I get best growth and color rendition under 6500k. Illumination is not good. 20K has better illumination, but growth is slower and rendered color is not as good, IMO.
I use 14K Phoenix and 20k Radium (they are really like a 14k, more than a 20k), because this is a good compromise to do both. I also use these because I do not need to supplement them at all, which saves in fixtures, bulbs and electricity.
I do grow clams and acros in my frag tank under 6500K bulbs (6.5k - did I do that right?). I just want the clams to live through the first three months (the tough part) and the frags to grow as fast as possible in here.
I don't care about potential. I come from a baseball background (players with every potential trait and skill getting passed by those who can execute) and then was a 10x SE in the valley (grads and PhD candidates from top-5 engineering schools full of potential that did not last three months). Potential can suck it as far as I am concerned - I have seen lives wasted banking on potential when nobody would nut-up and tell people the truth about what they were. I digress... Once somebody actually turns that potential into something, then I all ears - this is why I pay attention to LED tech so that I am ready if it comes. I am NOT going to be the one who turns that potential into something - I know this for sure.
The academic in me loves potential. I am a graduate of a good Engineering School and loved my time there talking about all kinds of "potential" projects like solar, perpetual energy, etc. However, that side of me is depressed by the side that needs results... probably 75/25. Results send my kids to college, built my retirement, built my past and future and grow my corals. Most people on boards are looking for results, not academia, so I like to point out the differences.
Then, the business person in me realizes that all of the potential in the world will never get developed if there is not big-time money to be made, or an absolute love and commitment - you need either, but both works best. When I was at Google, we shut down a project because they thought that it would only be worth 5 billion a year in 2-3 years and that was not good enough of a gain for them - nobody loved this project. LED innovation for reefing will need to come out of love and respect since a big pile of cash is probably not there. When you take the established companies, they are working out of love and commitment to their employees, community, lifestyle, etc and will keep going as long as they can make the numbers work and make just enough profit for everybody to get by - it is a different paradigm when starting fresh.
...so I am interested, but I do not care about potential. If somebody figures it out, I will pay them for their work and use it. Until then, I just pay attention so that I can find the parallels in development in the next new thing a few decades from now... either in success or failure.
I use 14K Phoenix and 20k Radium (they are really like a 14k, more than a 20k), because this is a good compromise to do both. I also use these because I do not need to supplement them at all, which saves in fixtures, bulbs and electricity.
I do grow clams and acros in my frag tank under 6500K bulbs (6.5k - did I do that right?). I just want the clams to live through the first three months (the tough part) and the frags to grow as fast as possible in here.
I don't care about potential. I come from a baseball background (players with every potential trait and skill getting passed by those who can execute) and then was a 10x SE in the valley (grads and PhD candidates from top-5 engineering schools full of potential that did not last three months). Potential can suck it as far as I am concerned - I have seen lives wasted banking on potential when nobody would nut-up and tell people the truth about what they were. I digress... Once somebody actually turns that potential into something, then I all ears - this is why I pay attention to LED tech so that I am ready if it comes. I am NOT going to be the one who turns that potential into something - I know this for sure.
The academic in me loves potential. I am a graduate of a good Engineering School and loved my time there talking about all kinds of "potential" projects like solar, perpetual energy, etc. However, that side of me is depressed by the side that needs results... probably 75/25. Results send my kids to college, built my retirement, built my past and future and grow my corals. Most people on boards are looking for results, not academia, so I like to point out the differences.
Then, the business person in me realizes that all of the potential in the world will never get developed if there is not big-time money to be made, or an absolute love and commitment - you need either, but both works best. When I was at Google, we shut down a project because they thought that it would only be worth 5 billion a year in 2-3 years and that was not good enough of a gain for them - nobody loved this project. LED innovation for reefing will need to come out of love and respect since a big pile of cash is probably not there. When you take the established companies, they are working out of love and commitment to their employees, community, lifestyle, etc and will keep going as long as they can make the numbers work and make just enough profit for everybody to get by - it is a different paradigm when starting fresh.
...so I am interested, but I do not care about potential. If somebody figures it out, I will pay them for their work and use it. Until then, I just pay attention so that I can find the parallels in development in the next new thing a few decades from now... either in success or failure.