LEds & Uv sterilizers

power boat jim

Well-known member
Although corals dont seem to need UV for growth, as seen by the growth that can be achieved by LEDs alone, Is it possible that the slight amount of UV given off by MH is enough to help fight off bacteria that maybe is not controlled by LEDs? Maybe the reason some people have more success then others is in part not due to the lights themselvs but to the lack off UV that kill harmfull bacteria the Mh has?

I wondered if anyone has put a UV sterilizer on their tank that has LEDs and noticed a positive change in coral health. I have no clue as to wether any of this matters or not.Im hoping someone knows. Its just one of those thing I thought about as to why some have success with LEDs and some dont.
 
Well, I have a UV sterilizer on my 252 gallon, along with my radion lights. The corals are doing just fine, but I started the system with both LEDs and UV early on, so I don't have a comparison from before and after.
 
No UV from overhead lights is not enough to kill bacteria.
The reason MH are growing coral better is the broader spectrum of light.
This can be compensated for with the use of different colours of LEDs which are now becoming the norm in many fixtures.
You can buy UV LEDs but they are more for fluorescence in coral and are fairly new.
The UV from a LED or metal halide is not even close to the UV from the sun.
Bacteria has evolved natural defence for low levels of UV radiation if it didnt have his defence it would be extinct.
 
BTW nice boat Jim im jelious

Thanks, I wish I could use it more, but we already had it put away for the season.

I was just looking to start a different discussion on why some people have trouble converting to LED. I dont want another MH vs LED battle. Im trying a far longer acclamation time with new frags now in hopes to see if it makes a difference in percentage of coral that takes hold without a color loss.
 
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