Lighting Intensity Q's

funkman262 · 08/08/2010, 01:24 PM

I tried doing a search and found a bit of information but I'm hoping some of you can explain it a little further. I just recently added some corals in my tank and I'm wondering how I can determine if my lighting intensity is too weak or too strong (not necessarily specific to my system, but general clues to determine if I should turn the lights down, up or just leave them). This way, I can better place the corals throughout the tank. Also, is it white light or blue light that causes bleaching in corals? In other words, can I have a higher intensity of one over the other and not have to worry as much about bleaching? Also, what are the differences between white and blue light as far as coloration and growth? I'd appreciate if you straight out answered me or even just attached some decent threads/articles for me to read through. Thank you

Tank Details:
-10 gallon standard tank
-36W dimmable LED light fixture run at ~25% (12x 3W Cree XR-E, 6 cool white and 6 royal blue)
-Corals: mushroom, ricordea, toadstool leather, zoas, green star polyps, duncan, acans, frogspawn, cloves, birdsnest, lobophyllia, stereonephthea and scleronephthea.

manycolors · 09/05/2010, 06:04 PM

Bump.... I just put a diy 72 cree led light unit on by tank and my corals are losing color and I cannot determine if I'm giving too much light or not enough

Fishamatank · 09/05/2010, 06:32 PM

Generally bleaching or color loss is due to too much light, or light shock.

If you have a very bright lighting system such as LED's you may need to acclimate them to the intensity of the lights by starting out at a lower light out put, or putting things in the bottom of the tank and moving them up. This should be done over the course of a few weeks.
In the case of your 10 gallon tank I would recommend dimming the light and ramping the intensity up once weekly for 3 weeks or so as the difference in light intensity from top to bottom is going to be pretty minimal. Placement won't make much difference.

The color of the light is not the determining fact in bleaching corals, it is the PAR. Generally white lights have more PAR than blue, but I am not sure if that is the case with LED's.

There is a pretty good debate going on right now as to whether or not LED's alone provide the complete spectrum required by corals. There is a possibility that LED's need to be supplemented for long term success. So as far as what works best for coloration and growth the answer is that corals have a spectrum that they require. Generally it is leaning towards the blue end of the spectrum, but they do need more than just blue.

dots · 09/05/2010, 06:36 PM

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/subject/lighting.php

Here is a link to some older RK magazine articles. There should be enough to "shed some light" on the subject.

08/08/2010, 01:24 PM	#1
funkman262 Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 280	Lighting Intensity Q's I tried doing a search and found a bit of information but I'm hoping some of you can explain it a little further. I just recently added some corals in my tank and I'm wondering how I can determine if my lighting intensity is too weak or too strong (not necessarily specific to my system, but general clues to determine if I should turn the lights down, up or just leave them). This way, I can better place the corals throughout the tank. Also, is it white light or blue light that causes bleaching in corals? In other words, can I have a higher intensity of one over the other and not have to worry as much about bleaching? Also, what are the differences between white and blue light as far as coloration and growth? I'd appreciate if you straight out answered me or even just attached some decent threads/articles for me to read through. Thank you Tank Details: -10 gallon standard tank -36W dimmable LED light fixture run at ~25% (12x 3W Cree XR-E, 6 cool white and 6 royal blue) -Corals: mushroom, ricordea, toadstool leather, zoas, green star polyps, duncan, acans, frogspawn, cloves, birdsnest, lobophyllia, stereonephthea and scleronephthea.

09/05/2010, 06:36 PM	#4
dots Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 6,258	http://reefkeeping.com/issues/subject/lighting.php Here is a link to some older RK magazine articles. There should be enough to "shed some light" on the subject. __________________ ~Doug

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09/05/2010, 06:04 PM	#2
manycolors Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 59	Bump.... I just put a diy 72 cree led light unit on by tank and my corals are losing color and I cannot determine if I'm giving too much light or not enough

09/05/2010, 06:32 PM	#3
Fishamatank Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1,017	Generally bleaching or color loss is due to too much light, or light shock. If you have a very bright lighting system such as LED's you may need to acclimate them to the intensity of the lights by starting out at a lower light out put, or putting things in the bottom of the tank and moving them up. This should be done over the course of a few weeks. In the case of your 10 gallon tank I would recommend dimming the light and ramping the intensity up once weekly for 3 weeks or so as the difference in light intensity from top to bottom is going to be pretty minimal. Placement won't make much difference. The color of the light is not the determining fact in bleaching corals, it is the PAR. Generally white lights have more PAR than blue, but I am not sure if that is the case with LED's. There is a pretty good debate going on right now as to whether or not LED's alone provide the complete spectrum required by corals. There is a possibility that LED's need to be supplemented for long term success. So as far as what works best for coloration and growth the answer is that corals have a spectrum that they require. Generally it is leaning towards the blue end of the spectrum, but they do need more than just blue.