Is there any real benefit to full spectrum lighting?

Shooter6

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Well yea they don' t compare blue vs fs but your other assumptions aren't really valid . You assume high full spectrum light is not a stressor...it is.
Afaict at high full spectrum light levels most corals go into " shutdown" mode to avoid more damage so yes they are adapted to it but it is not err ideal.
And natures light field is continually variable so the stress is intermittent.

Combine high light stress with rising water temps and you bleach easier.
YOUR MAKING ASSUMPTIONS. I never said full spectrum isn't a stressor did I? I said they don't know if full spectrum provides any triggers or aid to help corals protect themselves.
Example, the ir in full spectrum could trigger corals to shut down photosynthesis befor damage occurs. In blue only that trigger would be lacking and therefore allow corals to become damaged.

This is not assuming anything, this is pointing out how limited that study was and how it bears little on a discussion about full spectrum lights possible benefit to corals.

Did you loose the topic of this thread?
 
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Shooter6

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Well yea they don' t compare blue vs fs but your other assumptions aren't really valid . You assume high full spectrum light is not a stressor...it is.
Afaict at high full spectrum light levels most corals go into " shutdown" mode to avoid more damage so yes they are adapted to it but it is not err ideal.
And natures light field is continually variable so the stress is intermittent.

Combine high light stress with rising water temps and you bleach easier.
How do you know it's not ideal if that is the exact area the corals kept in our reefs are at highest concentration? Don't you think that if they preferred blue heavy light the would mostly be found at 80+ meters down, instead of near the surface.
 

oreo54

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No it was a corollary to the comment on the production of fluorescent pigments and I thought it was interesting..

Any photons ( which include all visible photons) effect the photosystem .
"Color" is a minor component well in a general sense. There is not a 100% pass on any color
 
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oreo54

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How do you know it's not ideal if that is the exact area the corals kept in our reefs are at highest concentration? Don't you think that if they preferred blue heavy light the would mostly be found at 80+ meters down, instead of near the surface.
No because gross photons content is lower.
It's the gross intensity that gives them the advantage not the color.

20% (violet and blue) of 1500 par trumps 70% of a couple 100 par.
Not to mention all the red and green available.

That they are adapted to high light is not the argument.. it is the err quality that you question.

Just like the opposite, they are at a disadvantage in low light enviroments.

And again even at " reasonable " depths the ratio of blue to others is already modified.

But in a rare point of agreement there are some nm dependent defenses which is why pure or high red light could be so destructive. Red won't trigger them + guess, I' d need to relook any studies on it).
Seems you have to go WAY out of the box, like the amber in the study.

BUT either blue centric, pure blue, or full spectrum will have triggers for defense.
 
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oreo54

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A more on topic paper, though it is mainly morphological differences.


Another.
 
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damsels are not mean

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Here's one to think on.

On reefs in the wild, the bulk of branching sps are found in the shallows, full spectrum light. This is where they choose to live, the spawned eggs that settle in these areas have the highest survival and grow into colonies.

If this is the case, doesn't it make sense that the full spectrum light is what THEY prefer?
The blue heavy spectrum we stuck them in in our reefs is not their choice, but ours, and they adapt to and survive in, or die.
Possibly, but they are not allowed to choose a heavy blue spectrum at high brightness like we provide in our tanks. It's either bright and white or dim and blue. This does not prove they prefer a whiter spectrum, it could mean they just need the brightness.

The only way to really test this would be to spawn corals or collect wild larvae and dump them in a tank with a gradient of spectrum from all blue to white to more reddish and then observe the distribution of the recruits.
 

Shooter6

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Possibly, but they are not allowed to choose a heavy blue spectrum at high brightness like we provide in our tanks. It's either bright and white or dim and blue. This does not prove they prefer a whiter spectrum, it could mean they just need the brightness.

The only way to really test this would be to spawn corals or collect wild larvae and dump them in a tank with a gradient of spectrum from all blue to white to more reddish and then observe the distribution of the recruits.
Since the par/pur levels on the reefs is much higher then our tanks, but continues to fluctuate, dont you think they would congregate in deeper depths then they do if full spectrum wasn't the preferred choice. I mean they literally have had millions of years to evolve. If the blue spectrum was preferred, they would have evolved to optimize the deeper water even if it was a lower over all pur they received. Many encrusting and soft corals did just that. Branching sps on the otherhand evolved to take advantage of the high intensity full spectrum zones with high surging flow.

This is easily observed on the reefs.
 

djf91

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Possibly, but they are not allowed to choose a heavy blue spectrum at high brightness like we provide in our tanks. It's either bright and white or dim and blue. This does not prove they prefer a whiter spectrum, it could mean they just need the brightness.

The only way to really test this would be to spawn corals or collect wild larvae and dump them in a tank with a gradient of spectrum from all blue to white to more reddish and then observe the distribution of the recruits.
That would be an awesome experiment.
 

GARRIGA

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Possibly, but they are not allowed to choose a heavy blue spectrum at high brightness like we provide in our tanks. It's either bright and white or dim and blue. This does not prove they prefer a whiter spectrum, it could mean they just need the brightness.

The only way to really test this would be to spawn corals or collect wild larvae and dump them in a tank with a gradient of spectrum from all blue to white to more reddish and then observe the distribution of the recruits.
Spawning is now a reality with moon phases.
 

Shooter6

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Spawning is now a reality with moon phases.
Yes but the issue then is to have a tank deep enough and large enough to give the larvae options on where to start coral structure development at. Having multiple light spectrum and intensity sections to see where they choose to congregate.

This is probably not feasible, so our next option is to look at the man made reefs such as sunken ships, or the concrete pile ons that have been set up over the years.
 

GARRIGA

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Yes but the issue then is to have a tank deep enough and large enough to give the larvae options on where to start coral structure development at. Having multiple light spectrum and intensity sections to see where they choose to congregate.

This is probably not feasible, so our next option is to look at the man made reefs such as sunken ships, or the concrete pile ons that have been set up over the years.
Perhaps at large aquariums it would since those likely illuminated by full spectrum. Many deep enough to provide a valid test.

Although, what’s to stop the same attempt by placing frags from the same colony under full spectrum at varying depths to determine growth based on depth blocking out certain wave lengths such as red, orange and yellow. Once you get to green that gets rather deep and blue goes deeper than any coral we likely keep.

If goal is to determine wave length preference then depth is the most natural approach although one could setup multiple tanks and just illuminate the wave lengths that would be expected at different depths. There’s data on the relationship on various wave lengths disappearing at different depths.
 

Shooter6

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Perhaps at large aquariums it would since those likely illuminated by full spectrum. Many deep enough to provide a valid test.

Although, what’s to stop the same attempt by placing frags from the same colony under full spectrum at varying depths to determine growth based on depth blocking out certain wave lengths such as red, orange and yellow. Once you get to green that gets rather deep and blue goes deeper than any coral we likely keep.

If goal is to determine wave length preference then depth is the most natural approach although one could setup multiple tanks and just illuminate the wave lengths that would be expected at different depths. There’s data on the relationship on various wave lengths disappearing at different depths.
Placing frags skews any experiment. Look at reefs. Frags will be broken off and fall to deeper levels. Some will take hold and continue to grow. That wasn't the choice place for the larvae that grew the coral, just surviving in less then optimal conditions.
 

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