Best LED for coral growth

[NanoNana]

Ok, I asked this elsewhere but I want to make sure it gets answered and this forum is so big people can get lost in it.

I was looking at a 40br for a frag tank and wondered if, ignoring coloration of the corals, the CREE WW were the best for rapid growth. I would just let them color up in my display.

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Lighting and coral growth are a mixed bag. Some corals grow best under daylight colors, the 6500K range or so. Others may prefer higher color temperatures, up to 20,000K for zoas of some types.

Often as important is lighting intensity. Some corals need high intensity, some slow down under brighter light. This can change with feeding schedule as well.

Bottom line is that the only answer is to research the corals you'll be growing and provide for the needs of those corals. There's no general "best" for everything.

Jeff

 

[NanoNana]

Mostly SPS and LPS if that helps, I understand still that some will be faster than others.

 

[EliteReefer]

I bought some AquaStar LED units locally and they have been growing my SPS nicely.

 

[matt_longview]

Viewing spectrum charts and coral chlorophyll charts will drive you nuts! Lol. Royal blue LEDs peak at 450nm, which is a great spot for coral chlorophyll growth. Another spike in chlorophyll growth happens at 650nm, which is red. Warm white has a bit more of this spectrum than cool whites, but they're honestly very similar. I chose cool white for all but 1 section of my prop tank because warm whites have been said to grow more algae. I'll have a lot more of an opinion on that subject in a year or so when I've got a warm white tank and a cool white tank side by side with the same filtering.

So... with LEDs I'd go for Royal Blue instead of blue, and then your choice of WW or CW. I chose a 2.5:1 RB:CW ratio, but that's also to increase colors. If you're going with just whites, I'd go cool white... but once again they all contain the needed spectrum.