How much white light?

[vinsonj]

From what I've researched so far, most run 10-20% white light, and the rest is blue (10-12 hours a day). I've got a RSM250 and I've removed all 6 T5 bulbs (3 white, 3 blue) and replaced with 3 T5 Blue LED replacements and 1 T5 White. The blues are the Arcadia 12W (39W replacement) bulbs, and I originally had the white also an Arcadia LED White (12W, 18000K), but it seemed too intense, so I swapped it with the T5. I have the timer set to 8 hours and I'd prefer to go all blues (if possible), but I don't want to negatively affect the corals if I take out the white. I had the expected algae spike a few weeks ago, but cleanup crew has since taken care of it.


If the white is absolutely necessary, what about fitting another option on the tank on a different timer, and have it only run the whites in the morning (say 2 hours), then kick the blues on the rest of the day (8-10 hours)? I don't currently have fish and mostly have LPS's and soft corals (zoo's, GSP's, a hammer, a blasto, a toadstool, pipe organs, kenya trees, mushrooms, a cactus and a few "starter" monti caps).

 

[Spare time]

It is basically a personal preference. Blue bulbs are just more efficient for coral as white is usually blue with a lot of yellow/green and sometimes a little red and corals are more or less gain the most benefit from the blue/violet rather than the yellowish colors. The fish may benefit from a wider spectrum of color but honestly I have never heard anybody ever discuss how the fish behave in different colored lights.