The Blue Lagoon...

[jaa1456]

The blue actinics actualy do almost nothing for the corals 420 or 460. As far as growth goes. And the blue tanks just are not natural. The blue spectrum found in the wild from the sun looks nothing like that nor is it in the 420 -460 range. Thats what the higher kelvin bulbs are for. To replicate the blue spectrum from the sun. Does anyone honestly run their tanks blue like that all the time? I hope not.

 

[noodleman]

blue actinic bulbs do help with growth, chlorophyll has an absorption peak in that range. However most bulbs dont produce enough PAR to aid in the growth.

i do like the blue look from my 20K MH's, but the overwhelming blue from all the LED's makes the tank seem monotone to me except for the florescent patches of greens and oranges

 

[Slamajamajama]

is all this a trend or a fad...?

 

[KathyC]

is all this a trend or a fad...?

I think it is going to be a more a trend than a fad especially considering the amount of money the LED's cost. What remains to be seen with the LED's is the future improvements with more control (dimming ability) on the fixtures where people can turn down the blueness. The sunrise/sunset feature are very cool imo.
The lack of heat production also makes them appealing to many.

I think there is a place in the reefing world for MH, T5's and LED's, as each have their own benefit.

Me..I'm happy sitting here in the middle of the night with my moonlights glowing their amazing blueness while I look from coral to coral saying ...oh wow...lol

During the day, I want to be able to SEE into the tank so mostly white with a little blue is fine by me

 

[prattreef]

Maybe we are onto something after all:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100423/ap_on_he_me/us_med_psychedelic_therapy

 

[NYreefNoob]

< needs that subscritption

 

[scarf_ace1981]

love the newer look

 

[cowfish]

I don't care what kind of lighting it is, t5, led, mh or pc... I've always preferred white with a little blue. Before I buy a coral in a store I always insist that they turn off the actinics so I know what it really looks like.

Someone earlier in this thread mentioned that the light beneath water depths of 50' feet is mostly blue. He's correct. And when you dive deep everything does have a blue look to it. HOWEVER, any diver who's into photography uses a strobe and adjusts his/her white balance to compensate and get the "real colors" of what they're photographing.

 

[beerfish]

HOWEVER, any diver who's into photography uses a strobe and adjusts his/her white balance to compensate and get the "real colors" of what they're photographing.

Lol... I don't usually take pics while diving. I know what I saw, and if you want to see it, you can spend the money I did on certifications, etc... lol

Locally I've been to about 135ft. There's pretty much no color at that depth unless you have a really good light.

 

[cowfish]

Lol... I don't usually take pics while diving. I know what I saw, and if you want to see it, you can spend the money I did on certifications, etc... lol

Locally I've been to about 135ft. There's pretty much no color at that depth unless you have a really good light.

I am certified. Went to Bonaire last year and I'm hitting Grand Cayman in June. As for local diving... there's pretty much no color after the first 5 feet! Can you say muck diving? Cracks me up when the islander's complain about having a bad day with only having 50' vis.

 

[jaa1456]

I just went out and switched all my bulbs to actinics and then smashed all my blue plus and blue specials, I will never be fooled again. Beerfish try diving in the East river, you wanna talk about no visibility.

 

[beerfish]

I've done it.

And the Hudson.

 

[beerfish]

Cracks me up when the islander's complain about having a bad day with only having 50' vis.

That's a great day on the Stolt!

 

[Slamajamajama]

thing is, is it a visual deception, or is it what people want to see?

 

[pnoyreefer]

Where's the LED peeps .. I need to be convince please...

 

[Slamajamajama]

Where's the LED peeps .. I need to be convince please...

it is weird we aren't hearing from them...they are lurking i think...lol

 

[pnoyreefer]

hehe don't get me wrong guys .. Im not hatin LED's at all and I think its good for saving electricity since I am unemployed for a yr :lol:... I just want to see pics of it in your tank with what kind of corals and how they do... I have mixed reef and don't want to jump on LEDS cuz its the hottest thing for everyone... thanks

 

[prattreef]

It isn't LED's I object to, it is the excessive use of blue light in any platform. LED's just make it a little easier to temporarily shock one's better judgment because of the overwhelming florescent glow you can easily achieve with them.

 

[motortrendz]

i cant stand to overpowering blue!!! i like a nice 14,000k look with a lil blue/purple hue.. i feel like you can see more and get a better spectrum of the coral colors.. when its all blue everything looks the same!!

 

[rafal07013]

if I understand the comments the right way, it seems that some of you say that all led fixtures have overpowering blues = which is kind of strange. why? AI uses 2:1 white vs blue ratio plus has the color temp controllability, KR-92 has pretty bright color output, PacSun has 1:1 ratio with controllability, so it is more your personal take and approach on how you want to have your light set. I mean with both AI and PacSun you can go with 12K (all whites and no blues) look as well as 23K (all blues and no whites) look or anything in between.

so it is up to someones liking to set the color of the light the way they like.

so it makes the pool question a little bit unfair - since even on LED fixtures you can have natural look if you so desire.