It seems to me that "reduce shadowing" and "light spread" is key for coral growth so people pay top dollars for lights with diffusers or adding strips, multiple sources, to reduce shadowing and increase spread.
However, eventually, as your colonies get big, the underside will be covered in shadow that cannot be addressed by adding more lights w/o also impacting how much the top of the colony will get.
So, it seems to me, that the most effective and direct way to address this is to put a strip on the sandbed or "spotlights" on the sandback pointing upwards. Even weak lights set up this way will be way more effective than adding more lights on top.
We already have submersible electrical things thats 24/7 underwater (ie, powerheads) so it seems to me that the technology is available to make it happen, and I do see submersible algae lights already in the market.
So, the question is, why don't we see similar things specifically targeting reef tanks?
I get that it can look weird, or you dont want light to shine in your eyes, but I feel like aethethic can't be the only reason, ie, lights can be placed in the front bottom corner/edge pointing to upper back.
However, eventually, as your colonies get big, the underside will be covered in shadow that cannot be addressed by adding more lights w/o also impacting how much the top of the colony will get.
So, it seems to me, that the most effective and direct way to address this is to put a strip on the sandbed or "spotlights" on the sandback pointing upwards. Even weak lights set up this way will be way more effective than adding more lights on top.
We already have submersible electrical things thats 24/7 underwater (ie, powerheads) so it seems to me that the technology is available to make it happen, and I do see submersible algae lights already in the market.
So, the question is, why don't we see similar things specifically targeting reef tanks?
I get that it can look weird, or you dont want light to shine in your eyes, but I feel like aethethic can't be the only reason, ie, lights can be placed in the front bottom corner/edge pointing to upper back.