Anyone still prefer the 10K look, or even 6.5K? What's with all the windex colored tanks?

[135zman]

got a buddy with an outdoor koi pond...asked him how he kept the water so clear (as in not green)...said the secret was a uv sterilizer...so it stands to reason if uv kills algae running your lights on that end of the spectrum certainly wouldnt promote algae growth....personally i like the stuff to look like it does when snorkeling on a shallow reef...the flourescence is cool but it reminds me of a 70's dorm room or a strip club...hmmm...maybe i need a pole and a naked barbie in a mask and fins as tank decor....

Now that is some funny stuff. In college 30+ years ago, I remember turning on just the actinic bulbs during parties with overhead lights off in the room with the reef tank. Always had a bunch of girls in there checking out the tank and asking me questions about all the glowing corals. I guess it was kind of like taking a new puppy to the park strategy.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

Now that is some funny stuff. In college 30+ years ago, I remember turning on just the actinic bulbs during parties with overhead lights off in the room with the reef tank. Always had a bunch of girls in there checking out the tank and asking me questions about all the glowing corals. I guess it was kind of like taking a new puppy to the park strategy.

Isn't that what it's all about!?

 

[User]

it pales in comparison to sandbed depth and or access threads. A distant third to quarantine/ no qt threads

its handy to see what happens when a bunch of folks streamline a given method, reveals interesting details to some. I myself would prefer a less blue look but it won’t work for my system.

going off neils convictions I could readjust the entire nutrient balance for the system and be more justified, but its practical to just rotate the kessil dial towards electric blue and call it a decade or two.

“Readjust the entire nutrient balance”?

or don’t put that last cube of food in, the one that sinks to the bottom and no one eats?

yiu don’t have to make it sound so complicated- all your doing is creating a false sense of what is required to deal with excess nutrients, and scaring people into doing it the easy way, turning the kessil dial

 

[User]

I'm not strictly opposed to the whiter look, that's what my tank looked like when I started. However, I found that as I decreased whites and increased blues my corals were happier, grew faster, and had better color. As far as nature goes, sure shallow shallow reefs you snorkel will be quite white, but pretty quickly red light is scattered away.

Here's a completely unedited picture of some coral I took on a dive in the Red Sea, I can't remember the exact depth but probably around 20ish meters. It's almost comical how close Windex is to the actual reef.

Dahab, sharm-el-sheik or Marsa alam?

Also - it may be unedited- but it’s not accurate to what we see to the eye. Camera sensors get washed out with blues, and typically are 4-5 stops different in apparent exposure compared to eye. So the pics might look like that, but what you physically saw wasnt

funny pic though, that’s great

 

[Subsea]

“Readjust the entire nutrient balance”?

or don’t put that last cube of food in, the one that sinks to the bottom and no one eats?

yiu don’t have to make it sound so complicated- all your doing is creating a false sense of what is required to deal with excess nutrients, and scaring people into doing it the easy way, turning the kessil dial

Neil,
After 50 years addicted to Reefing, it saddens me to see so many so uninformed. Many are not interested in understanding what’s in the glass box, they just want it to look good. I strive for looks but I focus on an integrated system that feeds itself. I have always been intrigued with how it works.

I see nothing wrong with tweaking the Kessil knob. I just don’t like so much blue. In my high nutrient system, I strive to find interesting janitors to fill niches in food webs. I even encourage MULM.

 

[Silent]

I’ll look into it. I’m at homeschool right now, ironically talking about photosynthesis to a 4 year old.

it wasn’t hard to change tack and come into this thread to chat. Same audience

Dang, is this thread still about light spectrum?

Seems rude and unconstructive to the benefit of the OP's thread.

 

[User]

Dang, is this thread still about light spectrum?

Seems rude and unconstructive to the benefit of the OP's thread.

Sure.

but it’s a response to the thread already being hijacked by a certain person that has a habit of turning other people’s conversations into his own thread

 

[User]

Neil,
After 50 years addicted to Reefing, it saddens me to see so many so uninformed. Many are not interested in understanding what’s in the glass box, they just want it to look good. I strive for looks but I focus on an integrated system that feeds itself. I have always been intrigued with how it works.

I see nothing wrong with tweaking the Kessil knob. I just don’t like so much blue. In my high nutrient system, I strive to find interesting janitors to fill niches in food webs. I even encourage MULM.

I respect you and have enjoyed talking with you, so in the interests of clarity and continuing respectful conversation - are you referring to ‘me’ being uninformed and uninterested?

im 96% sure you are not, but the clarification would remove all doubt.

 

[User]

.

 

[Subsea]

I respect you and have enjoyed talking with you, so in the interests of clarity and continuing respectful conversation - are you referring to ‘me’ being uninformed and uninterested?

im 96% sure you are not, but the clarification would remove all doubt.

You bring light to a dark room.

 

[User]

You bring light to a dark room.

Lol thanks.

that quite possibly is the nicest thing anyone here has ever said to me.

 

[X-37B]

Lol thanks.

that quite possibly is the nicest thing anyone here has ever said to me.

We could use a little more nice in all R2R threads. But hey thats the nature of the internet, but it does not need to be.

 

[Subsea]

Lol thanks.

that quite possibly is the nicest thing anyone here has ever said to me.

I will chat with you on your new build thread, but I am going to leave you with a line I got from @Paul B about academia, “he has more degrees than a thermometer“.

As a project manager working in R&D at Dow Chemical, I had the privilege of working with micro biologist that were brilliant & got their hands dirty. It sounds like you went to school with those guys. And me with a BS in Marine Engineering, I didn’t even know I was an Aggie until I got first semester transcripts with Texas A&M on return address.

 

[SaltISlife]

I just wanted to share.. that this is what my elegance coral looks like under actinic bulbs with the blue leds.. and then what it looks like with blue plus coral plus and 6500k lights. And then just blue leds like alot of people seem to run their tanks at

Looks drastically different under different lights. But it looks worse under blues. In fact most of my corals look worse under just solid blues. They glow nice.. but overall it makes it meh and the tank is just meh and dark overall.

I think for a healthier tank its better to have a mix of all of it. Blue. White. Reds. Actinic. Ect.

As for algae.. i have 40ppm nitrates dont even check phosphayes.. i have 5 tangs. A foxface and 14 other fish in a 135 gallon 6ft tank.. and well i never see algae.. i cant even grow it even if i wanted. My fish eat anything that does grow. I believe in managing algae through fish and seaurchins and stuff..

I found fish look better under more white light too. 6500k bbs really brings out the natural fish color better.. too much blue and fish look horrible

 

[Hasted]

I grew up with a black light in my room with those silly fuzzy black and neon posters. Yeah...

So, my tank does represent my likes and interests in that regard. To a point.

Turns out my fish and certain colors of corals (blue corals!) look drab in heavy blues. My fix? Do both white and blue.

I run a Kessil AP9x over my tank. In the morning it starts very white. I can see things much easier like all my snails, any pests, my beautiful fish, AOI zoas, coraline, etc. Over the course of the day, it slowly gets more and more blue. The last two hours it tanks and goes full windex mode. Reminds me of my childhood. Certain colors are ridonk and I love it.

I have seen beautiful tanks on both ends. My tank is sitting in my living room for me to enjoy. Your tank is your tank in your space. Just do you and get the most out of your color how you want it.

Personally, I like the variety and glad people have their own preferences.

 

[User]

I will chat with you on your new build thread, but I am going to leave you with a line I got from @Paul B about academia, “he has more degrees than a thermometer“.

As a project manager working in R&D at Dow Chemical, I had the privilege of working with micro biologist that were brilliant & got their hands dirty. It sounds like you went to school with those guys. And me with a BS in Marine Engineering, I didn’t even know I was an Aggie until I got first semester transcripts with Texas A&M on return address.

Started off as a medical microbiologist, and ended up a 22 year career virologist, vaccine developer and gene therapist. I’ve gotten my hands dirty once or twice, lol

One particular time, it was at an unmarked farmhouse deep in rural Czech Republic. Shared a vodka with an overly self-assured farmhand with a buzz-cut and big build, then spent 3 days inventorying bioweapons stores in a bunker under the barn. Level 3 stuff. They kept the good stuff at a different location and I didn’t have that level of clearance

but I’m not supposed to talk about that.

I approach my tanks with a huge amount of scientific thought and apply my experience like im running a project. I don’t have time for anecdotes, and prefer biology, chemistry and physics. Keeps it interesting for me.

Talk to you over at mine. I’m debating with myself about starting a new thread, but don’t feel like I have enough new content to start. What do you think?

 

[Ghost25]

Dahab, sharm-el-sheik or Marsa alam?

Also - it may be unedited- but it’s not accurate to what we see to the eye. Camera sensors get washed out with blues, and typically are 4-5 stops different in apparent exposure compared to eye. So the pics might look like that, but what you physically saw wasnt

funny pic though, that’s great

This was Dabab, unfortunately I didn't make it any further south.

Sure the human eye has more dynamic range than a cheap GoPro, and that will mean that photos taken in low light will have lower lightness. So I think this is complicated by the fact that your eyes don't always perceive the same light the same way. Your brain compensates for all sorts of conditions like when your perception of color shifts when wearing ski goggles. Cones are less active in low light and rods are more active.

Either way there is very little red light at 20 m compared to the surface (10-15 percent)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

or don’t put that last cube of food in, the one that sinks to the bottom and no one eats?

Of course less food means less nutrients, but I think it worth clarifying for other readers that whether food is eaten or not, nearly all of the N and P in foods ends up in the water.

Thus, whether fish eat it all or not isn't a useful gauge of whether the nutrients are "excess".

 

[therootcause]

Here’s that 40 watt CFL in a shop light natural look.

 

[X-37B]

14k phoenix.
I like this look.
All fish and corals have great colors.
Corals have grown considerably since adding the 14k's 6 months ago.
I ran 8T5's 4b+ 4c+ and they worked quite well also.