led colors

[rawrpk]

does adding red and green to the mix have an added benefit to coral growth or is that pure aesthetic reason?

and for that aesthetic reason, if i were to do say a 24 diy led kit, what would be good arrangement of led colors? white to blue to royal blue to red and green

ive also read that 10k white leds do not look as good when paired with the royal blue ones and that the 10ks should be avoided for such reasons...?

 

[rawrpk]

figured id post what i went with...cause ive never been able to keep sps under my old light (t5's) and with the new light from aquastyles ive since returned the color to a browned out frag of ORA green slimer, and my other corals are just growing like crazy..never looked healthier

5 6500k white
6 royal blue
6 actinic violet
2 ultra violet
2 cyan
3 red

 

[knight2255]

Thanks for the report back, i'm looking for a good combo myself.

What optics are you using and how far above the water are the lights?

Have any pics to compare the T5 to LEDs?

 

[6Speed]

The more I read the more I'm finding that red is not a huge need (as far as growth) of most corals. I think most people add it for aesthetic reasons, or maybe because it's the latest thing to do....

 

[arkaeus]

Late in the evening I have the red(30%) with the royal blue(60%)mixed with blue(20%)and it makes a big diff aesthetic wise on my radions. Especially when the intensity of the light is gearing down around 25% and lower without the blue. The ladies call it "very pretty" lol.

 

[rawrpk]

i dont think the camera will do the lights justice but these zoas used to be just red with minimal of that blue sparkle..and now have more of an orange to the head of the plant with much more sparkle

60 degree optics @ 15" above water on a 30x12x12

think im runnin em ~60-70%

 

[Donkeykong]

If you have warm whites the red is not needed as much, but will make for more of a yellow look. If you want to stick with just cool whites add a few reds to help fill out the spectrum. I have AI Sol's that have cool white blue and royal blue. I am noticing that red corals arent as bright red as in other systems. I have seen where people have added red leds or purple+ t5 bulbs to supplement the AI Sol's with a noticeable increase in red corals color. I have been reading conflicting reports about green and the actual output of UV leds, I am not saying dont put them in, just saying you might want to do some more research and then come to your own conclusion based on the info that is out there.