Lights

vinnyd87 · 04/16/2017, 07:28 PM

I am currently running 6 t5 lights. 3 actinic blues and 3 super daylight bulbs. I also have an led strip just to add color. My corals are doing well but don't seem to have to much color. It seems like they have best color when just the blues are on. Would it harm the corals if I replace a white with a blue or should I find another way to get color?

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rtparty · 04/16/2017, 08:32 PM

I'd replace all bulbs with good quality brand name bulbs. ATI, KZ, Giesemann, Pac Sun...

3 ATI Blue Plus, 2 ATI Coral Plus and 1 Actinic

thegrun · 04/16/2017, 08:41 PM

I agree, three actinics is too much light in one small part of the spectrum. The mix recommended above is a good one, or perhaps 3 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Coral Plus, I ATI Purple Plus and 1 Actinic. Both this mix and the one posted above will give you a blue look but with a much broader spectrum than what you have currently.

Ron Reefman · 04/17/2017, 03:59 AM

Hi vinny, I'm not a t5 user anymore, so take my advise with a grain of salt. I've gone over to the dark side and use leds now. But I think t5 lighting is perfectly good for growing and showing off corals. In some ways better than leds and in some other ways, not as good. It's all a matter of personal preference.

However, I can try to help with the issue you asked about. Corals never look as good under white light, which is reflected off the corals pigments, versus how they look under blue light, which some coral pigments absorb, then do a chemical reaction and then fluoresce their own light.

You can add a lot of blue to the white in the tank and the overall color will get much more of a cool white or a high Kelvin temp like 16,000K or 20,000K. But the light fluoresced by the coral using that blue light energy will never compete with the white light reflected colors. The white just seems to wash away the much more vivid fluoresced colors.

Having leds I can adjust the blue and white power levels (in fact my fixture allows individual control of all 6 colors). If I run the fixture at 100% blue and 0% white the colors are crazy fluorescent and vivid. The tank looks like a 1960 hippi poster under a black light. By just adding 10% white to the mix and the corals look incredibly more pastel and faded. IMHO it's just the nature of the beast.

mcgyvr · 04/17/2017, 08:16 AM

Light spectrum has a huge effect on the color of "anything"...
Change the spectrum or weigh it more blue or red or whatever and things look different..

Thats the magic of being able to either adjust the LED color or replace bulbs in T5 with ones that are more "visually" appealing to the user..

The color you see is probably "realistic" if you had them in direct sun,etc.. but its not the "deep blue/pop" that many would like to see their corals look like..

So clearly that bulb combination just isn't one you like.. So change it..

04/16/2017, 07:28 PM	#1
vinnyd87 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 33	Lights I am currently running 6 t5 lights. 3 actinic blues and 3 super daylight bulbs. I also have an led strip just to add color. My corals are doing well but don't seem to have to much color. It seems like they have best color when just the blues are on. Would it harm the corals if I replace a white with a blue or should I find another way to get color? Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

04/16/2017, 08:32 PM	#2
rtparty Raise The Reef! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Utah Posts: 7,404	I'd replace all bulbs with good quality brand name bulbs. ATI, KZ, Giesemann, Pac Sun... 3 ATI Blue Plus, 2 ATI Coral Plus and 1 Actinic __________________ Ryan Click on my user name and check out my homepage! Current Tank Info: 50g Cadlights/Giesemann Spectra (250w Radium, 2 ATI Blue Plus, 2 ATI Actinic)/2 x Vortech MP10wQD/Skimz SN123/Eheim Compact 3000+

04/17/2017, 03:59 AM	#4
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Hi vinny, I'm not a t5 user anymore, so take my advise with a grain of salt. I've gone over to the dark side and use leds now. But I think t5 lighting is perfectly good for growing and showing off corals. In some ways better than leds and in some other ways, not as good. It's all a matter of personal preference. However, I can try to help with the issue you asked about. Corals never look as good under white light, which is reflected off the corals pigments, versus how they look under blue light, which some coral pigments absorb, then do a chemical reaction and then fluoresce their own light. You can add a lot of blue to the white in the tank and the overall color will get much more of a cool white or a high Kelvin temp like 16,000K or 20,000K. But the light fluoresced by the coral using that blue light energy will never compete with the white light reflected colors. The white just seems to wash away the much more vivid fluoresced colors. Having leds I can adjust the blue and white power levels (in fact my fixture allows individual control of all 6 colors). If I run the fixture at 100% blue and 0% white the colors are crazy fluorescent and vivid. The tank looks like a 1960 hippi poster under a black light. By just adding 10% white to the mix and the corals look incredibly more pastel and faded. IMHO it's just the nature of the beast. __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

04/17/2017, 08:16 AM	#5
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Light spectrum has a huge effect on the color of "anything"... Change the spectrum or weigh it more blue or red or whatever and things look different.. Thats the magic of being able to either adjust the LED color or replace bulbs in T5 with ones that are more "visually" appealing to the user.. The color you see is probably "realistic" if you had them in direct sun,etc.. but its not the "deep blue/pop" that many would like to see their corals look like.. So clearly that bulb combination just isn't one you like.. So change it.. __________________ Who me?

04/16/2017, 08:41 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	I agree, three actinics is too much light in one small part of the spectrum. The mix recommended above is a good one, or perhaps 3 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Coral Plus, I ATI Purple Plus and 1 Actinic. Both this mix and the one posted above will give you a blue look but with a much broader spectrum than what you have currently.