LED UV bulbs to improve corals color

Monsta · 08/01/2006, 01:16 PM

I was wondering if LED UV bulbs commonly found on ebay are good enough to give acro some color. The T5's that I am using are great to increase corals biomass, but the color isnt right and needs improvement. I was thinking of putting couple of uv leds directly over the coral. Does anyone have any experience or any other ways to increase color without using chemicals or metal halide bulbs? Im just worried about overdoing it with uv, possibly harming my corals or myself. How would i meassure uv light?Thanx

Cellenzweig · 08/01/2006, 01:25 PM

I recently started using a UV LED flashlight for night viewing. The flourecence in unbelievable! There doesn't seem to be any noticable effects, but I'm not sure what the long-term effects might be.

I know there were some people on other boards using UVs on LED lit or LED supplemented nanos. I'm not sure whether or not they had long term success.

Have you tried blue LEDs? They really bring the color out as well.

Monsta · 08/01/2006, 01:34 PM

i was thinking about exposing certain corals to UV light. Some corals darken (get more coloration) as a protection mechanism. I mean; thats how it is in wild and it would not be a bad thing if the ammount of uv light is same as in nature. Its like most of us white people; we get darker with exposure to uv light. The question now is: What type of UV light (A,B,C) and how much? LED seem ideal since they are highly directional and would be great to expose specific areas of tank.

08/01/2006, 01:16 PM	#1
Monsta Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 107	LED UV bulbs to improve corals color I was wondering if LED UV bulbs commonly found on ebay are good enough to give acro some color. The T5's that I am using are great to increase corals biomass, but the color isnt right and needs improvement. I was thinking of putting couple of uv leds directly over the coral. Does anyone have any experience or any other ways to increase color without using chemicals or metal halide bulbs? Im just worried about overdoing it with uv, possibly harming my corals or myself. How would i meassure uv light?Thanx

08/01/2006, 01:25 PM	#2
Cellenzweig Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 55	I recently started using a UV LED flashlight for night viewing. The flourecence in unbelievable! There doesn't seem to be any noticable effects, but I'm not sure what the long-term effects might be. I know there were some people on other boards using UVs on LED lit or LED supplemented nanos. I'm not sure whether or not they had long term success. Have you tried blue LEDs? They really bring the color out as well.

08/01/2006, 01:34 PM	#3
Monsta Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 107	i was thinking about exposing certain corals to UV light. Some corals darken (get more coloration) as a protection mechanism. I mean; thats how it is in wild and it would not be a bad thing if the ammount of uv light is same as in nature. Its like most of us white people; we get darker with exposure to uv light. The question now is: What type of UV light (A,B,C) and how much? LED seem ideal since they are highly directional and would be great to expose specific areas of tank.