New to hobby, Questions about lighting.

[Aeiyr]

Hey all. I've been lurking for forums for a few months but, finally have some questions of my own as my cycle is nearing it's completion. I'll go ahead and get my equiptment list out of the way now, and then move into my inquiry.

Tank: IM Nuvo Fusion Pro 2 14 Peninsula.
Pumps: Comes stock with MightyJet 326gph DC pump. Also have a Nero3 incase i need more flow later on.
Lighting: 2x AI Blade Coral Grow mounted parallel 5" above water surface, 6 inches apart. via AI HMS arm.
Sand: 10lbs Caribsea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink.
Rock: Dry MarcoRock.
Filtration: InTank basket in chamber 1 with 1.5" thick floss and maxspect bio media. InTank media basket in chamber 2 with more Maxspect Bio media for now.
Heater: IM Helio 100W Titanium heater w/controller. Currently set to 80F to propagate bacteria.

I think that's everything that could be important.

Now my question: If I set my lights to 14k (blues, royal blues, and whites) and then raise the white level higher for my inferior human eyes to enjoy, does that then negate in any way what the blues are putting out for coral life to sustain? I cannot find any sources on it, and I don't understand light wavelengths enough yet to make an educated guess.

My goal is keeping softies and LPS(Yuma shrooms, Hammers, maybe a small patch of Zoas.), and a pair of Mocha Ocellaris with CuC and, IF (big if) I find that i have the lighting for it, one of the lower light species of Clams, Derasa perhaps? (would be donated to a new home when larger if i have not upgraded by then)

I'm still about 3 weeks off from adding fish, CuC will come after once food sources/uglies start to grow. As my cycle is only about 3 weeks in, which puts me maybe 3 or 4 months off of adding corals after those three weeks. I just want to know long before then so I can research solutions ahead of time.

Pictures included to show the setup, as well as the mounting for lights.

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board! cool 'scape!

edit: in regards to your questions, i believe white is all of the colors combined, so although it does help us see better, it actually supplements the blue as well.

 

[Aeiyr]

welcome aboard the r2r board! cool 'scape!

Thanks! they were all made by hand with a hammer and some AF stone fix. glad to be here. this forum has been an invaluable source of information for me.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

welcome to R2R, aquarium looks great

 

[paragrouper]

Like what you’ve done so far

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Now my question: If I set my lights to 14k (blues, royal blues, and whites) and then raise the white level higher for my inferior human eyes to enjoy, does that then negate in any way what the blues are putting out for coral life to sustain? I cannot find any sources on it, and I don't understand light wavelengths enough yet to make an educated guess.

Sort of, but not really - it's a bit complicated.

To oversimplify things a bit, more blue light = faster growth for corals, but less photosynthesis (seems counterproductive, I know); more white light = still good but slightly slower growth with more photosynthesis.
(Exceptions for corals from deeper water.)

Beyond that, as long as the light has enough PAR and the right spectrum (wavelengths) of light, the corals should grow fine.

Corals will still grow under just blue light, yes. As mentioned, changing from white and blue or just white to just blue will likely impact the coral's growth, coloration, and possibly health (if the coral is from deep water rather than shallow water, using just blue light will likely increase coral growth and health - if the coral is from shallow water, switching to just blue may decrease the growth and health).* Switching to blue light from white or white/blue will also impact any photosynthesis going on in the tank:

"More importantly, under blue light calcification is very high, even higher than under full spectrum, while photosynthesis remains below the compensation point, meaning that CO2 production is higher than consumption (Figure 4B)." **

*Source:

Green fluorescent protein-like pigments optimise the internal light environment in symbiotic reef-building corals

Scalar irradiance microsensor measurements performed inside the tissue of living corals show that absorption and fluorescence emission by host pigments produce dramatic spectral alterations in the light environment experienced by the symbionts.

elifesciences.org

**Source:

Light Enhanced Calcification in Hermatypic Corals: New Insights from Light Spectral Responses

Light enhanced calcification (LEC) is a well-documented phenomenon in reef-building corals. The main mechanism proposed for LEC is that photosynthetic CO2 uptake by the algal symbionts elevates the pH and thus enhances calcification. We evaluated the role of light and of photosynthesis on...

www.frontiersin.org

***This third link reinforces both of the points listed with the other links:

The spectral quality of light is a key driver of photosynthesis and photoadaptation in Stylophora pistillata colonies from different depths in the Red Sea

SUMMARYDepth zonation on coral reefs is largely driven by the amount of downwelling, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) that is absorbed by the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) of corals. The minimum light requirements of zooxanthellae are related to both the total intensity of downwelling...

journals.biologists.com

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[ptrick21186]

Adding white will not negate the amount of blue light you are adding. On the contrary it will increase the overall amount of light. White is technically just all the spectrum combined. So basically you're increasing the overall intensity. It will wash out the blue but only to how your eyes perceive it.

The original blue channels will still be at the same intensity and the same amount of light from them are reaching the corals. You're just adding more full spectrum on top of them.

 

[Aeiyr]

welcome aboard the r2r board! cool 'scape!

edit: in regards to your questions, i believe white is all of the colors combined, so although it does help us see better, it actually supplements the blue as well.

Sort of, but not really - it's a bit complicated.

To oversimplify things a bit, more blue light = faster growth for corals, but less photosynthesis (seems counterproductive, I know); more white light = still good but slightly slower growth with more photosynthesis.
(Exceptions for corals from deeper water.)

Beyond that, as long as the light has enough PAR and the right spectrum (wavelengths) of light, the corals should grow fine.

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Adding white will not negate the amount of blue light you are adding. On the contrary it will increase the overall amount of light. White is technically just all the spectrum combined. So basically you're increasing the overall intensity. It will wash out the blue but only to how your eyes perceive it.

The original blue channels will still be at the same intensity and the same amount of light from them are reaching the corals. You're just adding more full spectrum on top of them.

Perfect, thank you for the quick responses! this was exactly the answer I was hoping for. I tried a brief trial of mostly the blues recommended via AI signatures etc. And tbh, it kind of just hurt my eyes to look at for more than 10-15 seconds at a time. After some fidling i found the Mobius app lets me set the lights to whatever kelvin temp I want, but then i was still able to just kick the white up until it was easier on my poor retinas. Thus my inquiry was born!

Thank you to all the kind welcomes, compliments, and answers. I'll also be sure to take a look at those quoted posts/articles.