Best LED System for Color

[O-man21]

I've had my Innovative Marine Nuvo 16 set up for nearly two years now, and while I have had good growth and color, I feel there is something missing from the corals. In pictures I see on forums, the colors in other tanks "pop" more than mine. I'm not sure if it's photography tricks, or if my eyes are playing tricks on me.

Anyway, my point is, what do you think the best LED setup for color is? I don't like the super purple look, and I have seen plenty of tanks with whiter light temperatures with colors that still pop.

I have a Maxspect R420R Razor, currently set to:
Channel A (white): 51%
Channel B (blue): 79%

I have played with different color mixtures, and just haven't found something that isn't washed out looking.

I have seen a few tanks that have looked good under an AquaIllumination Hydra, and also NanoBox Duo systems. I would like to avoid making a custom setup.

What are your opinions on best settings/system for color?

Or, maybe I'm just being picky. What do you think of the colors below?
http://i.imgur.com/Hoek85jl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/s6WXBivl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/mmvFDT1l.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/i68H79Cl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pu2opeUl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rpLPf2wl.jpg

[Sandberg1222]

Good question. I'm sure that there are a thousand answers:/

[gcarroll]

A friend of mine is running all led and his colors are great.http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/04/6c6f67c156ebf75a6108e52ed30810da.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/04/298ec50ec001f809f6796b1ce36fb1fa.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/04/cbc8b3b36070ad0d0129ac787adc0bcb.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/04/ac45e395654bdecb8189dff1f7ca1ecf.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/04/8ce648dbe2e99e399cce402dfc988d1e.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/16/01/04/18c3c99f6c11492c306fee955ee7fab4.jpg

[TangingOut]

I run only LEDs and kinda feel the same way about my SPS colors......until I look at the corals from above and they "pop". I can't take a representative picture to save my life and I think the pictures I see online with "pop" are just from better photographers/cameras.

[O-man21]

Yea I've noticed that from above the colors are much better.

gcarroll, what light is your friend running?

[nickdo]

there are no best color by just looking picture. u must check that in person.

A great looking tank can look bad in picture.

what do u think to this picture. (direct from camera)
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5622/21444725149_c94277b519_o_d.jpg

Using different light source to take picture impact "Color" in picture.
it's only good in blue led, it is even better looking in royal blue(photo was taken by kessil 100% blue, no royal blue)
bad looking in MH and T5

[gcarroll]

Yea I've noticed that from above the colors are much better.

gcarroll, what light is your friend running?


Maxspect Razor.

To give you a comparison this is how he runs his lights.

"When I ran 4 I had them at 100% for 8 hours a day, with a couple hours of blue before and after just for viewing, since I went to 6 I run channel A at 80% and channel B at 100%"

[Ron Reefman]

If you trust any photo as to the color that an led creates in any coral, you are kidding yourself. If you haven't seen it in person, don't buy it based on photos!

And to the OP, yes, you might be a bit too picky. But that's just my opinion based on photos I've seen...

[gcarroll]

If you trust any photo as to the color that an led creates in any coral, you are kidding yourself. If you haven't seen it in person, don't buy it based on photos!Quite the contrary, I was trying to reassure the OP that the lights he currently owns are more than capable of producing "Tank of the Month" worthy corals. Just like the fixtures you own! There is far more that goes into coloring up SPS than light alone.

Check the metadata on the photos and you will find that there was no manipulation as to the photos what so ever. Those are straight off the camera.

O-man21, I too like you am very critical of coral colors. My advice to you is to bump up the light intensity every now and then as the corals acclimate to the increased intensity. Pay attention to the corals, as they will let you know when they are ready for more. Focus on stable parameters and water quality. Happy reefing.

[Ron Reefman]

Quite the contrary, I was trying to reassure the OP that the lights he currently owns are more than capable of producing "Tank of the Month" worthy corals. Just like the fixtures you own! There is far more that goes into coloring up SPS than light alone.

Check the metadata on the photos and you will find that there was no manipulation as to the photos what so ever. Those are straight off the camera.

O-man21, I too like you am very critical of coral colors. My advice to you is to bump up the light intensity every now and then as the corals acclimate to the increased intensity. Pay attention to the corals, as they will let you know when they are ready for more. Focus on stable parameters and water quality. Happy reefing.

gcarrol, I agree 100% with everything you said. I'm perfectly happy with the colors I get in my sps corals under leds only. They work just fine.

I'm just saying don't trust the colors you see in coral photos. It's way to easy to make photos look better than reality. Even in photos that are NOT photoshop enhanced. Good cameras with all their controls can make corals look better than real life color without doing any after the fact touch up. If you are unhappy with the way your corals look under your lights, don't trust that some other light is better just because you saw some great photos of corals taken under those lights. Go see it in person. And understand that light is just one issue of many that affect coral colors.