These are not places that deal in individual public sales. They sell quantity to LFS shops. Their light configuration is for optimal growth and minimal algae issues. Yes some corals pop more under different lighting but that's now why big vendors use the minimal white spectrum.
Out of curiousity, what do you think my opinion is? Because I never shared what my opinion is.
With all due respect, I could care less. Opinions are like A holes....everyone has one. Have a good day and much success with your reefing hobby.
That article does not say what you claim that it says. Almost the opposite, actually.Dana did a big write up many years ago for a MACNA presentation that demonstrating spectrum does have a direct impact on growth. Equivelant PAR will favor different corals and algae this isn't even a debate. Every industry from coral growers to weed farms know this and target specific spectrums for different uses.
This article is from 2002 and has references all the way back to the 80s.
Lighting the Reef Aquarium – Spectrum or Intensity?
This month Dana and Miguel discuss the importance of spectrum and intensity of aquarium lighting.reefs.com
Neat. So you assume to know my opinion, you assume to know how much research that I have or haven't done, just like you assume to be correct about reducing white light?
I agree that red light has specific effects on terrestrial plants. I am aware that abundant red light has negative effects on coral growth.Red light (600-700 nm) – light from the red wavelengths is the main driver of vegetative growth. This means more leaves and more biomass
The influence of different light wavelengths on plant growth ⋆ VERTIKIT
Dr William Stiles – Aberystwyth University The technology of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is fast developing and is increasingly recognised as an important component of future food production. A key advancement which has enhanced the potential for this approach to horticultural...www.vertikit.co.uk
White, if you did not know contains the whole of the spectrum including red. By reducing white, assuming you are running very little to no red, you will reduce the "main driver of vegetative growth".
Even if you did that fuge experiment, it still wouldn't necessarily solve the actual question. Both coral and algae can grow under any reasonable spectrum of light, regardless of blue or white.
These tanks would have to be plumbed together and preferably in different rooms where the independent lighting wouldn't effect each other
We all have various types of lights, depths, coral and what suits you is the best answer. Many use PAR meters, just go by what looks good to the naked eye and even myself- What makes my coral happy.
If all channels are 100% and you drop white only you are simply lowering par, but if the white is is composed equally of all the colors and blue is 100% and Red is 1%.
Someone should do it. I just don't care that much and barely have time to maintain the two tanks I have.
I really wanna test this theory.....
I haven't gone looking too much into the specifics of algal growth under various light conditions at this point, but oreo54's post on page 1 here gives some idea of the complexities involved with this discussion/research (i.e. what the "white" in the light itself is, the kind of algae involved, etc.). That said, from what I've found, there are currently only two things I've come across that are scientifically researched that seem to possibly support the idea that lowering "white light" and/or running just blue light decreases algal growth (and one of them I'd feel a lot more confident about the assertion that it might lead to a decreased amount of algae if Randy thinks there a chance it would be impactful/meaningful from the chemistry side of things):
In my mind, photosynthesis remaining below the compensation point could potentially mean that the blue lighting rather than white lighting helps limit algae by reducing available oxygen in the tank, but - again - I'd run this one by Randy to see if it might be valid.Corals will still grow under just blue light, yes. As mentioned, changing from white and blue or just white to just blue will likely impact the coral's growth, coloration, and possibly health (if the coral is from deep water rather than shallow water, using just blue light will likely increase coral growth and health - if the coral is from shallow water, switching to just blue may decrease the growth and health).* Switching to blue light from white or white/blue will also impact any photosynthesis going on in the tank:
"More importantly, under blue light calcification is very high, even higher than under full spectrum, while photosynthesis remains below the compensation point, meaning that CO2 production is higher than consumption (Figure 4B)." **
*Source:
**Source:
Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals
Scalar irradiance microsensor measurements performed inside the tissue of living corals show that absorption and fluorescence emission by host pigments produce dramatic spectral alterations in the light environment experienced by the symbionts.elifesciences.org
***This third link reinforces both of the points listed with the other links:
Frontiers | Light Enhanced Calcification in Hermatypic Corals: New Insights from Light Spectral Responses
Light enhanced calcification (LEC) is a well documented phenomenon in reef-building corals. The main mechanism proposed for LEC is that photosynthetic CO2 up...www.frontiersin.org
The spectral quality of light is a key driver of photosynthesis and photoadaptation in Stylophora pistillata colonies from different depths in the Red Sea
SUMMARYDepth zonation on coral reefs is largely driven by the amount of downwelling, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) that is absorbed by the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) of corals. The minimum light requirements of zooxanthellae are related to both the total intensity of downwelling...journals.biologists.com
From what I've read, it's because algae generally uses different light wavelengths for photosynthesis than coral zooxanthellae do - corals using more blue light, and algae using more red and green/yellow.
For a simple explanation, here's a graph from Khan Academy about photosynthesis and light absorption:
I wish I could find the graphs that I've seen specifically for corals/algae, but I can't remember where I've seen them. Anyway, basically the "Windex" blue light tanks use that spectrum (and some people recommend it over using white/red lights) because - at least theoretically - the corals do fine using primarily the Chlorophyll A provided by the deep blue while essentially starving out the algae by not providing the green/yellow and red lights for Chlorophyll B and Beta Carotene. I've seen some more complicated charts of this with more absorbing pigments than just these three (Chlorophyll C, Chlorophyll D, PSC, and PPC to name a few), but - again - I can't find the ones I've seen for corals which would be more useful, and this one gets the point across.
So, the theory is that you feed the corals with blue light, and the algae with other lights. By reducing the other lights, you stop feeding the algae/give the corals the competitive edge. That's why people say to reduce intensity of other colors to stop algae. How accurate that theory is would likely depend on the specific corals and algae involved, but the theory seems relatively sound when speaking broadly. Since many (possibly most) algae species utilize Chlorophyll A, I have no idea if it's effective or not, but there is a chance that it gives corals the edge they need to beat out algae. I'm not aware of any studies that actually show one way or the other though.
With regards to the "... old ones grow algae!" - here's a quote from Dana Riddle on it that basically says it's possible following the same lines of reasoning listed above, but he's not (or at least wasn't) sure if it was true:
In case you're curious, here's a graph from the paper linked below that shows different classes of algae use different spectrums of light for their photosynthesis:
I'm not sure if that logic is sound. Corals and algae both use Chlorophyll A. So if you use the spectrum of light that activates Chlorophyll A you can somehow feed coral while starving algae? Even though they both use the same Chlorophyll A?
Regarding the absorption spectra of various photosynthetic pigments; I deeply enjoyed this thread recently. It raises some very thought-provoking points about green light in particular.
www.reef2reef.com
