Zoas Reacting Under Different Radion Light

[Gti_Leo]

i don't think you're gettign what i'm saying, the fact that the fixture has red is benificial to the growth of the coral. the red specturm might not be visible to aquatic life but it is not invisible to plant life which is what zooxanthellae.

having only red may seem like night but when all the lights are on the red still gets used.

i don't see your experiment holding ground.

[360º]

Originally Posted by Gti_Leo

i don't think you're gettign what i'm saying, the fact that the fixture has red is benificial to the growth of the coral. the red specturm might not be visible to aquatic life but it is not invisible to plant life which is what zooxanthellae.

having only red may seem like night but when all the lights are on the red still gets used.

i don't see your experiment holding ground.

but in the ocean red gets completely filtered out by the sea water within the first couple feet of water.

[Gti_Leo]

not completely filtered out, the reefs aren't deep enough to completly filter it all out. especially where SPS and LPRs are softies and leathers don't require so much light as they are deeper in the reef, tehrefore less red and green gets down but still some

[360º]

but is it enough to make an impact on the photosynthetic process of corals?

[FDshoes]

From what I have read the red light is really only benefical to sps corals.

[Gti_Leo]

Originally Posted by 360º

but is it enough to make an impact on the photosynthetic process of corals?

yep every little bit helps, even the low lights that don't get alot of light still get some and for mushrooms it requiores very little light for that reason, because they usually live in the deeper parts of the reefs where more of the light is filtered out but SPS and LPS require more as they are higher up and closer to the surface where less light is filtered out and more red and green spectrum waves are present

thats why alot of the times we aim to use daylight bulbs and full spectrum, a reasom why KZ fiji purple is suck a great bulb. heres a link to a comparison of the purple plus and fiji purple. you'll notice the full spectrum and the spikes in blues greens and reds

KZ Fiji Purple vs. ATI Purple Plus | Reef Gizmo

[360º]

lol graphs dont mean anything to me.... i was hoping to see growth differences.

[Gti_Leo]

did you ever think maybe the corals were reaching towards the light when the blue was on as a way to try and reach for more light because the blue was not actually feeding them, and maybe the reason the green was just opening up because the corals were being fed?

[360º]

Originally Posted by Gti_Leo

did you ever think maybe the corals were reaching towards the light when the blue was on as a way to try and reach for more light because the blue was not actually feeding them, and maybe the reason the green was just opening up because the corals were being fed?

but red closed them up as if there was no light at all

[Gti_Leo]

because according to the coral there is no lights, but the plant life on the coral is another story.

if you do some research on micro algaes and aquatic plants or even regular plants red and greens are some of the key light to make them grow.

aquatic life such as fish and inverts are blind to red light but plant life is not.

just because the coral closes when only the red LEDs are on does not mean they do not benefit from the red light.

i would read up on the different life that is in a coral, a coral is not just one organism it is made up of lots of smaller organisms one being zooxanthilli algae which is a photosynthetic plant organism that is present to feed the coral with all the required nutrients needed to grow and thrive. if the zooxanthilli is not growing properly, ie there is not enough light, you can suppliment it by feeding the coral so it can get an alternate food source but with the proper light feedign is not totally required and any floating particals in the water would be enough. just like in nature

[360º]

so if the coral is benefiting from the production of food from the zooxanthilli algae under the red light, why would it close? wouldnt it want to open more so that more algae could produce more food?

[Krypt]

The corals themselves only "see" Blue/green light, they cannot see red. That's why they close when running just the red bulbs. In nature, the light coming into the water is full spectrum. That full spectrum allows the blue/green to trigger the corals opening and the red/green to feed the symbiotic algae.

[deepseadan]

Originally Posted by 360º

so if the coral is benefiting from the production of food from the zooxanthilli algae under the red light, why would it close? wouldnt it want to open more so that more algae could produce more food?

Zooxanthellae is an algae / plant and under what spectrum does algae grow best under? Full spectrum with lots of red and green. That's why many people don't like to use 6500k or lower bulbs anymore. For a while I tried ati's 15000k bulbs, but found I had better results with Sps under a mix of 6500k and10,000k t5 bulbs. Now I mix ati blue plus's, 10,000k and 6500k. Red is needed, but when in nature does aquatic life only see red (like your experiment)?
Zooxanthellae is a major component with the corals survival and color.

[Gti_Leo]

Originally Posted by deepseadan

Zooxanthellae is an algae / plant and under what spectrum does algae grow best under? Full spectrum with lots of red and green. That's why many people don't like to use 6500k or lower bulbs anymore. For a while I tried ati's 15000k bulbs, but found I had better results with Sps under a mix of 6500k and10,000k t5 bulbs. Now I mix ati blue plus's, 10,000k and 6500k. Red is needed, but when in nature does aquatic life only see red (like your experiment)?
Zooxanthellae is a major component with the corals survival and color.

honestly i would try a fiji purple over a 6500k. the target of red and green as well as the addition of some blue makes the lamp a great stimulate for growth and does not give you that yellow look that a 10000k and a 6500k would give you.

my current setup is 4 KZ lamps 2 superblue, similar to the blue plus, 1 fiji purple and a corallite II 14000k. alot of targeted spectrums and a nice look

even stil la 12000k aquablue special will put out a great spectrum for coral growth.

plant life grows best uber low kelvin bulbs. a 3500k will probably stimulate the growth better as there is more green and red to give that warmer yellowish look where as 6500k daylight has much more blue. again in nature reds are filltered out so a full 6500k spectrum will not reach the coral even a higher up SPS which is why higher kelvin lamps are used (eg 14000k), but with todays LEDs and T5 full spectrum technologies it is just so easy to mix and match bulbs to target different wavelengths for growth and looks

[Gti_Leo]

Originally Posted by Krypt

The corals themselves only "see" Blue/green light, they cannot see red. That's why they close when running just the red bulbs. In nature, the light coming into the water is full spectrum. That full spectrum allows the blue/green to trigger the corals opening and the red/green to feed the symbiotic algae.

<3 true story

[deepseadan]

Originally Posted by Gti_Leo

honestly i would try a fiji purple over a 6500k. the target of red and green as well as the addition of some blue makes the lamp a great stimulate for growth and does not give you that yellow look that a 10000k and a 6500k would give you.

my current setup is 4 KZ lamps 2 superblue, similar to the blue plus, 1 fiji purple and a corallite II 14000k. alot of targeted spectrums and a nice look

even stil la 12000k aquablue special will put out a great spectrum for coral growth.

plant life grows best uber low kelvin bulbs. a 3500k will probably stimulate the growth better as there is more green and red to give that warmer yellowish look where as 6500k daylight has much more blue. again in nature reds are filltered out so a full 6500k spectrum will not reach the coral even a higher up SPS which is why higher kelvin lamps are used (eg 14000k), but with todays LEDs and T5 full spectrum technologies it is just so easy to mix and match bulbs to target different wavelengths for growth and looks

I tried an ati purple plus, but my Sps seemed to like the 6500k / 10,000k whites better. I noticed in an earlier post of your's that the Fiji purple seems to have a different (better) spectrum than ati purple did. I think I'm going to get a Fiji and give it a shot. Thanks for the info. I'm trying to cover as much of the full spectrum as well.

[deepseadan]

Hey Leo, what do you think of the wave-point coral wave Optimum color enhancer bulb? It seems somewhat close to the KZ Fiji Purple. I have a new one that was given to me a while back that I've never installed or tried.

http://www.wave-point.com/images/LampMain2_enlarge.jpg

[Gti_Leo]

no problem, i've yet to find a side by side comparison but from pics i've seen of the lamp the Purple plus looks a bit duller then my KZ

i've never tried the wavepoints, but from my reading on them the PAR numbers are not that great compared to the three top brands, KZ,ATI and guiesmann