OK to Change LED Settings without Slowly Ramping? Going from Blue to White Instantly?

[that Fish Guy]

Is it OK to Change LED Settings without Slowly Ramping it Up?

Going from All Blue to All White Instantly?

I know many people do the Ramp Up / Ramp Down (Sunrise / Sunset) where it starts off Blue and Very Dim then gets more White like the Sun then Fades again back to Blue over Many Hours.

I have a Kessil A160 LED and use it at 100 Percent all Blue and 0 Percent White at Full 100 Percent Power.

But I was reading an Article in the Free Magazine at my LFS where the Author (A Zoanthid Guy) uses Mostly LED but uses Metal Halide for like One Hour a Day.

He Claims that he gets Bigger Zoanthid Polyps because of it.

His Theory is that since the Very Bright Metal Halides are Only on for an Hour a Day (Instead of 8-12 Hours a Day like most people) that the Zoanthids must "Stretch Out" their Polyps Very Large to Maximize the Short Period of Bright Light and Take in as Much Light as Possible during that One Hour Window of Opportunity.

I do not have the Kessil Controller but was thinking about trying to Mimic what the Author does by having Blues on Only but When I get home from work I would turn the Knob on the Kessil to All White and No Blue at 100 Percent Power for One Hour to Simulate the Author's Metal Halides in Hopes that I get Larger Polyps.

1. Do you think that this Idea to get Larger Polyps / Better Growth / Better Color will Work?
2. Do you think that it will be Stressful on the Corals to Instantly go All Blue to All White with no Gradual Change?

[rwb500]

this will not work because the blue LED has even more photosynthetic activity than the white. to test this theory you would need to keep both blue and white dimmer for most of the photoperiod.

[that Fish Guy]

this will not work because the blue LED has even more photosynthetic activity than the white. to test this theory you would need to keep both blue and white dimmer for most of the photoperiod.

I thought that White was for Growth and Blue was for Color?

That is what I have always been told by multiple people not just one person.

[PhaneSoul]

The zoanthelae the the coral host utilize alot of blue light and less with any other part of the light spectrum. Mh are good lights and white light covers most of the spectrum with a peak right around the blue part of the spectrum (bulbs may vary) and thus it can support all the needs of the zoax. Since blue is focused well mainly on the blue soectrum it provides very little light from any other part of the spectrum besides blue.

[jpa0741]

this will not work because the blue LED has even more photosynthetic activity than the white. to test this theory you would need to keep both blue and white dimmer for most of the photoperiod.

+1 yes blue is what is needed for coral growth when using led. White led are added for visual.

[hart24601]

There once was a lot of talk in the old days about white for growth, you can look at the old RC archives and see that, but as the hobby advanced and really started digging into the photosynthetic spectrum the idea of white or yellow being the best started to be replaced with blue was much more efficient for stimulating photosynthesis. Heck in decades past it was commonly said actinic was for looks only and would kill coral if only actinic was used. People still see those old ideas and suggest them from time to time.

Now the opposite is held and most folks with LEDs add violets and near UV for more growth and better color - although I still feel that growth is all about feeding with spectrum for coloration. Differences in spectrum for growth are insignificant compared to how much the coral is fed.

[that Fish Guy]

The zoanthelae the the coral host utilize alot of blue light and less with any other part of the light spectrum. Mh are good lights and white light covers most of the spectrum with a peak right around the blue part of the spectrum (bulbs may vary) and thus it can support all the needs of the zoax. Since blue is focused well mainly on the blue soectrum it provides very little light from any other part of the spectrum besides blue.

So what are the benefits of White Light?

Why do so many people say that you cannot keep Coral Under All Blue Light?

Or that you need Full Spectrum Lighting (50/50 White Bulbs to Blue Bulbs)?

[that Fish Guy]

+1 yes blue is what is needed for coral growth when using led. White led are added for visual.

LOL.

I was always told the opposite that White Light was Needed for Coral Health and Growth and Blue Light was for Visual.

Why have so many people told me that if it were not True?

[that Fish Guy]

There once was a lot of talk in the old days about white for growth, you can look at the old RC archives and see that, but as the hobby advanced and really started digging into the photosynthetic spectrum the idea of white or yellow being the best started to be replaced with blue was much more efficient for stimulating photosynthesis. Heck in decades past it was commonly said actinic was for looks only and would kill coral if only actinic was used. People still see those old ideas and suggest them from time to time.

Now the opposite is held and most folks with LEDs add violets and near UV for more growth and better color - although I still feel that growth is all about feeding with spectrum for coloration. Differences in spectrum for growth are insignificant compared to how much the coral is fed.

Is this Only True for LED?

I have a couple Tanks with T5.

Does T5 work with Only Blue or do you Need White Bulbs when it comes to T5?

[mrkalel]

Just looking into this as well...and have a couple of questions:

(I am running the Reefbreeders Superlux's https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/superlux/ )

1. I keep my lights on for 5.5 hrs right now...how do you all determine length of lighting period and intensity?

2. I am running the Reefbreeders Photon 32 ( https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-32/ )
over my refugium...but can't seem to get it dialed into the right spectrum and time period for optimum growth....so same question as above as related to a fuge...

(I used to run 10K compact florescent and it grew algae great...)

Thanks again guys!

[Tzwizzle]

IMO people add white led mostly to soften up the look of their tank. Pure blue is an acquired taste.

At least in my tank with leds its obvious my corals look better under blues then whites. White tends to bring out the brown in the corals while blue makes the neon colors pop.

As far as growth I think there are a lot more variables (feeding, stability, flow) at play then just spectrum.