next upgrade will be a doser. Overall I think my corals are ok but not great. Just waiting on that complete balance that comes with tank maturity. Just running a fuge and skimmer now so trying to keep it simple and more natural approach. Fuge is really filling up with algae though may need a snail or two in there. Very challenging hobby but love the beauty of it.

 

[oreo54]

Devil's advocate I'm sure they get a lot of blue too.

Funny fact Iwasaki 6500k MH's actually have more blue than some blue MH's

Iwasaki 250w 6500K Metal Halide Bulb - My Chunk of the Ocean

Extremely well documented 180 Gallon Reef Tank. Excellent source of information on Reef keeping.

www.rl180reef.com

Just because a bluish bulb looks blue, does not mean it creates more blue wavelength light than a say a yellow bulb. In fact, the 6500K bulbs actually create more blue light then a 20,000K bulb--but yet seem yellowish/greenish.

 

[JCOLE]

Devil's advocate I'm sure they get a lot of blue too.

Yes, they do. Along with a lot of reds, greens, and every other color of the rainbow. This is what makes them happy and healthy.

 

[Roscovitch]

White produces most amount of par. Par grows corals. A Acro at 75 PAR isn’t going to thrive like a Acro at 300 PAR. All I’m stating is running alittle bit of white for a brief time in your schedule greatly helps the corals thrive as opposed to running straight blues

Watch this.

 

[Arego]

Once you go whites you never go back. I run 100% blue 75% white and two coral plus.. algae literally went away and the tank exploded.

 

[Spare time]

This topic is way more heated than it needs to be. Look up the common photopigments in corals we keep, note the wavelengths most heavily utilized, and then draw logical conclusions as to which colors are most productive. Also look up what different "white" light produce by reef lights is made of. This shouldn't be a controversial topic. Corals can use the white channel on our lights, but look at WHAT part of the white light I'd being most heavily utilized.


Just because a coral is exposed to it in the wild doesn't mean they use it or use it intensly.