White vs Blue; Which grows coral better?

[Kungpaoshizi]

The ultimate problem with this question is it's a half-truth.
Since we've found that identical corals can have alternative symbiodinium, that means that until you identify the coral symbiodinium and the spectrum IT likes, aside from flow and nutrient content of the water, then you're still not asking the right questions. Sure, it really is a 50/50, but since this can affect identical corals, and we know that the symbionts can change and migrate amongst corals, it compounds the answer to a depth of complexity that CANNOT be answered by 'is blue or white light better for corals'.

The best thing you can do is try to find out where the coral actually came from, and the depth associated. Otherwise until you know that, it's a guessing game. Even the transference of information about a specific coral "isn't exactly true".

The proper question would be, "is blue or white light the best lighting for *insert symbiodinium genus/species*".

Until we know that, it's like playing a guessing game about genetics. But even genetics is much simpler than corals and their symbiotic relationships. Genes don't 'pick up and leave' the host which may or may not be replaced by the same genes.

 

[Russ265]

You edited your post after I replied to it.

Nothing you posted there though has anything to do with what I said. I never claimed one led did more than another. Just that you can't eyeball a light and tell if it will grow/color coral or not.

I don't own any "expensive" LEDs, I just used it as an example so I don't know why you made that comment.

i was going to ignore this post but it seems that r2r staffers cant discern a yellowy "white" of 6500k to cool "white" to purply "white".

this is false.

show me any picture and i can tell the spectrum. anyone with reefing experience beyond a couple years can.

here is a primer.

i am becoming less and less confident of so-called "expert" members in r2r these days.

its like any kid can get in with zero knowledge.

of course you can shake your ban hammer at me while i mop the floor with you but the evidence is there. no need for a civil debate if im schooling you.

 

[Russ265]

@twilliard check this post out

 

[ritter6788]

i was going to ignore this post but it seems that r2r staffers cant discern a yellowy "white" of 6500k to cool "white" to purply "white".

this is false.

show me any picture and i can the spectrum. anyone with reefing experience beyond a couple years can.

here is a primer.

i am becoming less and less confident of so-called "expert" members in r2r these days.

its like any kid can get in with zero knowledge.

I never claimed to be an expert and no one else has ever called me one. Your sideways insults don't really phase me.

Yes, I can look at reef lights over tanks and have a good idea of spectrum. Still not what I originally posted that you are disagreeing with me on.

 

[Russ265]

I never claimed to be an expert and no one else has ever called me one. Your sideways insults don't really phase me.

Yes, I can look at reef lights over tanks and have a good idea of spectrum. Still not what I originally posted that you are disagreeing with me on.

you showed me a very predictable cool white led spectrum.

very very predictable.

so predictable it follows the same with bridgelux.

i didnt even want to answer your comment tbh. i was like "ill let it go".
but you got buddies involved thinking im ganging on you so i figured ill finish it out.

my eyes and most reefer's eyes (beyond a couple years) see that blue a mile away.

 

[ritter6788]

of course you can shake your ban hammer at me while i mop the floor with you but the evidence is there. no need for a civil debate if im schooling you.

You edited after I replied again. Like I said your insults don't bother me and I don't mind if you disagree with me. Seems you making an argument when there is none. Someone once told me it's always good to have people around that know everything. Best of luck with your fish tank.

 

[twilliard]

Oh my... let's not argue this is what we are not about.

 

[Russ265]

You edited after I replied again. Like I said your insults don't bother me and I don't mind if you disagree with me. Seems you making an argument when there is none. Someone once told me it's always good to have people around that know everything. Best of luck with your fish tank.

this is not an insult to you. i dont know why you keep thinking that.

btw: ill do a grow off with any "hard to keep" sps you can muster.

with that. it is best i take the high road and not press the issue further.

 

[WetWhistle]

after reading your wall of text you have just solidified my thoughts on so called "experienced" reef keepers.

dont take it personally... but its hard for any coral to not thrive in my tank let alone die. i think you need to toot your horn to those that need it.

ill keep my experience until i ask what im doing wrong.

while you may be correct in some areas, old school reef keeping dies easy. last year it was 0 nutrients, this year some. bioballs. etc. those white papers keep on ticking even before paul b had a tank.

ill trust a scientist in the field over a country bumpkin with a glass box any day of the week. idc the years they owned it.

my .02

That is ok you can have your opinion nothing wrong with that. When you listen to anyone online you should take it with a grain of salt, you should just not dismiss the information as not true automatically like you are choosing to do with experienced people is all.

I will take my experience any day over someone that all they want to do is make a name for themselves by writing a paper. Those papers are information to be used to form opinions and get us to think and not for guidelines of what only works. My experience has shown me how to actually grow corals and I don't need someone writing a paper to tell me how. As I have done it for decades not just read about it. A lot of the papers in this hobby today that have been written are by people trying to make a name for themselves and they skew their work to fit the point they are trying to make. You will always find another paper proving the exact apposite point. So people pick and choose from the papers and what they think works and that aligns to their thinking and ignore the others that don't that are disproving the same point.

Experience has taught me that the question 'what spectrum grows corals better' is a trick question. Anyone with experience knows this. There is no best way in captivity only best ranges and tolerances to make your decisions on. It all comes down to what is best for the individual reefer not what someone put in a paper or what works for someone else. The setup of their tank they use will be completely different then someone else so what works for one will not necessarily work for the other. They will never reach their goal trying to replicate what works for someone else. Embrace your system and use what you have based on all the research they have done. That is how you grow corals.

The true best way is do as much research as you can. Look at pictures and videos in the wild of corals and placement in their natural environment. Then test and find out what works best for you. Not try what works for someone else based on a paper. People should think for themselves in this hobby.

 

[lordraptor1]

looks like discussion of reef lighting, color temps, etc is as bad as discussing politics LOL

 

[Homebrewer]

looks like discussion of reef lighting, color temps, etc is as bad as discussing politics LOL

This thread is four years old and I believe a lot more data on this topic has been uncovered. I’m not commenting on any of the debate (didn’t read much of this at all), just that if you are interested in this answer, there is new information as of 2020 that is available.

 

[lordraptor1]

This thread is four years old and I believe a lot more data on this topic has been uncovered. I’m not commenting on any of the debate (didn’t read much of this at all), just that if you are interested in this answer, there is new information as of 2020 that is available.

well online search brought up THIS article Nothing newer, with that having been said i got my answer 10 minutes after i posted this from a couple different forums and the short answer according to all of them the answer is blue. might be and when people are searching for answers online they dont exactly pay attention to a date especially if the topic is relevant to them with that said, every r2r topic that comes up when i do a search is always an old post, and i can assure you it is not my system, browser, or search engine at fault as i update them all regularly so not sure why you are complaining all things considered i did a search and it was THIS topic that came up nothing with a newer date did.

 

[Homebrewer]

I’m sorry you took offense to this, not my intention at all. I was simply pointing out that newer information was available for your research of the topic. The answer you got was based on knowledge likely gained after 2016, which makes the debate in this thread outdated. I only take issue with one thing you said, in that you accused me of complaining. Not sure where that came from, was only trying to re-direct.

To your point about the search function, it has long been my position that before someone posts a new thread they should be prompted to performa search with a library of key words. The goal not necessarily being to cut down on the number of duplicative threads (though that would likely happen), but rather to keep all of the information in one place. However, building off of your point, that only works well if the search function is tip-top. I don’t have any IT suggestions myself on how to improve that as it isn’t my field, but I think the moderators would certainly be open to suggestions.

To this point, you searched first, which is great, it just yielded an outdated result, which is not so great and not necessarily your fault. Again, I was only trying to help, sorry that you took that post differently.

 

[lordraptor1]

I’m sorry you took offense to this, not my intention at all. I was simply pointing out that newer information was available for your research of the topic. The answer you got was based on knowledge likely gained after 2016, which makes the debate in this thread outdated. I only take issue with one thing you said, in that you accused me of complaining. Not sure where that came from, was only trying to re-direct.

To your point about the search function, it has long been my position that before someone posts a new thread they should be prompted to performa search with a library of key words. The goal not necessarily being to cut down on the number of duplicative threads (though that would likely happen), but rather to keep all of the information in one place. However, building off of your point, that only works well if the search function is tip-top. I don’t have any IT suggestions myself on how to improve that as it isn’t my field, but I think the moderators would certainly be open to suggestions.

To this point, you searched first, which is great, it just yielded an outdated result, which is not so great and not necessarily your fault. Again, I was only trying to help, sorry that you took that post differently.

not offended by you trying to offer assistance, just offended that it is always the same thing "this thread is X years old, dont necro old threads, use the search function, etc" and when we DO use the search function we expect recent items but no we get old threads and dont pay any attention to the date of post before we post, well i for one am sick of it. if i search and it is an old thread so be it, maybe we could have people just add information to posts instead of creating new ones for basically the same thing IE light color for coral growth in this case, or better yet admins and mods could start deleting obsolete posts but we know that wont happen as it is apparently to much work for them.

maybe before posting in a thread after finding it is a search i should just comment " how old is this thread","is this a current thread", or is this another one of those obsolete mods and admins to lazy to remove threads. LOL

 

[NYCMAN]

After moving off GHL Mitras 18 months ago to MH/T5 my SPS growth has been crazy. I started with Hamilton 20K, then went to 17.5K, and today put in Radium 20K. T5s have all been ATI blue + and actinic. So my tank is blue as hell, and growth out of control. The SPS grew to surface and spread out like a flat top. Just rebuilt my tank as a result of this and softies out of control (Xenia, GSP). Moved all SPS and LPS to new build. Fragged most of the SPS as it was built into rock and had to separate it from nuisance softies. So new setup is Radium 20K and same ATI bulb combos, although new.