Is white channel worth it?

[Ztrel0cK]

I’ve upgraded the tank some time back and still struggling to figure the lighting so would appreciate an advice.
I run RedSea reefer 425 with 2 ReefLed90s.
Initially I set it to 100% blue (zero on other channels) but corals didn’t seem to be happy so I’ve started playing with the PAR meter.
To my surprise I was reading only 60-90PAR at sandbed, about 150-180 at mid tank.
Adding white channel to 80% doubled the PAR and got it to the levels I’d expect to have for my corals, yet they still don’t seem to be 100% and algae is kicking off like there is no tomorrow.
Should I dial back to just blues with maybe a bit of white and ignore the PAR from white channel? Any other advice?

 

[Lavey29]

White is simply for viewing pleasure. Mine runs at 24%.

 

[Ztrel0cK]

So means I don’t have enough PAR with the 90s with just blue? dang disappointing

 

[VintageReefer]

You should use blues and violets to get your desired par and add white to adjust color to your preference.

The par added from white shouldn’t be ignored. It’s real par and it can bleach things.

 

[VintageReefer]

So means I don’t have enough PAR with the 90s with just blue? dang disappointing

You might need a third, then the overlap from the fixtures would help raise the numbers and make measurement more consistent

 

[Lavey29]

I agree with vintage. Some white helps par but to much will promote algae or cyano.

 

[Ztrel0cK]

Shame reefled works with only blue and white… getting a third one would be a challenge with cutouts on the lid ;(

What would be a good upgrade to have 2 fixtures for the 425, ideally not selling a kidney?

 

[VintageReefer]

Shame reefled works with only blue and white… getting a third one would be a challenge with cutouts on the lid ;(

What would be a good upgrade to have 2 fixtures for the 425, ideally not selling a kidney?

48” tank? Reef breeders meridian 35. You can get tank mounts for the side frame, rear glass, or hang it

 

[CHSUB]

here is my lighting schedule with rs50…. Corals need light and lots of it. I’m also running 200 watts of ~5000k daylight for mangroves. Algae needs to be controlled with maintenance and CUC, not lighting.

.

 

[VintageReefer]

here is my lighting schedule with rs50…. Corals need light and lots of it. I’m also running 200 watts of ~5000k daylight for mangroves. Algae needs to be controlled with maintenance and CUC, not lighting.

.

You say it needs to be controlled with cuc and maintenance, which certainly are valid methods.

But you act as if lighting is not a factor, despite OP clearly stating their observation that increasing whites and doubling par has caused the algae to grow much more rapidly than it was prior.

It is proven that certain spectrums grow algae faster - mainly red spectum and white/full spectrum, which contains red.

Blue only will grow algae but not as efficiently

 

[oreo54]

I’ve started playing with the PAR meter.
To my surprise I was reading only 60-90PAR at sandbed, about 150-180 at mid tank.
Adding white channel to 80% doubled the PAR and got it to the levels I’d expect to have for my corals, yet they still don’t seem to be 100% and algae is kicking off like there is no tomorrow.

That's a little strange since the wattage distribution is 80 watts blue 10 watts of white for the orig. Reefled90.
If you use the presets it only changes the white wattage. Blues are always 100%

Which par meter did you use?
Sounds like it's under reporting the blue channel.

 

[CHSUB]

You say it needs to be controlled with cuc and maintenance, which certainly are valid methods.

But you act as if lighting is not a factor, despite OP clearly stating their observation that increasing whites and doubling par has caused the algae to grow much more rapidly than it was prior.

It is proven that certain spectrums grow algae faster - mainly red spectum and white/full spectrum, which contains red.

Blue only will grow algae but not as efficiently

Lighting is a factor, more light more algae…not arguing. However, if we are reducing light to “control” algae we are not optimizing coral growth.

 

[Ztrel0cK]

I’ve started playing with the PAR meter.
To my surprise I was reading only 60-90PAR at sandbed, about 150-180 at mid tank.
Adding white channel to 80% doubled the PAR and got it to the levels I’d expect to have for my corals, yet they still don’t seem to be 100% and algae is kicking off like there is no tomorrow.

That's a little strange since the wattage distribution is 80 watts blue 10 watts of white for the orig. Reefled90.
If you use the presets it only changes the white wattage. Blues are always 100%

Which par meter did you use?
Sounds like it's under reporting the blue channel.

That is strange indeed - didn’t know the watt spread.
Using PARwise.

 

[mcarroll]

I’ve upgraded the tank some time back and still struggling to figure the lighting so would appreciate an advice.
I run RedSea reefer 425 with 2 ReefLed90s.
Initially I set it to 100% blue (zero on other channels) but corals didn’t seem to be happy so I’ve started playing with the PAR meter.
To my surprise I was reading only 60-90PAR at sandbed, about 150-180 at mid tank.
Adding white channel to 80% doubled the PAR and got it to the levels I’d expect to have for my corals, yet they still don’t seem to be 100% and algae is kicking off like there is no tomorrow.
Should I dial back to just blues with maybe a bit of white and ignore the PAR from white channel? Any other advice?

If you're running the lights they intend for this tank and running the correct number of them, then I suspect you're overthinking it.

Firstly, PAR numbers are based on 5000K light (sunlight) so taking a reading of all blue light isn't going to be accurate.

PLUS, the general impression of how much light corals need is also not accurate.

5000+ lux (about 100 PAR) is enough to satisfy their metabolism needs. Maybe as low as 70 PAR or even lower if you're measuring just blue light. (Accuracy issue....actual is higher.)

When you supply light beyond their needs, it's a stress for them maybe more than it's a benefit. More light certainly creates more risks. If you can find them, Dana Riddle has done more than one great article on lighting where he talks about what "too much" is.

 

[Troylee]

I’ll always use white light in fact I run the whites at 100% on my fixtures as everything just looks healthier to me personally..

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Maybe I missed it, but what corals are you trying to grow? Most Acro's need higher par and at least a partial daylight spectrum. Softies and LPS grow deeper and have a different lighting requirements. Figure out where the corals you have originated from and try to do your best to mimic that.

 

[slingfox]

Depends on what coral you are trying to grow. For SPS dominant it seems popular to run with decent amount of whites for early part of the day then go for heavier blue for the rest. Having some white seems to bring out betters colors in SPS. I personally prefer a more white spectrum look so I like the mix of white and blue.

 

[fish_collector]

What would be a good upgrade to have 2 fixtures for the 425, ideally not selling a kidney?

Reefi UNO 2.0 Pro are very good, much better than the gold standard XR30 all of the coral farms have used for 10 years, and half the price.

 

[Ztrel0cK]

Maybe I missed it, but what corals are you trying to grow? Most Acro's need higher par and at least a partial daylight spectrum. Softies and LPS grow deeper and have a different lighting requirements. Figure out where the corals you have originated from and try to do your best to mimic that.

Mostly lps/softies at this stage (zoas, hammers, torches), trying to get into sps but even birds nest wouldn’t last more than a month

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Mostly lps/softies at this stage (zoas, hammers, torches), trying to get into sps but even birds nest wouldn’t last more than a month

Zoas can be high flow high light. Hammers and torches not so much. TBH I have yet to see RS leds make corals look good. I have seen them grow corals, yes, no doubt. But....
This is just my personal opinion...