00W's AIO Smorgasbord

[Imrahilwjz]

Good evening everyone. Starting the catch up.

We're at an ultrasound/ OB appt. Catching up while waiting.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Agreed.
Wish I understood it better than I do to be honest.
I believe @ISpeakForTheSeas had a post with a great chart on which algae uses which light but I'm not positive.

Yeah, I've posted on it before - for the simplified version, both algae and coral will grow fine under either white or blue light; some people believe algae does better under white light, but that may or may not be the case.

However, certain corals do better under white light while others do better under blue light; I usually suggest a full-spectrum (i.e. white) light that leans heavy on the blue and light in the red (too much red is not good for corals, but a little red may or may not be good).

Similarly, some kinds of light may be important for some species of fish/invert, but may not be strictly speaking necessary.

Anyway, for the long versions (posts 59 & 63 in this top link):

White Lighting As It Pertains To Algae

Most likely to make the coral colors pop more and thus more enticing to the buyer 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...

www.reef2reef.com

The study below tested Acropora variabilis and Porites lutea harvested from 2-6 m deep at maintained 6 m deep; they compared dark (no light), full-spectrum (the control), and blue light settings at 200 μmol and 400 μmol (they tested full-spectrum at 800 μmol as well, but 400 μmol was the highest they could get the blue); they used a metal halide light with polycarbonate filters to control what spectrum the corals were being exposed to - the corals grew (calcified) fastest under the blue light, but there was more photosynthesis under the full-spectrum (white) light:

"The light to dark calcification ratios of A. variabilis under 400 μmol photons m−2 s−1 of control and blue light were 8.4 and 10.5, respectively; while lower ratios were observed in P. lutea (3.4 and 4.5). In both cases, calcification under blue light exceeds even these of the control"

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

So, under controlled PAR with metal halides, these shallow water corals grew faster under blue light than white, but but photosynthesis decreased drastically under blue light when compared to white.

To contrast with that, though, another study (using three different species of Acropora - A. tenuis, A. muricata, and A. intermedia at 100 μmol and 200 μmol [low numbers, I know] with LED's) compared different spectrums (the first link below) and found that the inclusion of some red light drastically increased the growth rate (the second link below; the green/yellow spectrum made a little bit of difference, but they didn't add much of it in with any of the three spectrums used; it may have made a bigger difference at higher intensities):

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Light-spectra-composition-of-LEDs-used-in-the-current-study-A-PBR-400nm-purple-430nm_fig1_367478086

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Specific-growth-rate-of-three-Acroporid-corals-under-different-light-spectra-Values-are_fig6_367478086

The actual study:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367478086_Effects_of_light_intensity_and_spectral_composition_on_the_growth_and_physiological_adaptation_of_Acroporid_corals

Another contrasting study - Stylophora pistillata from shallow (3 m) and deep (40 m) waters; the shallow specimens showed the highest photosynthesis rates under full-spectrum lighting, but the deepwater specimens showed the highest photosynthesis rates under blue lighting (sadly, they didn't measure growth rates, and the study only took place between March and April, so it was rather short, and results may have changed if the study had been longer).

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

So, does blue light grow Acropora or other SPS faster than full-spectrum (white) light? It depends on the coral (both species and individual specimen), the location and depth/temperature the coral is from, what light the corals are photo-acclimated to (a shallow water coral growing under blue light in a hobbyist tank for 5 years is likely going to be acclimated to blue light despite its origins), year-round weather conditions (storms and such play a big role in determining what light is reaching the water), the clade of zooxanthellae they're using, etc.

Does the kind of light used (metal halide vs t5 vs LED, etc.) make a difference, or is it all in the spectrum, intensity, and photoperiod? I don't think we'll be able to answer this unless someone is able to make LED's with the exact same spectrum as those other types of lighting, but I'd guess any differences would be minimal.

So, lots of different things go into the growth, and again, fast growth doesn't necessarily equate to excellent health/coloration (it might, but it also might not). Does each coral species have it's own optimal spectrum for growth/health/color? Probably, but I doubt it would perfectly match a different species own optimal spectrum, so I don't know that it would much matter in our tanks - instead, we'd need to find the optimal spectrum for a broad range of corals, which may not be optimal for any particular coral we keep:

"Zooxanthellate corals display contrasting photoacclimation responses, coral cover, colony morphologies and genetic richness along depth gradients33,49,50,51,52,53,54, which collectively suggest that coral species occupy different light niches."

Photosynthetic usable energy explains vertical patterns of biodiversity in zooxanthellate corals - Scientific Reports

The biodiversity in coral reef ecosystems is distributed heterogeneously across spatial and temporal scales, being commonly influenced by biogeographic factors, habitat area and disturbance frequency. A potential association between gradients of usable energy and biodiversity patterns has...

www.nature.com

Personally, I'd expect to see similar (not the same, but similar) growth rates from a lot of corals under both blue and full-spectrum lights; some will likely do better under one than the other, but determining which is a lot of effort.

For that reason, like I've said before, at this point in time (barring a major, undeniable scientific breakthrough with our knowledge of corals and light), I would personally only suggest running the windex blue tanks if you really want to see the coral fluorescence pop (as mentioned by others, though, the colors may be best in the long run if you run different spectrums than just blue throughout the day). Like many others have mentioned in various forms by this point, I'd personally run a full-spectrum (white) light that leans somewhat more toward the blue side of things. Is that the "best" spectrum? Maybe, maybe not, but it seems like a good, safe place to start from.

TLDR; white and blue light both work for coral and for algae; what's best for one coral or algae may not be the best for another (even of the same species).

 

[kingranch2003]

We're at an ultrasound/ OB appt. Catching up while waiting.

I remember those days man. Sending my very best wishes to you guys

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Wait......
Caught up!

 

[Calmwaters]

So here’s the lighting formula I figured out years ago

If your light has multiple blue channels and violet, treat them as one channel.

Adjust to desired par

For me, I aim for 100 par on the sandbed. So I make Blue, Royal Blue, and Violet the same, and increase together, until my sandbed is approx 100 everywhere. Slight variations in some spots is normal. For my light, mounting height, and tank, this results in channels 3,5,6 at 40%

Then, white channel is like seasoning. Add white to your taste. For me, this is around 5-8% on ch 4. But i ran my reef over a year with white on 0-2%. And I know many that also do not use white channel at all.

Red and green channel are then leftover on my fixture. They are useless and I leave them at zero

Then to grow macro algae, all you need is red

Lighting complete!

So what do you do if your only options are blue and white? That's the only thing I can control on the reef beat Leds I have.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Congrats on the win Luis!

 

[Imrahilwjz]

After these last light comments I may need to adjust my noopsyches. My Radion is set to "natural reef" and I haven't been able to get the reef link to talk to my network.

 

[VintageReefer]

So lowering just white light a few percent shouldn't effect Par too much? I went from 20% to 12% and without a par meter, I didn't have actual numbers.

White can have big impact but we usually only use it in very low percentages so it’s not to significant

 

[kingranch2003]

After these last light comments I may need to adjust my noopsyches. My Radion is set to "natural reef" and I haven't been able to get the reef link to talk to my network.

Mobius app?

 

[VintageReefer]

So what do you do if your only options are blue and white? That's the only thing I can control on the reef beat Leds I have.

I would use same strategy. Blues to get to needed par levels then add white to adjust spectrum to personal preference

 

[kingranch2003]

So what do you do if your only options are blue and white? That's the only thing I can control on the reef beat Leds I have.

I think these comments suggest that's pretty much all you need. Are you getting adequate par?

 

[JoJosReef]

I love mine, but for me they have been slow growers, @JoJosReef also has some I think, let's wait for him to shows up to see how his does.

Lost mine. They grew well and were hardy, but I didn't tend to my zoa garden and loat both my magicians and my utter chaos to a faster grower that overtook them.

 

[Calmwaters]

I would use same strategy. Blues to get to needed par levels then add white to adjust spectrum to personal preference

Still confused maybe I should stick with one of the preset programs that came with it. Or the one I still have saved from when Jennifer had the lights that her reef guy made for her...

 

[Calmwaters]

I think these comments suggest that's pretty much all you need. Are you getting adequate par?

I have no idea lol

 

[Imrahilwjz]

Mobius app?

It's too old. I bought it used from Premium Aquarium in Salem, OR about 7 years ago, although it wasn't used for 2 years or so after my 1st tank crashed.

 

[00W]

Yeah, I've posted on it before - for the simplified version, both algae and coral will grow fine under either white or blue light; some people believe algae does better under white light, but that may or may not be the case.

However, certain corals do better under white light while others do better under blue light; I usually suggest a full-spectrum (i.e. white) light that leans heavy on the blue and light in the red (too much red is not good for corals, but a little red may or may not be good).

Similarly, some kinds of light may be important for some species of fish/invert, but may not be strictly speaking necessary.

Anyway, for the long versions (posts 59 & 63 in this top link):

White Lighting As It Pertains To Algae

Most likely to make the coral colors pop more and thus more enticing to the buyer 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...

www.reef2reef.com

TLDR; white and blue light both work for coral and for algae; what's best for one coral or algae may not be the best for another (even of the same species).

Thank you very much!

 

[Imrahilwjz]

It's too old. I bought it used from Premium Aquarium in Salem, OR about 7 years ago, although it wasn't used for 2 years or so after my 1st tank crashed.

Correction after my 3rd tank crashed.

 

[LadyMac]

I was hoping you'd find this on your own, I'd hate to have to summon you like SHIVA

 

[Calmwaters]

In other news I have babies...

 

[kingranch2003]

You got it!!!!