Is there any real benefit to full spectrum lighting?

[Doctorgori]

I’m a lil ole skool, as all I had in the 90’s were VHO’s and a ICECAP 660…bulb choices were limited and my ugly brown hammers, bubble and brains grew and grew under 6500k and maybe a actintic …
I dunno but I don’t recall algae blooms under that reddish yellow light… maybe they got enough blue wavelength and all that red was just a waste …
I do challenge those that say full spectrum causes algae… to me that’s just dumb logic and misdirected blame

 

[piranhaman00]

This is one area BRS made a big mistake with their info videos, all they focus on is the UV and blue spectrum of light and talk about PAR. In fact there is a video out there where they claim PAR=PAR which is completely false.

PAR is a nearly meaningless value without spectrum data. PAR from leds does not equal PAR from T5 or MH ect.

My favorite example is where the XHO blue is claimed to have “more PAR” than a Blue plus bulb, so it is all of a sudden a better choice. Wrong.

Full spectrum is necessary for better color and growth, these blue tanks now a days are a product of BRS info that is not fully true.

 

[jdpiii3]

I've been fairly successful using full spectrum natural sunlight on my 400 gallon reef for the last 11 years don't know if anyone has seen my build thread.

 

[Jon's Reef]

PAR is a nearly meaningless value without spectrum data. PAR from leds does not equal PAR from T5 or MH ect.

PAR is the number of photons per unit area in the 400-700 nm range. It does not change based on the light source.

Different organisms utilize different parts of the spectrum. The corals we primarily keep primarily contain chlorophyll a and c, which have primary absorption in the 400-500 nm range (blue) with secondary absorption in the 600-700 nm range (red). There are other photosynthetic molecules that strongly effect color or help boost the chlorophyll which use other wavelengths (primarily in the cyan color range). The ideal utilization of different wavelengths depends on the exact species of coral as well as the acclimation conditions (ex naturally collected vs aquacultured) The measured value that takes into account utilization is PUR.

PUR can also change based on specimen history. A colony grown from frag under MH , t5 and led will have different absorption spectra.

I use Led with a bluer color because I like to keep aquacultured specimens which have been adapted for color and hardiness in the aquarium environment… and the vendors that they come from use led with a bluer color.

 

[Shooter6]

I've been fairly successful using full spectrum natural sunlight on my 400 gallon reef for the last 11 years don't know if anyone has seen my build thread.

I have I love the solar tube lighting

 

[Shooter6]

PAR is the number of photons per unit area in the 400-700 nm range. It does not change based on the light source.

Different organisms utilize different parts of the spectrum. The corals we primarily keep primarily contain chlorophyll a and c, which have primary absorption in the 400-500 nm range (blue) with secondary absorption in the 600-700 nm range (red). There are other photosynthetic molecules that strongly effect color or help boost the chlorophyll which use other wavelengths (primarily in the cyan color range). The ideal utilization of different wavelengths depends on the exact species of coral as well as the acclimation conditions (ex naturally collected vs aquacultured) The measured value that takes into account utilization is PUR.

PUR can also change based on specimen history. A colony grown from frag under MH , t5 and led will have different absorption spectra.

I use Led with a bluer color because I like to keep aquacultured specimens which have been adapted for color and hardiness in the aquarium environment… and the vendors that they come from use led with a bluer color.

Be sure to ask each vendor what specific lighting is being used. Many use a mix of mh,t5,and leds.

Last point I'll make and I don't mean this as a start of an argument, the frag you bought will always be new growth, so the adapted to certain lighting over time really is a questionable idea. Unless it's a wild colony that was shipped to a vendor, chopped up and resold quickly, or you bought the whole colony, any frag will be adapted to whatever light it was grown under.

 

[Bpb]

I've been fairly successful using full spectrum natural sunlight on my 400 gallon reef for the last 11 years don't know if anyone has seen my build thread.

Admired your build thread. Actual direct non-reflected sunlight would be my top choice of light if it were in any way possible, which it isn’t for me in a residential setting. Solar tubes would be a close second place. The look is just undeniable. Beautiful. That would be a hard sell to the wife lol. One can dream

 

[Shooter6]

Admired your build thread. Actual direct non-reflected sunlight would be my top choice of light if it were in any way possible, which it isn’t for me in a residential setting. Solar tubes would be a close second place. The look is just undeniable. Beautiful. That would be a hard sell to the wife lol. One can dream

I've got solar tubes on my current house. They were there when I purchased. , some go straight down bout others do not. Instead they curve around. The light exiting cannot be distinguished between the two. The mirror lining in the tubes is highly effective at moving the light through the tubes and out the bottom. So much so that cars driving past the house send light down the tubes.

Mine have diffusers on them. I can only imagine if the diffusers were removed how bright the light exiting would be.

 

[oreo54]

There are other photosynthetic molecules that strongly effect color or help boost the chlorophyll which use other wavelengths (primarily in the cyan color range). The ideal utilization of different wavelengths depends on the exact species of coral as well as the acclimation conditions (ex naturally collected vs aquacultured) The measured value that takes into account utilization is PUR.

I "believe" one shouldn't underestimate the "other" pigments.
Interesting enough the mercury emission "green spike" may, in part, be more err interesting than one assumes.


Geek stuff..

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005272814001066

The carotenoid peridinin allows for the efficient absorption of green light which is transferred with high efficiency to the chlorophyll molecules as it has been modeled recently by ultrafast spectroscopic techniques [20], [21], [22] It was also proposed that triplet formation of peridinin molecules prevents PCP from potential photodamage (e.g. [22], [23], [24]). There are detailed studies about the excitation energy transfer pathways within PCP and acpPC [25], [26], [27], as well as the interplay of the two antenna systems, yet the energy transfer from either PCP or acpPC to the photosystems remains elusive......Contrary to predictions of the detachment model, we found that PCP fluorescence lifetime remained rapid even after exposure to high light (Fig. 4, Fig. 5) indicating that the transfer of light energy from PCP to intrinsic membrane light harvesting complexes remains efficient.

Evidence of functional trimeric chlorophyll a/c2-peridinin proteins in the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium

The chlorophyll a-chlorophyll c2-peridinin-protein (apcPC), a major light harvesting component in peridinin-containing dinoflagellates, is an integral…

www.sciencedirect.com

The chlorophyll a-chlorophyll c2-peridinin-protein (apcPC), a major light harvesting component in peridinin-containing dinoflagellates, is an integral membrane protein complex.....

Seems Peridinin shares the same stature as chl a,c in a sense.

 

[piranhaman00]

PAR is the number of photons per unit area in the 400-700 nm range. It does not change based on the light source.

Different organisms utilize different parts of the spectrum. The corals we primarily keep primarily contain chlorophyll a and c, which have primary absorption in the 400-500 nm range (blue) with secondary absorption in the 600-700 nm range (red). There are other photosynthetic molecules that strongly effect color or help boost the chlorophyll which use other wavelengths (primarily in the cyan color range). The ideal utilization of different wavelengths depends on the exact species of coral as well as the acclimation conditions (ex naturally collected vs aquacultured) The measured value that takes into account utilization is PUR.

PUR can also change based on specimen history. A colony grown from frag under MH , t5 and led will have different absorption spectra.

I use Led with a bluer color because I like to keep aquacultured specimens which have been adapted for color and hardiness in the aquarium environment… and the vendors that they come from use led with a bluer color.

Exactly my point. This is why a blue led will never compete with a blue plus T5 bulb. Doesn’t matter if the par is exactly the same. The T5 has better spectrum output, where the led is one wavelength

 

[oreo54]

Exactly my point. This is why a blue led will never compete with a blue plus T5 bulb. Doesn’t matter if the par is exactly the same. The T5 has better spectrum output, where the led is one wavelength

Comparison Phillips RB (red) vs ati

Wavelength spectrum of royal blue LED (Phillips LXK2-PR14-R00)​

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Wavelength-spectrum-of-royal-blue-LED-Phillips-LXK2-PR14-R00_fig1_228571145

Easily useable spectrum 455-480

Most modern led lights have more than one "blue" anyways..
Ignore LED height it doesn't apply. Spread is what is important..
Add green and amber to "a" blue mix and it's an ATI.
T5's have little if any UV. As to deep red.. oddly @ >730 you get spikes as it ages..

 

[GARRIGA]

Haven't heard compelling reason why full spectrum can't grow corals. Fact is that based on depth certain wave lengths become diminished or removed and certain species dependent on light energy likely evolved to not utilize those wave lengths yet I doubt being present are detrimental therefore my approach is going to be to just increase intensity of full spectrum until required PAR made available to species I'm supporting.

Not a fan of the glowing corals or blue tanks.

 

[saltyfins]

Here is my spectra at 09:30 - morning light

And a morning video at the same time



Sincerely Lasse

this is an older post, but Lasse, do you have the full days schedule? I am looking at changing mine eventually, and I like this one. I'd like to put it in my file. however, I'd like the full schedule if at all possible.
I am waiting for a replacement light, as one of mine just stopped working. been 2 weeks already, so I think I'll need to go slow on them, once it finally arrives (friday)
I'd sincerely appreciate it if it's possible.

 

[Lasse]

The RGB (chanel 1-3 Red, Green and Blue) looks like this

The 6500 and 8000K looks like this

The royal blu + 450 nm looks like this

Finally the 425 nm looks like this - its also my moon channel

I have configure the mitras that way that 100 % in the graphs is 85 % in reality. But also the PDF that´s mean that different channels have different real outputs

The spectra when I run them for full is like this

Hope this help you

Sincerely Lasse

 

[soilless _ reefer]

I’ve been debating putting 2- 3 315s and 2-3 6 ft meso blues over my 7ft peninsula. I think it would look amazing.