The Great Blue Debate

[theJiggyfly]

I would agree with Reefjunkie. 20 K Radiums are the shiz. If they made a HQI that would be in my pendants but quick. Right now I run CoralVue 400Watt HQI 20K that look alot like the XM 20K.Crisp white with a little blue to them so I have white sand with a slight blue cast. It makes everything flouresce very well.

 

[ucflumberjack]

I just wanted to say thanks for the discussion, I'm a newbie and appreciate the input from the veterans.

 

[dtpollard]

I use 2-250 watt Double end 20K XM bulbs and 4- 65 watt PC Actinics on my 75 gal. My corals look great. I don't think it is too blue. The corals show great growth and color. Here is a link about lighting I thought was very cool. According to the experiment corals grow better under 20K.
Lighting Experiment

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Jiggy, what ballast are you driving them with?

Does anyone have a PAR reading on the Radiums or XMs?

ucflumberjack, glad you found this thread helpful.

 

[Abominable Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7274232#post7274232 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef Junkie
smp,
I dive, it's been a long time, but at 100 feet in Carriebean waters, it is very blue. At 30 feet, it's pretty white. Yet, at 100 feet there was still a lot of SPS corals growing all over the place. At 30 feet there was everything growing.

This is my experience too. At depth, everything appears a deep purplish blue, actually kind of dull looking as compared to what things look like in white light. Shallower, of couse, is very nice white light, and brings out the colors much better.

As for me, I have 15K Iwasaki MH, and VHO actinic. Nice bright, white light.

 

[IridescentLily]

Not having a tank, just going by billions of photos:

Phoenix 14k..ish is what I seem to gravitate towards more often than any other. Though I do like the colors the 12k in lamps such as the Reeflux seems to bring to people's corals, it seems to need some additional supplementation for actinic for my own preference.
Initially the "Radium 20k 400 watt looked (in pics) "too" blue for my taste. However, now that I am familiarizing myself with various things, at times I do seem to like the look of the 20k alone (no supplemental lamps), and the colors it can produce in corals.
I feel that if a coral has fluorescence (sp?) than why not maximize it? It doesn't hurt the corals so why not. We care for our corals, and we learn from them. They give us their beauty in return. Well, why not focus on the fluorescent qualities of a coral by showing that effect off at it's utmost by providing a bluer k temp lamp.

Pictures of a tank with a blueish light, that is a different thing to me. One has to perform a white balance when taking a shot of a coral under a 20k lamp. If one cannot perform a white balance on a photo of a coral under 20k lighting, or under actinic supp, than I'd like if the person posting the pic would just say exactly that. And that would be fine with me.
I'm getting good at seeing something really blue and then in my mind being able to take the blue tones away, and then I can get a good sense of what color would remain. And then I can get a good sense for the actual color of the item in the photo. You've gotta be able to do this if you're shopping around for zoas and other corals, because I have become aware that some photos are made to be hella blue [/I on purporse, with lights/photoshopping/cameras.

Again, I'm not against using a blueish light on a tank. I think I would probably like a more blueish tone in the evening when I might be gazing at my tank inhabitants. But I feel people need to let others know (and many do) when they couldn't really get the white balance to work right.

Thanks.

 

[goldmaniac]

I used (2) Phoenix 14k's with magnetic ballasts over a 24" deep tank, I was disappointed. Colors immediately looked washed out and never came back within a year.

I like the bluer look than what the Phoenix 14k's with supplemental 420/460's provided. Growth didn't seem to improve with my softies, LPS and mostly zoas. No SPS at that time.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Your thoughts?

 

[Gamepro_inc]

I have a 150w MH and I currently have a XM 15K bulb but I don't like it in just a short time I have noticed a spectrum shift. I much more prefered the 14K I used to use. Also I like to supplement with Royal blue LEDs there is no heat and give great floresence. My prefrence I know but I like that better than PC's or VHO.

 

[organism]

I've got LED's at a 3:1 blue to white ratio, so my tank looks a little bit bluer than a radium 20k. I like a bluer tank because it makes the coral colors almost look fake and so bright that you can see them from across the room. Growth is ok, but for me I like my reef to show the best and brightest colors since that's what I like about corals.

I've been diving in Baja where there are some really nice zoanthids and at 15-20ft deep it's almost got this 14k quality, but either way I'm not necessarily trying to duplicate nature with my tank. To each their own, some great replies on here

 

[MikeandNicole]

I have had zoas under many different bulbs and combos. I have had them in a JBJ 12g with stock bulbs, T5s with various bulb combos, MH with 10k and 14k bulbs and now under AI LEDs.

I must say the zoas look the best under the right T5 combo, 14k MH or the Leds. The 10k MH was just way too yellow and PC in the JBJ just don't have the proper spectrum. I don't run my AIs in the windex area, I run all three at the same percentage though that may change later on. As far as T5s go I have a 5 bulb fixture and use 2 aquablue specials, 2 blue + and a purple bulb. Love the colors that pop on those.

Here is a very old pic of nuclear greens under the 10k MH:

14K:

LEDs:

 

[Jarred1]

I have also had zoas under many kinds of lights; LED, T5HO, PC, and halides. My favorite combo is a 14k phoenix bulb with LED supplements. I think the halide helps a ton with growth and color.

 

[lbaldrey]

Ive messed with quite a few lighting combinations over the years and for me 14k Phoenix + VHO Actinics in 3:2 ratio = Unbeatable for zoas and general coral colour.

 

[A. Grandis]

Well...
I need to keep it simple here:

Most of the zoas I've seen in the wild were in very, very shallow waters.
Many were exposed in low tide!!!
The environment that I've found them were closer to, say, the 6500K. As most of us still believe today.
My best growth I had reached in aquariums was using 6500K Ushio MH with NO Actinics.
VHO would be probably better!!
Other than that, natural light with partial sun was also exciting!!!

Today I use T5s and try to get closer to the same spectrum.
It is important to state that the visual spectrum we see in light bulbs is always approx. to what it really represents. Some closer to others, probably. Minimum difference, most of the time...
Other important facts are connected to growth, like water movement and additives.

In regards to the visual preferences, I still like to see in my tanks something closer to what I've seen in nature... around the 6500Ks. My taste.
I don't mind to keep bluer, say 10K or even 14K, but can't hold for long time. Just me.

Shallow water colors rules!!!

Nice "old" thread!!
Very good talk.

Grandis.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Good stuff my friend, thanks for sharing that.

Mooch

 

[Goofishie]

Variations in blue is nice. Radium bulbs do that well. I am running iwasaki 50000k bulbs which are real nice, and a little more purple and less blue. The fish and corals show good color under the iwasakis. I can still see my red tree sponge, yet my polyps glow. I am going to experiment with more intensity and see if more blue is desireable.