Are all blue lights OK?

[jda]

The T5 "blue" bulbs that JF uses are similar to Blue Plus... they have all kinds of wavelengths in them including green, red and yellow. I also seriously doubt that JF is a multimillionaire by selling corals - I hope that he is, but that is not likely. Besides, if people are not willing to go 100% into his method, then don't just pick and choose... so get on board with the huge, massive water changes, being around the corals hours per day and all of the rest.

Zoox needs down time to do some of the cellular repair and stuff... I would not run lights for more than 12 hours, but 8 is usually enough. Lights on all the time will be a disaster after a while. After a while, zoox will shut down and not get anything more out of the lights.

Most all corals in this hobby are collected from depths achievable on one-breath where there is still a massive amount of UV, IR and every spectrum in the middle - a true 6500k type of spectrum. There are corals that grow deeper, but the stuff what we have is not likely from there (some, but not much) - the use of rebreathers and equipment to get to 150 meters is dangerous, expensive and used mostly in the hobby to collect fish which have way more value than corals which can be had in waist deep water or with masks snorkels. When we were in the coral sea, the dudes on the boats collected in waist deep water, in low tide in pools ankle deep and also with masks in water about 10-12 feet deep - they got everything from 'nems to softies to acropora.

 

[Stigigemla]

And not to forget: Corals need darkness to grow. Many Years ago I saw a scientific test on a few coral types and how they went through the light cycle and growth. It was just short time, a few weeks or so but the corals grew sigificantly slower when the darkness timme went under 6 hours. This time can be different for different corals and for a longer time.

All coral commercial growers that i have read about use light for 8 to 12 hours. If they could increase coral growth with longer time I am shure they would.

 

[Paul J]

How do you get 100% plus from a radion light? I can only get 100%

 

[Tamberav]

I use nanobox led and basically have white turned off and run mints instead which gives the pop you are probably wanting.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

How do you get 100% plus from a radion light? I can only get 100%

You don't on radions. Those settings are the best approximation/variation for AI hydra lights.

Just Google for Radion AB+ spectrum.

 

[Paul J]

You don't on radions. Those settings are the best approximation/variation for AI hydra lights.

Just Google for Radion AB+ spectrum.

Thanks for getting back to me so soon. Much appreciated.

 

[Timfish]

. . . which btw the way, white light is the entire visible light spectrum coming g into your eyes all at the same time, blues, greens, yellows, oranges and reds..... makes up white light . . .

WIth white LEDs you have a blue LED covered with white phosphers so there is an additional blue component that is not as pronounced with flouresent or MH bulbs.

. . . @Timfish I'm open minded. I would like to see links explaining "too much oxygen " to actual lab testing, actual lab results. . . .

The forums are replete with posts about "burning" or "burned" corals. The descriptions easily can be taken as the coral were subjected to oxidative stress from inappropriate lighting conditions. Here's some links for you:

Coral Fluorescent Protiens as Antioxidants

Coral Fluorescent Proteins as Antioxidants

A wide array of fluorescent proteins (FP) is present in anthozoans, although their biochemical characteristics and function in host tissue remain to be determined. Upregulation of FP's frequently occurs in injured or compromised coral tissue, suggesting ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

(What seems an obvious take away for me is increasing the lighting conditions that creates antioxidants to force a coral to "pop" more is likely to have long term ramifications impacting a corals ability to calcify, grow and more importantly IMO to produce the mucus essential for it's holobiont that is a major component of it's immune system.)

Depth Dependant Resoponse to Light of the Reef Building Coral, Pocillopora verricosa, Implications of Oxidative Stress

Depth-dependant response to light of the reef building coral, Pocillopora verrucosa: Implication of oxidative stress

Several environmental factors have been described to trigger bleaching in cnidarian/dinoflagellate endosymbiosis. However, the molecular mechanisms un…

www.sciencedirect.com

(From the abstract "We therefore conclude that increasing light induced bleaching via a prooxidative period.")

For more papers go to Scholar.Google.Com and use the search terms "Coral" + "Zooxanthellae" along with the terms "Photoinhibition" and /or "Oxidative Stress"

 

[Sailfinguy21]

How come Reef stores have blue lights on always though? That’s what I’m puzzled about

Its because it makes corals look unrealistic so they can sell them to people based on neon glowing colors.. but all blue leds dont grow corals and will in fact brown a coral out.. ive seen before.

 

[DannyBCorals]

Its because it makes corals look unrealistic so they can sell them to people based on neon glowing colors.. but all blue leds dont grow corals and will in fact brown a coral out.. ive seen before.

That’s a golden answer!

 

[carbene]

Bling-bling makes more money!

 

[K95ranger]

I agree that Jason Fox uses the t5 blue only and has success. So one would assume that it is possible for it to work. Give it a try and worst case if you don't see any growth change a bulb or two. I wouldn't leave it on 24/7 max I would do is 12 hours.

 

[HNR]

Everytime I look this up I see a different answer. Somepeople say white is growth, others say you only need blues. I guess no one really knows for sure. Ive decided to test it and am currently only running blues (black box) and honestly there are no ill effects so far. Corals look fine and happy and I'm getting decent growth. It does change coloration though. Corals become more neon and "light" colored, and less "c

 

[HM3105]

I thought these two articles by Dana Riddle might be helpful in helping you answer your question.

Photosynthetic Efficiencies of LEDs: Results of Short Term Exposure to LED Lights

Dana Riddle studies zooxanthallae exposed to varying intensities and colors of LEDs between 365nm (UV-A) and 657nm (red). The collected data sheds light on how different spectra affect photosynthesis and the Xanthophyll Cycle, helping us to better understand how corals use and respond to light.

www.advancedaquarist.com

Lighting the Reef Aquarium - Spectrum or Intensity? - Reefs.com

This month Dana and Miguel discuss the importance of spectrum and intensity of aquarium lighting.

www.advancedaquarist.com