Will too much light cause darkening of sps ??

[chercm]

I have used optics on my Maxspect 10 cm above water level on my 4x2x2 ft and cause the darkening of my pink bird nest . My po4=0 Hanna and no3=0

Any advice ???

[ryanrid]

no usually the opposite, too much light will make them lighter.

I am not how long you have been on LEDS, but when my brother changed from his ATI PM to vertex LED his corals darkened for a month or so due to the shock of the change.

how long have you used the LED?
did you change recently?
does your LED have any red spectrum? Pinks can suffer due to the missing spectrum.

my brother used CIE Chromaticity Meter to measure the light spectrum ($10,000 piece of equipment) on his vertex with the following results

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/light3.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/RodLED2.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/RodLED4.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/RodLED5.jpg

and just for reference here is his birdsnest under T5
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/0071.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/012.jpg
and under LED 75:100:100 (w:b:rb)
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/190704.jpg


he will be adding some red and violet leds when vertex release them in Aus to get the pink pop back in the birdsnest

[Chris Lakies]

I agree with the above statements.

Too little light = darker color

enough light = lighter colors or color stays the same

Too much light = fading colors or bleaching

When the corals don't get enough light (food) for them from the light their Zooxanthellae start to reproduce more causing more brown to be put into their flesh so that they can get the food they need.

[chercm]

i am using maxspect and have used optics on the led , causing the pink bird nest to darkened , Red digiata to turn orange and the red monti to pink on 4x2xx ft which is too high concentration .

I have removed the optics and is there any thing i can do to fix the issue ?

[chercm]

how long did the coral recover from the shock ?

no usually the opposite, too much light will make them lighter.

I am not how long you have been on LEDS, but when my brother changed from his ATI PM to vertex LED his corals darkened for a month or so due to the shock of the change.

how long have you used the LED?
did you change recently?
does your LED have any red spectrum? Pinks can suffer due to the missing spectrum.

my brother used CIE Chromaticity Meter to measure the light spectrum ($10,000 piece of equipment) on his vertex with the following results

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/light3.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/RodLED2.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/RodLED4.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/RodLED5.jpg

and just for reference here is his birdsnest under T5
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/0071.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/012.jpg
and under LED 75:100:100 (w:b:rb)
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/190704.jpg


he will be adding some red and violet leds when vertex release them in Aus to get the pink pop back in the birdsnest

[FinancialReef]

Try dimming the LEDs for a few days and see if that helps.

[chercm]

i have removed the optics will see what happens

[roberto_lopes]

Too little light for sure.

[chercm]

Too little light for sure.

what do u mean i left the LED at 10cm above water level ?

[roberto_lopes]

Pink birdsnest is a light hangry one. I suggest that if you can, get a PARmeter and see what PAR do you have above it.

Only with this mesure you will be sure about it but, keep in mind, too much light DON't dark any SPS.

O suggest you get lenses to concentrate your light over it. Maxspect is not what we can say a light penetration monster, specially without lenses.

[allsps40]

Darkening is normally cause by to little light, increase in nutrients or stress. I would recheck your water tests against another kit to make sure.

[returnofsid]

YES! Too much light CAN cause your corals to brown out. The algae (Xooanthellae), that lives inside the corals, can become "too concentrated," as it reproduces. More light can make it reproduce faster. That algae is a dark brown color. A higher concentration of that dark brown algae can result in a brown coral.

[roberto_lopes]

Well, thats new for me. Zooanxanthelle can reproduce with nutrients (NO3 or PO4). That's what I learn since I began with salt aquarium.

I stand on what I said. Low light in your case OR too much nutrients or phosphate

[chercm]

like that i mentioned that my no3 =0 (salifert) po4=0 ( hanna)

i am using zeovit system

[Pallobi]

Post number 2 was some solid info, thank u for posting that with listed gear and lights used... very informative...

[ryanrid]

how long did the coral recover from the shock ?

approx 1 month

[ryanrid]

as i mentioned before i am not familar with the maxspec but if they are a quality unit(which i have heard) i do not think that they will be producing low light.

here is a PAR comparison of a 8x54ATI PM with 4 week old globes and vertex LED running 60%, the tank is 2.5" (75cm) deep

RED - ATI 8x54w
WHITE - Vertex Illumina 1200-200 @ 60%

http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo21/rodney_ri/PAR180611.jpg

As you can see a reading of 250 on the sandbed (75cm) is acceptable for most SPS.

we also PAR tested at 100% and it blew the ATI away. at the surface the apogee meter reads to 2000 PAR and at the light it was over. I do not have full list of these results.

[dzhuo]

as i mentioned before i am not familar with the maxspec but if they are a quality unit(which i have heard) i do not think that they will be producing low light.



I do not have full list of these results.

Sanjay has data on Maxspec (as well as many popular LEDs on the markets):

Feature Article: LED Lighting Tests: Ecoray, Reef Fanatic, and MaxSpect (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/aafeature)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/aafeature_album/Maxspect-160W-new1.jpg/image_full

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/aafeature_album/Maxspect-160W-new2.jpg/image_full

[ryanrid]

Sanjay has data on Maxspec (as well as many popular LEDs on the markets):

Feature Article: LED Lighting Tests: Ecoray, Reef Fanatic, and MaxSpect (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/aafeature)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/aafeature_album/Maxspect-160W-new1.jpg/image_full

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/aafeature_album/Maxspect-160W-new2.jpg/image_full

still does not show the colour spectrum and wavelength of these units which is proven essential in coral growth and colouration.

according to the chap who did the CIE Chromaticity Meter test for my brother PAR is not an accurate measure for LED lighting as it can not pick up some wavelengths or something or other and it is emitting possibly 20-30% higher value than showed on the meter.

The tester is not a fish nerd but works in the electronis and lighting industry.

[chercm]

approx 1 month

then i think i will wait for them to recover ..

[dzhuo]

still does not show the colour spectrum and wavelength of these units which is proven essential in coral growth and colouration.


Well, the study focus on PAR so it doesn't include the spectrum. One of the biggest reason why people chose to use LED is the wide support of spectrums since you can easily control the white and blue balance individually. When it comes to LED, spectrum is usually not the problem.


according to the chap who did the CIE Chromaticity Meter test for my brother PAR is not an accurate measure for LED lighting as it can not pick up some wavelengths or something or other and it is emitting possibly 20-30% higher value than showed on the meter.


I am not sure about the CIE chromaticity meter but one of the most popular PAR meter (Apogee) under estimates (not higher but lower) most LED fixture:


"Apogee quantum sensors underweight blue light, and as a result, photon flux measurements for blue LEDs will be too low. Also, the quantum sensors overweight red light up to a wavelength of approximately 650 nm, above which they do not measure, and as a result, photon flux measurement for red LEDs will either be too high (if the LED output is all below 650 nm) or too low (if a non-negligible fraction of the LED output is above 650 nm). Our quantum sensors will likely provide a reasonable measurement for white LEDs because they are broadband, and because the sensors are calibrated under CWF lamps. However, because of the diversity of LED lighting systems the precise errors have not been quantified. The current spectral response of our quantum sensor can be viewed on our website (http://www.apogeeinstruments.com/qua...lresponse.html). We are currently working on better filtering in order to achieve a sharp cutoff at both the 400 and 700 nm wavelengths, but this improvement is still a few months away.

That being said, Apogee quantum sensors can be used to measure the relative output of an LED or bank of LEDs, in order to track variability in output with time or temperature for example. However, quantum sensors should not be used to characterize the absolute output of LEDs (except for the possibility of white LEDs), to compare one LED to another, or to determine photon flux for plant growth for example."


Sanjay's test is done using a LI-192SA with a LICOR 1000 data logger although I have no idea how that compare to your friend's device.

[ryanrid]

When it comes to LED, spectrum is usually not the problem.

disagree, especially with the older units (even a current "state of the art" vertex), due to the lack of red and violet spectrum as shown in results listed above, which now seem to be getting addressed.

I am not sure about the CIE chromaticity meter
these do not measure PAR but but light spectrum, where you can see the lack of red and violet spectrums

PAR meter (Apogee) under estimates (not higher but lower) most LED fixture:
agree 100%. We used an Apogee meter for the PAR testing results listed above. We did 2 different tests one for PAR and one for spectrum which IMO is much more accurate than a PAR test alone, as there is more to it than PAR readings alone.

CIE chromaticity meter = spectrum measurement
Apogee meter = PAR reading (not sure of the brand used but as i own it can easily check)

[dzhuo]

disagree, especially with the older units (even a current "state of the art" vertex), due to the lack of red and violet spectrum as shown in results listed above, which now seem to be getting addressed.


I am kind of surprise this is the case because red is in fact another spectrum which favor photosynthesis:

Feature Article: Lighting the Reef Aquarium - Spectrum or Intensity? (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/2/aafeature)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/2/aafeature_album/Image1.gif/image_preview

This study is done using a Mini-PAM meter which measures the flow of electrons or ETR within the coral tissue. I am guessing the popularity of blue has to do with the fact that most chromoproteins will fluorescent under this spectrum. Anyhow, the Radion fixture will add red and a few other options to the LED market.


Apogee meter = PAR reading (not sure of the brand used but as i own it can easily check)

I will be interested since I only know of one PAR meter comparison study: Product Review: A Comparison of Two Quantum Meters - Li-Cor v. Apogee (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/review). The much more expensive Li-Cor performs pretty similar to the less expensive Apogee. If you have access to more equipement, I think it will great if you can do a comparison (although you should properly start a new thread).