SPS Lighting/Coloring Question

[Big E]

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[Big E]

You can't just look at a spec sheet and think you need a spike in a certain area to create what a coral needs. The Blue+- Coral+ combo has plenty in all areas. The blue spikes/humps in any lighting is only there for the corals to look better to our eyes.........corals don't need that massive blue spike or hump in the blues.

You can see what I'm talking about in the sun and MH comparison.

Some lighting that is overly blue will drown out what may or may not be enough in other areas to reach the corals....you have to find a balance.

Just because you can't get a coral to be bright red or pink doesn't mean it has the Dsred pigment. It does tell you don't have enough or too much in one area of the overall spectrum distribution.

Look at this table..........you can see how spread out the different exciitation areas are.

You can't just run what's good for the corals and then at night run a Windex tank. You have to consider how our eyes work. We don't see blue, purple and red at the same intensities as the tank gets darker or overly blue. It's like looking at corals in a cave.

You can see below how our eyes work............we can still see green, yellow and orange well enough but seeing the other prime colors becomes more difficult as things darken up. You have to find a balance that fits your visual likeness but still satisfies exciting coral pigments.

As Seadweller says.......don't overthink it..............just look at the corals. If certain colors don't pop/grow then you aren't creating a good balance. It's not as hard as it seems.

The charts are more for you to understand and form a basis to work from.

What I try to accomplish visually is for all the prime colors to pop the same when you're standing 4 or so feet away..........that's what really makes an overall visual impact.

Most people don't look at a reef tank and zoom in on one small coral like a picture does of some of those tenuis frags at a 2x2" range. If you have a small cube tank maybe that works but most reef tanks aren't that small.

 

[Da8]

Great thread

 

[ReeferNtraining]

You can't just look at a spec sheet and think you need a spike in a certain area to create what a coral needs. The Blue+- Coral+ combo has plenty in all areas. The blue spikes/humps in any lighting is only there for the corals to look better to our eyes.........corals don't need that massive blue spike or hump in the blues.

You can see what I'm talking about in the sun and MH comparison.
Some lighting that is overly blue will drown out what may or may not be enough in other areas to reach the corals....you have to find a balance.

Just because you can't get a coral to be bright red or pink doesn't mean it has the Dsred pigment. It does tell you don't have enough or too much in one area of the overall spectrum distribution.

Look at this table..........you can see how spread out the different exciitation areas are


You can't just run what's good for the corals and then at night run a Windex tank. You have to consider how our eyes work. We don't see blue, purple and red at the same intensities as the tank gets darker or overly blue. It's like looking at corals in a cave.

You can see below how our eyes work............we can still see green, yellow and orange well enough but seeing the other prime colors becomes more difficult as things darken up. You have to find a balance that fits your visual likeness but still satisfies exciting coral pigments.



As Seadweller says.......don't overthink it..............just look at the corals. If certain colors don't pop/grow then you aren't creating a good balance. It's not as hard as it seems.

The charts are more for you to understand and form a basis to work from.

What I try to accomplish visually is for all the prime colors to pop the same when you're standing 4 or so feet away..........that's what really makes an overall visual impact.

Most people don't look at a reef tank and zoom in on one small coral like a picture does of some of those tenuis frags at a 2x2" range. If you have a small cube tank maybe that works but most reef tanks aren't that small.

As always, great information and guidance BigE. I have been known to over analyze a time or two : ) In looking at the spectral chart I seen the peaks in the blue and green spectrum and assumed that the 570-590 spectrum was lacking. With your guidance I believe I have a better understanding now.

If I’m fully understanding your comments here, I think you’re saying that I am probably close to achieving a more full spectrum with the bulb combo + LED’s

I do like the “less blue” of the Coral+ bulbs. In fact, overall the tank looks spectacular at the 3-4’ distance. Even my zoa rock has more color contrast. So, I’ll give it 2-3 weeks and closely monitor the corals and post back with changes, if any.

I want to thank everyone for their comments on this thread. Everyone has been very forthcoming and helpful!

 

[SeaDweller]

As always, great information and guidance BigE. I have been known to over analyze a time or two : ) In looking at the spectral chart I seen the peaks in the blue and green spectrum and assumed that the 570-590 spectrum was lacking. With your guidance I believe I have a better understanding now.

If I’m fully understanding your comments here, I think you’re saying that I am probably close to achieving a more full spectrum with the bulb combo + LED’s

I do like the “less blue” of the Coral+ bulbs. In fact, overall the tank looks spectacular at the 3-4’ distance. Even my zoa rock has more color contrast. So, I’ll give it 2-3 weeks and closely monitor the corals and post back with changes, if any.

I want to thank everyone for their comments on this thread. Everyone has been very forthcoming and helpful!

this may be of interest to you

Figure 6. Absorption spectra of the five zooxanthellae pigments in...

Download scientific diagram | Absorption spectra of the five zooxanthellae pigments in respect to both spectral datasets: the QB2 visible dataset (blue, green and red) and the WV2 visible dataset (“coastal”, blue, green, yellow and red) (modified from [41]). from publication: Enhancing Coral...

www.researchgate.net

 

[ReeferNtraining]

Folks, I was gonna wait the whole 2-3 weeks before making a determination on the success/failure of the spectrum changes offered up by you fellow reefers. Well, I couldn’t wait!

Not only is the growth clearly visible in less than a weeks time, but the minty green is completely transforming to the crazy deep blue that the WD is known for. Please see the before/after photo of what I am seeing thus far. I know, tonight’s picture is more actinic than last weeks.... focus on the minty green flesh vs. the characteristic WD blue flesh tonight. Not to mention the growth!! I’m ecstatic folks. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I posted my original question.

Not only am I seeing this change in the WD, here is a picture of a salvaged WCR Rainbow frag that was on the brink 6 months ago. 3 weeks ago this coral was solid green with red polyps. Look at it tonight! Greens, yellows, branches starting to pop....

All I can say is thanks everyone for the great discussion. I will post follow ups!

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

That took a whole week? It only took me 30 seconds

 

[ReeferNtraining]

That took a whole week? It only took me 30 seconds

?? I don’t get it

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

?? I don’t get it

All you have to do is crank up the blues (takes 30 secs) to make the coral have blue tips.
30 seconds before the change

 

[ReeferNtraining]

All you have to do is crank up the blues (takes 30 secs) to make the coral have blue tips.
30 seconds before the change

Sir, I was simply giving props to the PRODUCTIVE members that gave me suggestions on lighting changes. Your asinine comment is neither productive, nor appreciated. If you read my comment on the two pictures, the latter being more actinic, then you would understand that I inspect my corals DAILY multiple times and I am seeing results already. If all you intend to do is deprecate my pics or comments, please refrain and find another thread. Peace be with you my friend.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Sir, I was simply giving props to the PRODUCTIVE members that gave me suggestions on lighting changes. Your asinine comment is neither productive, nor appreciated. If you read my comment on the two pictures, the latter being more actinic, then you would understand that I inspect my corals DAILY multiple times and I am seeing results already. If all you intend to do is deprecate my pics or comments, please refrain and find another thread. Peace be with you my friend.

Wow!!!!
Good for you bud. Well done. Very well done. I promise I will never get it your way again. Ever. For anything. No matter what. Good luck

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Glad you love the results from the t5 bulbs! I have seen a number led users switch to all t5 with blue led supplement because of how well things turned around when they added them. I have never seen an led user angry over adding t5s to their tank.

 

[ReeferNtraining]

Glad you love the results from the t5 bulbs! I have seen a number led users switch to all t5 with blue led supplement because of how well things turned around when they added them. I have never seen an led user angry over adding t5s to their tank.

I love the results! And it’s only been a week on the first bulb change and about 4 days on the second. Those coral+ are really making a difference. The only way to describe it is that the colors seem to have more layers and saturation. I am a believer! I just can’t wait to see what it’s like after a few weeks....

 

[SeaDweller]

I think your WD always had the typical WD colors, but you couldn't appreciate them because of your bulb combo. Once you added that other bulb, it was now clearly visible. I think you were overthinking it, and what Chaswood79 is telling you is that WD is a WD is a WD, so the colors are there, but how to bring it out was a matter of you realizing you needed to add some blues to see what your WD has to offer. In my tank, I have to run a little more blues to see the colors I want to see from my WD, but they're there. The BEST representation of WD I've seen was from a MH lit tank with some LEDs accenting; that was the most PERFECTLY colored WD (and HW) I've ever laid my eyes on.

 

[Joedubyk]

I think your WD always had the typical WD colors, but you couldn't appreciate them because of your bulb combo. Once you added that other bulb, it was now clearly visible. I think you were overthinking it, and what Chaswood79 is telling you is that WD is a WD is a WD, so the colors are there, but how to bring it out was a matter of you realizing you needed to add some blues to see what your WD has to offer. In my tank, I have to run a little more blues to see the colors I want to see from my WD, but they're there. The BEST representation of WD I've seen was from a MH lit tank with some LEDs accenting; that was the most PERFECTLY colored WD (and HW) I've ever laid my eyes on.

+1


Out of all the acros, it's the easiest to manipulate the colors in terms of lighting + digital editing. It really is just a bright green acro w/ yellow polyps and you need a UV/RB spectrum to make the colors pop. That is the reason it really looks bland under t5s and OP needed more blue to see the colors.

There are so many other acros that look better than the WD , not only just under blues, but daylights and t5's as well.. HW kills it in my opinion.

 

[ReeferNtraining]

I think your WD always had the typical WD colors, but you couldn't appreciate them because of your bulb combo. Once you added that other bulb, it was now clearly visible. I think you were overthinking it, and what Chaswood79 is telling you is that WD is a WD is a WD, so the colors are there, but how to bring it out was a matter of you realizing you needed to add some blues to see what your WD has to offer. In my tank, I have to run a little more blues to see the colors I want to see from my WD, but they're there. The BEST representation of WD I've seen was from a MH lit tank with some LEDs accenting; that was the most PERFECTLY colored WD (and HW) I've ever laid my eyes on.

I agree with the best representation being MH/Led. The person I got it from uses MH. And when I got the frag, the color variations in it were stunning. It went green/yellow/blue a couple weeks after being in my lighting.
To your other point, I believe it’s more than just the color of the new bulbs and optics. As BigE wrote about, I believe different pigments are getting “excited” due to the broader, overall spectrum. My hypothesis is based on the fact of how much the colors have changed. I have not done anything with my LED’s thus far but I am getting more pronounced colors in the same actinic lighting in the evening. So something has physically changed a bit in the coral’ skin. And it’s not just the WD. RMF Blueberry Delight, HW, RR OP and even my Reeftech Starburst Cap all have a more saturated and varied color starting. Like color contrast to use a photography term. These are just my observations.

 

[ReeferNtraining]

+1


Out of all the acros, it's the easiest to manipulate the colors in terms of lighting + digital editing. It really is just a bright green acro w/ yellow polyps and you need a UV/RB spectrum to make the colors pop. That is the reason it really looks bland under t5s and OP needed more blue to see the colors.

There are so many other acros that look better than the WD , not only just under blues, but daylights and t5's as well.. HW kills it in my opinion.

I would agree with you. The reason I’m more focused on it is because I know it well. I struggled with some mysterious contaminant before this setup and I killed quite a few WD’s. So I’m just more familiar with noticing health/color changes in it than all my other corals. There are a lot of prettier corals, heck it’s not even the best looking one in my tank! Lol
I’m picking up my MattV Orange Envy, RR Angry Birds & TKC Pikachu Monday. So the WD will probably drop a couple notches...

I do thank everyone for their input!

 

[RussiReef]

I would agree with you. The reason I’m more focused on it is because I know it well. I struggled with some mysterious contaminant before this setup and I killed quite a few WD’s. So I’m just more familiar with noticing health/color changes in it than all my other corals. There are a lot of prettier corals, heck it’s not even the best looking one in my tank! Lol
I’m picking up my MattV Orange Envy, RR Angry Birds & TKC Pikachu Monday. So the WD will probably drop a couple notches...

I do thank everyone for their input!

Would you mind sharing the seller of the RR Angry Birds? Looking to get one myself
Thanks a bunch