LED Spectrum - The Article most of us have been waiting for
- Thread starter djkms
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IME/IMO- Zoaxanthellae produces pigment to both photosynthesize and to protect the tissue via reflection, while any single wavelength might be beneficial, it is the broad spectrum that allows coral to achieve its full color/growth potential (which may be totally different circumstances), regardless of intensity (as demonstrated by acan lords reaching full potential in the shade of a halide or t-5 lit tank).
Some vendors will only put corals under LED only to display them, and grow them under t-5 or halide to achieve the best look, and growth.
Some vendors will only put corals under LED only to display them, and grow them under t-5 or halide to achieve the best look, and growth.
Yep! I'm considering doing some extensive research and building a DYI unit that mimics the radion with appropriate power per each diode. I think 2-3 Red, 2-3 green, some violet in addition to the standard white,soft white, 453n, Blue & Royal Blues. Whoever creates an LED that best mimics the MH in spectrum wins I think. You notice how smooth the transitions are between spectrum's on the LED vs the MH's very frenetic spectrum output? I thought that was very interesting. I'm assuming its due to the gas component of a standard MH bulb vs an LED which uses "electricity"...or whatever you want to call it. I'm not an electrical engineer but I sure would like to hear from one on this!
I'm with KhensuRa and Colagro,
The controllable overkill, DIY is the way to go.
We buy six foot lengths of aluminum heat sink at work to dissipate excess power on PV solar systems. We get them anodized at a shop near the Stock show complex after cutting them into two foot chunks usually. I'm not sure yet (checking) But a six foot length may be more then they can handle (125g tank w single LED bar).
Then a few of the kits on :http://www.rapidled.com/
As for Green. Not sure about algae, but green is invisible to "air" plants. MJ growers use it to work on plants in the dark during flowering, because the plant does not photosynthesize at all, under green spectrum light. Add any blue or red light and photosynthesis starts up (causing issues in flowering plants), But not with the green range of the spectrum. That being said, I'm not so sure green light would help the algae inside the coral photosynthesize any more then the "air" plants (meaning none). I could be wrong, as algae many have found a way "land" plants didn't. However IF algae CAN NOT photosynthesize with green light?? Then it's unlikely to help coral growth at all. Simply because the algae would not be stimulated by the green light, thus would not produce the lost complex sugars the coral feeds on.
There's a saying I've seen on other sites that says. Lumen(s) are for humans! Most lumen(s) are in the green and yellow spectrums. They do not photosynthesize. Although WE see the red and blue a little. Those are mostly bad for us (our eyes).
Most florescent tubes as well as MH put off a lot of yellow with their reds and mostly blues. That yellow mixed with the blue can produce a false green appearance as well. That being said, I'm pretty sure Green LEDs will do little or nothing for coral growth. They might look good though!
As for the Red light thing. I'm right there with you Mini T!
The controllable overkill, DIY is the way to go.
We buy six foot lengths of aluminum heat sink at work to dissipate excess power on PV solar systems. We get them anodized at a shop near the Stock show complex after cutting them into two foot chunks usually. I'm not sure yet (checking) But a six foot length may be more then they can handle (125g tank w single LED bar).
Then a few of the kits on :http://www.rapidled.com/
As for Green. Not sure about algae, but green is invisible to "air" plants. MJ growers use it to work on plants in the dark during flowering, because the plant does not photosynthesize at all, under green spectrum light. Add any blue or red light and photosynthesis starts up (causing issues in flowering plants), But not with the green range of the spectrum. That being said, I'm not so sure green light would help the algae inside the coral photosynthesize any more then the "air" plants (meaning none). I could be wrong, as algae many have found a way "land" plants didn't. However IF algae CAN NOT photosynthesize with green light?? Then it's unlikely to help coral growth at all. Simply because the algae would not be stimulated by the green light, thus would not produce the lost complex sugars the coral feeds on.
There's a saying I've seen on other sites that says. Lumen(s) are for humans! Most lumen(s) are in the green and yellow spectrums. They do not photosynthesize. Although WE see the red and blue a little. Those are mostly bad for us (our eyes).
Most florescent tubes as well as MH put off a lot of yellow with their reds and mostly blues. That yellow mixed with the blue can produce a false green appearance as well. That being said, I'm pretty sure Green LEDs will do little or nothing for coral growth. They might look good though!
As for the Red light thing. I'm right there with you Mini T!
I am not going to get into the debate about growth and so on, cause there clearly is some information the hobbiest and scientific community need to gather before making any definitive statements. I do want to chime in and make a distinction between the lights "producing" color from corals and "rendering" the color of the coral correctly. The colors we see from our corals is the light reflected from the lighting unit off the coral and into our eyes. If our lights do not put out any red light then there is no red light to reflect back into the eye to make the corals look red. This is what Sanjay was talking about when he was talking about the benefit of the red spectrum. he also stated in the article that there is a beneficial band in the red spectrum that is used for photosynthesis.
Aquatic plants do not react to the green spectrum either, and the same goes for algae. They follow the same photosynthetic process, and in something like a FW setup, it is typically a shortage of CO2, or some other nutrient, that allows algae to outcompete aquatic plants.
Although algae is more adaptable to nutrient levels and the amount of available light, it requires the same spectrum of light. This is because specific wavelengths of light drive the chemical reactions that create energy in photosynthesis. Yes, a photon is a photon...but by putting a photon in motion at a different wavelength effects the energy being transmitted to the surface it's hitting.
That being said, I use 6700k daylight bulbs on my FW setup. It's my understanding that the natural 'overlap' of the spectrums provides better growth. Most FW led DIY builds include white, blue, and sometimes red LEDs...no green.
If the plants, and in this case, algae living in a symbiotic relationship with coral have any benefit from the green spectrum, it is minimal, and the beneficial amount is likely already being provided by the white LEDs...I can't see too much of a benefit to green LEDs being added for growth. Color/appearance, maybe.
This, of course, is just based on my scientific understanding of the subject...not actual experience with reefing.
So don't forget your grain of salt.
Although algae is more adaptable to nutrient levels and the amount of available light, it requires the same spectrum of light. This is because specific wavelengths of light drive the chemical reactions that create energy in photosynthesis. Yes, a photon is a photon...but by putting a photon in motion at a different wavelength effects the energy being transmitted to the surface it's hitting.
That being said, I use 6700k daylight bulbs on my FW setup. It's my understanding that the natural 'overlap' of the spectrums provides better growth. Most FW led DIY builds include white, blue, and sometimes red LEDs...no green.
If the plants, and in this case, algae living in a symbiotic relationship with coral have any benefit from the green spectrum, it is minimal, and the beneficial amount is likely already being provided by the white LEDs...I can't see too much of a benefit to green LEDs being added for growth. Color/appearance, maybe.
This, of course, is just based on my scientific understanding of the subject...not actual experience with reefing.
So don't forget your grain of salt.
I have. The only articles I have found on Uv light being beneficial state 2 things.
UV-A helps in the production of Vitamin-D.
Uv light causes certain objects to glow and become fluorescent.
I did find 1 article from 2005 here that states in certain high elevation mountainous plants. of the specieis tested. filtering out UV light resulted in a 10x decrease of CO2 absorption. one specieis was 2x decrease, and the third was a minor decrease.
UV-A helps in the production of Vitamin-D.
Uv light causes certain objects to glow and become fluorescent.
I did find 1 article from 2005 here that states in certain high elevation mountainous plants. of the specieis tested. filtering out UV light resulted in a 10x decrease of CO2 absorption. one specieis was 2x decrease, and the third was a minor decrease.
Oh here is one specifically about http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098847209001580 Coccolithophores (which is a type of single celled algae).