White Lighting As It Pertains To Algae

[ptrick21186]

Does eliminating white lights from your lighting spectrum REALLY help with algae control? I know algae uses different colors for photosynthesis over others such as red. But if white lighting is just a combination of all the color spectrum then what's the point of shutting off white if we're still leaving colors like red and green activated on their separate channels?

 

[Lavey29]

Does eliminating white lights from your lighting spectrum REALLY help with algae control? I know algae uses different colors for photosynthesis over others such as red. But if white lighting is just a combination of all the color spectrum then what's the point of shutting off white if we're still leaving colors like red and green activated on their separate channels?

In my opinion it contributes the most to algae in the tank. White is only for viewing pleasure of the tank. Corals don't need white light but well all like to look at our tanks so having a small percentage of white allows for that.

 

[Brymac1]

I run my whites at full blast all day long and have very little algae growth besides coralline. I have also seen just as many blue tanks with algae problems as tanks lit by a whiter spectrum.

 

[ptrick21186]

In my opinion it contributes the most to algae in the tank.

But how?

 

[Lavey29]

I run my whites at full blast all day long and have very little algae growth besides coralline. I have also seen just as many blue tanks with algae problems as tanks lit by a whiter spectrum.

It sounds like you have a mature balanced tank though and maintain stable parameters so nuisance algae can not gain a foothold and your coralline out competes it. These things can all help prevent nuisance algae and white light is just one component that algae needs to grow. If the other components are limited or not present then algae can not gain advantage.

 

[Lavey29]

But how?

I'm no scientist but algae probably has a stronger photosynthetic response to white light. Simple Google search will explain all the scientific factors relating to white light and algae in reef tanks but as I explained in my prior post light is only one component that algae needs to grow. Other components are required also such as high or bottomed out nutrients.

 

[Bpb]

I tend to disagree heavily that white light causes algae. Yes, it can, but that is dangerously misleading.

Algae thrives on light and nutrients. Same as all photosynthetic marine organisms.
By extension, yes white light feeds algae. But, if your tank is conducive to algae growth, solid blue light of equal par levels will grow it just as well. You just can’t see it very well.

Personal opinion here: People promote blue heavy light as a means to fight green algae. When in reality, you’re simply eliminating the visible wavelengths needed to reflect the color of the algae. Algae contains chlorophyll. Algae absorbs that big fat blue “bio band” for growth just as well as corals.

As mentioned above, a mature tank with stable parameters, plentiful herbivores, and well occupied rock space with desirable organisms will help fight algae plagues. But really, marine algae, aiptasia, fungus, pathogenic bacteria, and mean predatory crustaceans, are all every bit as natural and normal parts of the ecosystem as the most desirable torch coral or sps frag. I find it helpful to keep that in perspective.

Here’s a picture of my tank started with dry rock at the one year mark. Nutrients in stratosphere and wildly fluctuating parameters. A young volatile tank.

Lights pushing 400-500 par. Kessils set full white intensity. Red channel up at 70%, green channel at 80%. How is it I have no turf algae swallowing up the rock? Rabbitfish, tangs, a few massive turbo snails and literally
About 500+ cerith and dwarf cerith snails.

Algae is more a product of poorly stocked herbivores than it is too much white light.

 

[Smite]

Spectrum would probably be the last thing I'm looking at when trying to control algae. That said I'm sure algae grows better under 6500k than it does in a very blue tank. But the lighting doesn't necessarily cause the algae issue. If it did, none of those early sps keepers would have ever been running 6500k iwasaki lamps. Manual removal paired with a proper CUC and 0 TDS water all top the list hand in hand for me with algae.

 

[Lavey29]

I tend to disagree heavily that white light causes algae. Yes, it can, but that is dangerously misleading.

Algae thrives on light and nutrients. Same as all photosynthetic marine organisms.
By extension, yes white light feeds algae. But, if your tank is conducive to algae growth, solid blue light of equal par levels will grow it just as well. You just can’t see it very well.

Personal opinion here: People promote blue heavy light as a means to fight green algae. When in reality, you’re simply eliminating the visible wavelengths needed to reflect the color of the algae. Algae contains chlorophyll. Algae absorbs that big fat blue “bio band” for growth just as well as corals.

As mentioned above, a mature tank with stable parameters, plentiful herbivores, and well occupied rock space with desirable organisms will help fight algae plagues. But really, marine algae, aiptasia, fungus, pathogenic bacteria, and mean predatory crustaceans, are all every bit as natural and normal parts of the ecosystem as the most desirable torch coral or sps frag. I find it helpful to keep that in perspective.

Here’s a picture of my tank started with dry rock at the one year mark. Nutrients in stratosphere and wildly fluctuating parameters. A young volatile tank.

Lights pushing 400-500 par. Kessils set full white intensity. Red channel up at 70%, green channel at 80%. How is it I have no turf algae swallowing up the rock? Rabbitfish, tangs, a few massive turbo snails and literally
About 500+ cerith and dwarf cerith snails.

Algae is more a product of poorly stocked herbivores than it is too much white light.

I agree that having the right herbivore fish and cleaners can help maintain algae to minimal non existent levels most of the time as demonstrated by your tank but corals do not need white light it is simply for viewing please so for the majority of people that don't have large tanks with tangs and 500 snails, white light is a contributing factor to their algae problem as are other factors like nutrients levels. There is a reason all the big coral vendors rely heavily on the blue and uv spectrum to grow corals and have minimal white in their spectrum.

Do Corals Need White Light To Grow in Your Reef Tank?

So, do corals need white light to grow in a reef tank? Discover this and so much more right here and now! CORALS AND LIGHT!

aquariumgenius.com

 

[Bpb]

I agree that having the right herbivore fish and cleaners can help maintain algae to minimal non existent levels most of the time as demonstrated by your tank but corals do not need white light it is simply for viewing please so for the majority of people that don't have large tanks with tangs and 500 snails, white light is a contributing factor to their algae problem as are other factors like nutrients levels. There is a reason all the big coral vendors rely heavily on the blue and uv spectrum to grow corals and have minimal white in their spectrum.

Do Corals Need White Light To Grow in Your Reef Tank?

So, do corals need white light to grow in a reef tank? Discover this and so much more right here and now! CORALS AND LIGHT!

aquariumgenius.com

The degree of which a coral uses light outside of 500nm for energy production and pigment formation is highly debatable. Well beyond the countless contradictory peer reviewed articles on the matter, let alone blogs by “passionate hobbyists” like Brett. I’ll let some of the article farmers on here chime in if they desire. We can all agree that there is no universal rule on which all coral agree. Shallow water sps and deep water fleshy corals will undoubtedly contain differing clades of photopigments and concentrations/arrangements of the PCP complex. On that I digress. Different debate entirely.

Speaking to what the OP proposed. Algae absorbs blue light. Probably varying levels based on species. Simply shutting off your white channels will reduce your overall light output, which should in most cases reduce algae (and possibly coral) growth. I would sooner credit the par level drop than the spectrum change on that front. Just speculating though. I would imagine the effect would be less dramatic or nil if the blue light levels were in turn raised to match what was previously being provided by the full spectrum.

 

[Lavey29]

The degree of which a coral uses light outside of 500nm for energy production and pigment formation is highly debatable. Well beyond the countless contradictory peer reviewed articles on the matter, let alone blogs by “passionate hobbyists” like Brett. I’ll let some of the article farmers on here chime in if they desire. We can all agree that there is no universal rule on which all coral agree. Shallow water sps and deep water fleshy corals will undoubtedly contain differing clades of photopigments and concentrations/arrangements of the PCP complex. On that I digress. Different debate entirely.

Speaking to what the OP proposed. Algae absorbs blue light. Probably varying levels based on species. Simply shutting off your white channels will reduce your overall light output, which should in most cases reduce algae (and possibly coral) growth. I would sooner credit the par level drop than the spectrum change on that front. Just speculating though. I would imagine the effect would be less dramatic or nil if the blue light levels were in turn raised to match what was previously being provided by the full spectrum.

There's more then one way to skin a cat

 

[bushdoc]

Most of green marine algae (many which we regard as pests in reef tanks) evolved and thrive in shallow water, where they utilize more white and red spectrum of light. Algae from greater depths don't have white or red spectrum there, so naturally they evolved to utilize blue spectrum of light. Algae need more than light to thrive, and substrate is one of the most important factors. If you already have your rock colonized by green algae, changing light spectrum to blue might not work immediately or at all. If you however had blue light mostly shining on your rocks, you disadvantaged green algae and created conditions more favorable for coralline algae to grow. Prevention is always better ( and easier) than cure.

 

[oreo54]

Which algae?
blue-green (bacteria)
Brown?
red?
green?
All have different action spectrums (PUR?)
And of course you have "what part of white"?
All commonly used t5's basically use a tri-phosphor blend of blue/green/red phosphors.
AB+ = 80% blue plus and 20% ab special AFAICT

Green can be sort of skipped since the mercury green spike is present and easily seen and reef tubes are not generally daylight balanced where one would need the added spread of a green phosphor.
Nevertheless you need like green/amber/red to add to the blue to make "white".


Now led high K whites are blue plus a yellow or yellow/green phosphor.
Low k "warm white" throw some red phosphors in there.. hopefully.
Sort of food for thought is.. Does RGB white differ from blue/yellow white in effects on err anything?


Below is a composite of unicellular green algae vs coral..Semi-normalized..close enough.

The blue/red graph from this..Calculated PUR graph.

Spectral Effects on Symbiodinium Photobiology Studied with a Programmable Light Engine
Daniel Wangpraseurt 1
, Bojan Tamburic1 , Mila ́ n Szabo ́ 1
, David Suggett1 , Peter J. Ralph1 ,
Michael Ku ̈ hl 1,2,3*

 

[vetteguy53081]

Does eliminating white lights from your lighting spectrum REALLY help with algae control? I know algae uses different colors for photosynthesis over others such as red. But if white lighting is just a combination of all the color spectrum then what's the point of shutting off white if we're still leaving colors like red and green activated on their separate channels?

Its a food source and promotes growth and stability. I dont shut off white but I run them low.
If you have an algae issue, the purpose off turning off white is. . . If you take away the white- you take away the food source. Inorganics and phosphates are also culprits

 

[oreo54]

Suppose I should add 2 "thoughts"..
There is proof to this:

Blue Light Reduces Photosynthetic Efficiency of Cyanobacteria.

And the odd thing about how some believe blue light increases (causes is too strong a word)
algae in fw tanks..

Now if you want to shift to does "full spectrum light favor algae".. well bring that up w/ the 6500k Iwasaki users..

And last, high amounts of red does disadvantage coral photosynthesis though it seems at high overall photon levels.
What that means?

Seems there are better ways to fight algae than to play with spectrum..

 

[oreo54]

If you have an algae issue, the purpose off turning off white is. . . If you take away the white- you take away the food source.

That needs proof..
Marine algae evolved in the same light field as corals.

All you are doing is decreasing par. Chances are you could probably accomplish the same thing with an overall decrease
of intensity.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That needs proof..
Marine algae evolved in the same light field as corals.

All you are doing is decreasing par. Chances are you could probably accomplish the same thing with an overall decrease
of intensity.

Reduction does work depending on severity. As I stated, Dont shut off but run them low

 

[ptrick21186]

Reduction does work depending on severity. As I stated, Dont shut off but run them low

But again the reduction of algae (in theory) would be from overall PAR reduction. Not necessarily from a certain part of the spectrum being eliminated (or lowered in your case)

 

[ptrick21186]

Also I have a question on the "UV" spectrum of lighting. Is it REALLY UV? I mean if it is wouldn't we no be able to see it? I guess this can pertain to UV sterilizers as well. It would have to be added light to make it visible. But I can't see my EcoTechs giving off radiation or sterilizing anything....

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Also I have a question on the "UV" spectrum of lighting. Is it REALLY UV? I mean if it is wouldn't we no be able to see it? I guess this can pertain to UV sterilizers as well. It would have to be added light to make it visible. But I can't see my EcoTechs giving off radiation or sterilizing anything....

Most UV in aquarium lighting is 395nm (with 400 nm being the cutoff for UV, it borderlines on not being UV at all). The reasons I've seen that explain why we can see it is that the 395nm lighting actually produces a range of light (say, 390-400nm, for example), and some of that light (basically any that is 400nm or greater) bleeds over into the visible light category. So, the wavelengths produced may average out to 395nm, but the range of light actually produced varies enough that we can see some of the light.