Jedi1199
2500 Club Member
I actually find it very interesting that almost nobody mentions lighting.
Since most of the corals we see in the hobby are photosynthetic, You would think that more people would realize that LIGHT is the key.
Yes, there are corals that do not use light as a food source. These will obviously require a food source outside of lighting.
Yes, in my own experience supplemental feeding helps.
Since most corals also have the ability to directly feed from captured organisms, it would be absurd for me to even state that light is the "only" way.
That said, if you want the BEST strongest, fastest and healthiest growth from your corals, you need a lighting setup that meets the demands of what corals use for feeding.
So much emphasis on PAR, so much on intensity... How often do you see "Spectrum" mentioned? How many of us even have a way to read what spectrum our lights produce? This is an issue that I believe that we as hobbyists need to understand.
For example, a tank with 1200 par all over certainly has enough light to grow stuff.... but is it the right light spectrum? If all of the light is in the green and red range of the spectrum, your corals will starve and die even with supplemental feeding. Everyone will say, "Oh you have the lights too bright, too dim, not on long enough, on for too long..." blah blah blah.. NOBODY will ask you "What spectrum are your lights emitting?" And yet, this is the most important factor!!
Since most of the corals we see in the hobby are photosynthetic, You would think that more people would realize that LIGHT is the key.
Yes, there are corals that do not use light as a food source. These will obviously require a food source outside of lighting.
Yes, in my own experience supplemental feeding helps.
Since most corals also have the ability to directly feed from captured organisms, it would be absurd for me to even state that light is the "only" way.
That said, if you want the BEST strongest, fastest and healthiest growth from your corals, you need a lighting setup that meets the demands of what corals use for feeding.
So much emphasis on PAR, so much on intensity... How often do you see "Spectrum" mentioned? How many of us even have a way to read what spectrum our lights produce? This is an issue that I believe that we as hobbyists need to understand.
For example, a tank with 1200 par all over certainly has enough light to grow stuff.... but is it the right light spectrum? If all of the light is in the green and red range of the spectrum, your corals will starve and die even with supplemental feeding. Everyone will say, "Oh you have the lights too bright, too dim, not on long enough, on for too long..." blah blah blah.. NOBODY will ask you "What spectrum are your lights emitting?" And yet, this is the most important factor!!
