White vs Blue

[i cant think]

This isn’t for any specific reason I’m just intrigued to see what you guys prefer.
I recently boosted the blues on my nano and the whites on my 4’ tank, I’m now slowly realising on how much more depth white light makes the tank look like it has.
It also boosts the fish colours, maybe not the coral colours however they look much more natural and photos arent needed to be messed with.
Here’s an FTS of the 4’ tank.

And then some photos of the fish and coral for more examples.

I swear this isn’t just a thread so I can see some beautiful reefs

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Beautiful copperband!

 

[i cant think]

Beautiful copperband!

Thankyou, I need more recent photos of the non-wrasse fish haha.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Thankyou, I need more recent photos of the non-wrasse fish haha.

How are your new SPS doing btw? I remember you were just starting to get a few acros in your tank...

 

[i cant think]

How are your new SPS doing btw? I remember you were just starting to get a few acros in your tank...

In my 4’ tank unfortunately Ive got no acros but in my nano I have a Stylophora, a monti spongoides, a monti setosa and a Acropora yongei.
All except one are doing great, the M. setosa has the majority of its skeleton bleached.
definitely need to get a FTS of my nano in here too!

 

[monicalooze]

I really prefer 6500k - 10,000k. I think it looks more natural, and I love the look of T5. I use a big, flat freshwater LED that mimics T5 very closely on my NPS tank.

I choose corals, sponges, etc that are brighter under white light (think purple and blue), but I still like regular photosynthetic corals, even if they're not very vibrant. I also find that 6500k is much better for macros, and I do have some hypnea and dragon's breath. In general I like that you can see better, taking photos is super simple, and it's a lot more realistic. I might consider adding a bluer photoperiod during the evening, but so far it hasn't been necessary.

On my second tank, I run an AI Prime at 10,000k during the day, and I give it a bluish photoperiod before lights out. It's fun to see the variation in color that way; I really don't know if it benefits the coral though. I have very few good pictures because I hate messing with the lights and camera filters every time I want a picture. These are ok...from when the tank was first started to about six mos ago.

 

[i cant think]

I really prefer 6500k - 10,000k. I think it looks more natural, and I love the look of T5. I use a big, flat freshwater LED that mimics T5 very closely on my NPS tank.

I choose corals, sponges, etc that are brighter under white light (think purple and blue), but I still like regular photosynthetic corals, even if they're not very vibrant. I also find that 6500k is much better for macros, and I do have some hypnea and dragon's breath. In general I like that you can see better, taking photos is super simple, and it's a lot more realistic. I might consider adding a bluer photoperiod during the evening, but so far it hasn't been necessary.

On my second tank, I run an AI Prime at 10,000k during the day, and I give it a bluish photoperiod before lights out. It's fun to see the variation in color that way; I really don't know if it benefits the coral though. I have very few good pictures because I hate messing with the lights and camera filters every time I want a picture. These are ok...from when the tank was first started to about six mos ago.

Both your tanks are stunning!
I too follow a similar pattern of wanting more of that White natural colour. I also have a blue lighting period before lights out. I do plan on changing my lighting schedule back to heavy whites. As I prefer that for both aesthetics and photos.

 

[monicalooze]

Both your tanks are stunning!
I too follow a similar pattern of wanting more of that White natural colour. I also have a blue lighting period before lights out. I do plan on changing my lighting schedule back to heavy whites. As I prefer that for both aesthetics and photos.

Thank you for your kind words.

While I have seen stunning tanks with very very blue lighting, I just think they look like cosmic bowling mixed with hot wheels at a black light party in college. I don't say this to be insulting; everyone has their own aesthetic tastes and creating a beautiful reef, no matter what color it is, takes a lot of dedication, so I respect all manner of tanks...even not-so-beautiful tanks going through a bad outbreak of something. It takes dedication to fix that too.

While we're con the subject of different kinds of lighting styles, I think tank styles, in general, have become too homogenous. Whenever I look back at older threads (like 10+ years old) on forums like reef central or nano-reef.com, I see more experimentation and curiosity about things that so many have deemed impossible or wrong. I think BRS is partially responsible for this, but I don't want to diminish what they have provided to the hobby, even if a lot of it is advertising. I wouldn't have started a tank without their five minute guide because it is SO overwhelming in the beginning.

Anyway, the point is, the world is our oyster (literally..lol sorry), and 6500k might not be popular, but it's growing my corals just fine and I love how it looks.

We're all here to learn and be crazy together.

Excited to see your tank with whiter lights in photos! I love the close ups...

 

[vetteguy53081]

While blue is an accepted spectrum and many coral fare well with heavy blue, many coral need a balance using white and UV spectrums. In a mixed reef, it is impossible to get away with this as the mixture of coral have various spectrum requirements.