Red LED's: good or bad for coral growth?

Discussion in 'LED Aquarium Lighting' started by jtm07g, Aug 6, 2011.

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  1. jtm07g

    jtm07g Plankton

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    I recently got a free LED light fixture from a friend of mine. It's meant for indoor gardening but i thought it might be suitable for a aquarium light. I will be building a acrylic enclosure to prevent corrosion. Its a Glow-Panel 45, 29 watts. The LED's are a 50/50 mixture of blue and red. Havent found much research on the effects of the red LED spectrum on coral growth. Here's a link(hopefully it works) GlowPanel 45 LED Grow Light
    It will be going over a 20G long frag tank. I also have some spare T5 ballasts and end caps so that i can add some 10,000K spectrum as well. Please let me know if you have any info as to whether or not this would good. Thanks fellas
     
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  3. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Welcome to 3reef, red isn't really used much by most coral as it is filtered out quickly in SW. Zooxanthellae do use it. I would use a panel with about 1/10 of the LED being red. I believe there is too much and it will most likely brown out your coral.
     
  4. Thatgrimguy

    Thatgrimguy Flying Squid

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    Reds are used by zooxanthellae but not nearly as readily as by problem algaes. They tend to promote diatoms and green hair algae, in face some are now experimenting with them for Algae scrubber builds.
     
  5. m2434

    m2434 Giant Squid

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    In addition to being a spectrum algae can use and corals can. Dan Riddle also suggest it can inhibit coral growth. I don't know if that is true or not, but do not see any reason to use it either.

    http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/12/aafeature1


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  6. jimmy_beaner

    jimmy_beaner Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    Could be wonderful as part of a refugium? :)
     
  7. mkurzum

    mkurzum Plankton

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    On my 60" led setup I have 4 red leds just for some pop, but I wouldn't add anymore. 1 every 10-15 inches is plenty, brings out the red/oranges in certain fish and corals.