Interesting observations on LPS and LED lighting.

So for a few months I've been really big on LPS, and acans particularly. Now as alot of you know, acans can get pretty pricey once you start looking at rainbow morphs and what not, so I've tended to try to stay on the low end side.

Most serious acan collectors use t5 lights to get the best color out of their corals, and under led's there have been many accounts of morphing to orange, and losing the cool colors that make the high end acan's pop.

Under my G1 Radion fixtures most my red acans and micromussa turned to an orange hue, but in the last week since I put up my Radion Pros, all the colors have reverted back! Its nuts. I have some nice looking acans now if I can stop the recession.

Anyways, this adds a little further meat to the subject that pros hold acan colors, as well as I have heard some Kessil lights.

 

Thanks for sharing alex. I noticed in the last few months my acans have gotten brighter and more colorful since I added halides with T5 lights. Its so cool to watch corals change into other colors.

 

I think what's lost in this whole do LEDs work or not argument is that there is a middle ground. They of course work when used correctly. My experience has been that I'm not always smart enough to use them correctly.

More importantly though, I'm more and more convinced there is something about how they work we don't fully understand. I have some speculative guesses as to why differences may exist, but it's all guesswork. What I think is evident though is they don't work the same in all cases. If we could understand it fully, we could get the most out of our LEDs.

Your experience might be a helpful pointer on that road.

 

Agreed. The issue with LED's is spectrum. Each diode has a realitiivly tight wavelength so when compares to T5's and MH's you can miss some key nanometers. This is usually not detrimental to the help of a couple but the phosphorescent proteins that give off those coloration.

The pros have violets and orange led's that the G1 and G2 models lack which is what I have believed for a long time cause some lack of coloration. Now the G1s are ober my new 125 and they color up gorgs and SPS just fine!

 

Instant change or slow change? Usually LPS corals can't "change" pigmentation like some SPS can. They can produce more or less fluorescent pigment and they can produce more or less zooxanthellae. Fluorescent pigment is usually produced in response to intense light near the uv range, in the blue-violet range and makes the coral "pop". Zooxanthellae are generally produced in response to lower light or higher nutrients and dull out the coral. A coral can also produce less of both and just look faded.

Of course also there ar instant changes, that is just perception of the coral color though, not a true "change" in any physical property of the coral. anyway, there are dozens of good write ups on these subjects in advanced aquarist, worth reading. Coral pigmentation and perception of color is preset well understood.

I don't get why people think it has anything to do with "LEDs" specifically, it clearly does have to do with the spectrum and intensity of light, which may be different between light sources. I've seen plenty of similar changes after changing from one brand of MH to another for example. It is fascinating how corals adapt and change to different lighting and how our eyes perceive such changes. Unfortunately I've never found a lighting sorce that is "best" for all corals, some look better under more blue light, such as LEDs, others seem to look better with a little less blue. Some fade out with high intensity, others waste away.., that's part of the challenge of a mixed reef tank I guess.

 

That's not actually entirely true you know? It's true of colored LEDs. White LEDs usually use blue to excite a phosphor, actually, typically the same phosphors used in flourescent light such as T-5s. So, white LEDs may have slight more blue than a whiteish t-5, but will produce very similar and WIDE spectrums overall. The myth your stating only applies to colored LeDs for the most part, although, white LEDs may not have much near UV without supplementation. Also note, cool blue LEDs are more blue than white, but warm white/neutral white LEDs are more similar to awhile T-5 than not. Some T-5s and MH are MUCH narrower in spectrum than many modern LEDs too, depends which of each your comparing..,

 

My acans do really well under my LEDs but I have a 110 gallon high and notice no change in color or brightness long as I keep them below halfway ( about 18inches up and below from the sand bed) I'm not sure if it's the distance from the LEDs that is the reason for success but I love my acans and am very happy with then under my LEDs