- Today on BRStv
if you wanna get lighting right on your reef tank
but no idea how spectrum and these LED sliders
affect your corals,
what good looks like
and how to get this done right the first time,
all that's coming up.
(upbeat music)
Hey this is Ryan with BRStv's
master reef tank lighting miniseries,
set it and forget it lighting tools
for perfecting coral coloration, growth and health.
In Episode Two we mastered spread.
This is Episode Three where we dive deep into spectrum
and effectively master that as well.
Spectrum is a big conversation,
so we're gonna split it into two.
This week, how spectrum choices affect
the metabolic health of corals?
In last week's spread episode,
we shared that light is where 90%
of corals energy comes from,
and getting this right will have a significant return
on the time put into it.
However, the catch here is light is not all equal.
Corals have evolved to utilize very specific spectrums
or wavelengths of light more efficiently than others.
And some spectrums will likely trigger
both desirable and undesirable metabolic changes
within the corals that we care for.
The real challenge with spectrum is the limited guidance
and how to use our LEDs.
What literally is universally agreed upon
really only applies to a specific coral
and doesn't actually apply to an entire tankful of corals.
Until recently, even the manufacturers
of most reefing lights were unwilling to go on record
to any specific approach, which spectrum was right,
which resulted in the wild west,
leaving us to our own devices,
just flipping switches to the eye
and buying tools without understanding
if they're really the right tool for the right job.
Today, we end that,
it's time to dare greatly in 8020, the spectrum question,
meaning, I believe we can achieve 80% of the results
by sharing the 20% that really matters
and is generally agreed upon.
With that information,
we can not just get the right tool for the right job,
but install and configure them correctly
for the best results.
It's time to share why spectrum matters.
What getting it right looks like,
and how we can do that with today's LED tools.
There are two main reasons, getting spectrum right matters.
First, that blue peak
that most corals receive a majority of their energy from.
However, even though they both look blue to the eye,
a subtle change in the hue of that spectrum,
say 25 nanometers to the right,
could potentially provide
a small fraction of the energy to the corals.
Simply because the coral has not evolved
to use that spectrum range efficiently.
Something that will become easy to see in just a moment.
Second, supportive spectrum peaks.
These can trigger or alter metabolic functions,
which can change the way the corals regulate photosynthesis.
Can certainly change the color and fluorescence
of the coral.
Something that changes between each different coral type.
So it's less about the perfect answer,
and more about understanding what the levers are,
what they do,
and making informed decisions and observations.
Understanding why things happen or what's possible,
makes it much easier to spot,
recreate and share it with others.
So this is what spectrum looks like done right,
that 8020 of achieving 80% of the results in a reef tank
without getting your doctorate in Marine Biology.
Starting with outside is looking nice.
Why is the foundation of all the best approaches
to reef tank lighting
based on providing a peak of blue light?
There's one thing you'll notice
about every single reef tank halide and T5 bulb ever made,
they all have a large blue spectrum peak
around 435 to 450 nanometers.
Which looking at the spectrum chart is that blue light.
This 435 to 450 peak is what decades of results
in actual reef tanks is founded upon.
In fact, the most popular reef tank lighting source
of all time, the ATI Blue Plus T5 lamp
is pretty much just that,
a wide peak of blue light
covering 400 to just over 500 nanometers.
As long as your light source
has that broad spectrum approach to this blue range,
you can support the metabolic needs of corals.
I can say this with 100% certainty
because the decades of success lamps like the ATI Blue Plus
demonstrated in home reef tanks,
but also decades of success in aquaculture facilities,
which have achieved scalable growth in coloration
and has been consistently achieved using lamps like these.
Okay, so why is that blue spectrum range important?
And better yet, why would a broad or wider approach
to that range likely result
in easier to achieve consistent results in our reef tanks?
That starts with the basic understanding
that the corals receive all that energy
from a symbiotic algae that lives within the corals tissue
known as Zooxanthellae.
The zooxanthellae harvest light
to meet the corals' energy and carbon needs.
So it's actually the zooxanthellae that have evolved
to utilize certain spectrums or wavelengths of light
much more efficiently than others.
I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear
that it's the blue end of the spectrum
that they utilize the most efficiently.
However, it's one layer deeper
where spectrum truly comes in.
How does that zooxanthellae produce that energy?
It's predominantly result
of chlorophyll and acessory or supporting pigments'
ability to absorb light and transfer it to the zooxanthellae
Understanding the supporting science in this
is just looking at three charts,
where Chlorophyll-A, Chlorophyll-C2 and carotenoids
best absorb light.
Chlorophyll-A starting around that near UV range at 380,
but peaking near 450 nanometers.
You can start to see
why even though the light still blue, past 450 nanometers,
many corals will utilize the light much less efficiently.
Looking at this range where chlorophyll-A
best utilizes light,
it's easy to see why the ATI Blue Plus performs so well.
And if we're only concerned about coral health
by optimizing for that 380 and 450 range
will produce the desired result.
Taking that one step further,
if we look at the supportive or accessory pigments
with chlorophyll-2 and carotenoids,
which actually transfer much of the energy they absorb
to chlorophyll-A, it becomes even clearer.
Chlorophyll-2 also has a very sharp peak around 450,
where it can absorb and transfer light most efficiently.
And the carotenoids have a very wide range
from about 380 all the way to 500 and into the green range.
When you lay these three supportive spectrum requirements
over each other,
it becomes obvious why a broad blue spectrum approach
will produce the best results
with the widest array of corals,
even where the ATI Blue Plus bulb has performed so well.
In fact why we believe the Blue Plus bulb
is the current gold standard to reference against,
in all of Randy's BRStv investigates LED lighting episodes.
For those of you that pick this up and are wondering,
all those chlorophyll and carotenoid spectrum
seem to share one peak at around 450.
Could we just optimize to that and be okay?
The answer to that
is it might be okay and provide the minimum requirements.
Provided time and prolong stability,
corals will adapt to a wide variety of environments.
That 450 peak is actually the same
as the Royal Blue channel of most LEDs.
However, corals have evolved over a millennia
to different ranges in that broad blue spectrum range
and utilized different ends or peaks
of the blue spectrum more efficiently than others.
At least partially do the corals own fluorescence
or color pigments
and very likely related to the depths,
the individual corals are found at,
how the water filters up many of the spectrum ranges
and what spectrum that specific corals exposed to naturally.
Sensor tanks are often filled with corals
from all over the world,
collected from different environments depths
and types of coral,
rather than attempting to optimize to a specific coral
or force it to adapt
from its preferred spectrum range to another,
the broad blue spectrum approach
will meet the needs of the widest array of corals
and I believe the best collective results.
Now on to the second question.
Can specific spectrum peaks affect corals beyond simply
just providing for their energy needs?
The answer is absolutely.
Peaks like UV, violet, green, orange or red
can alter metabolic functions,
coloration and fluorescent pigment production.
However, this is where that doctorate
in Marine Biology comes in.
Also, what we learn about a single coral
often only applies to that specific coral or type of corals,
and you could spend a lifetime researching this.
So for the home reefer,
this is more about making informed,
often conservative decisions,
implementing them and then sticking to them
for prolonged periods of time,
then sharing with the community in the pursuit
of not perfection,
but knowledge of how all this comes together.
Just for general guidance,
there are some commonly believed ways
that spectrum affect corals.
The near UV and violet range is commonly believed
to affect the production of fluorescent proteins,
or ratio of fluorescent to non-fluorescent color proteins
in the coral.
Meaning increased or decreased exposure
to near UV and violet lights
can change the visual color of the coral.
The challenge here is it won't do that with all of them.
This is very likely one of the many reasons
why coral may have one color when you buy it
and overtime morph into something completely different
in your tank.
If you wanna experiment with this,
I do have a few suggestions.
One, many LED lights
say they have a near UV or violet channel,
but it's barely measurable or underrepresented.
So I'd consider a light source
which have significant intensity
within those near UV and violet channels.
You can also consider supplementing with ATI-Actinic T5s,
which peak around that 425 violet range.
Second beyond just intensity,
you can actually consider,
length the time these channels are on
to increase or decrease exposure.
In any case, if you're going to explore this,
I'd set them up and run that way consistently
for six to 12 months to make a real decision.
Almost every season reaver will advise
the stability is the most important factor
of achieving the best coloration.
Another consideration is that orange to read spectrum.
Because sea water filters much of the red spectrum out,
many corals are actually not accustomed
to strong red spectrum peaks.
In fact, I've seen studies that suggest
exposure to red spectrum is how corals gauge
how intense the sun is, and regulate photosynthesis down
when exposed to intense red spectrum peaks.
Because those two factors
the jury's still out on red spectrum,
but most reefers will use red fairly conservatively.
Okay, so this is how we take all this information
related to our LEDs and reef tanks
and setting them up properly.
Most LED modules designed for reef tanks
have what's commonly referred to as Royal Blue channel,
which is a very thin peek around 450,
not surprising since that's where many of the corals
light needs intersect
The thin royal blue peak is much more limited offering
than that broad approach that we've been talking about.
But as we mentioned earlier, that thin royal blue LED peak
could likely support the minimum energy requirements
of many corals in our tanks.
Many of the older or entry level LED modules on the market
have taken that narrow band approach to keep costs down.
But again, you could actually supplement those options
with T5s like the ATI Blue Plus or Actinic
for a broader approach to that blue spectrum range.
However, most of today's better LED sources
are able to emulate that proven broad blue spectrum approach
with the addition of near UV, violet,
light blue and cyan channels.
You can see what happens here
when you add these channels to the Royal Blue
expanding the offering to cover most at 380 to 500 range
that we've been discussing.
Some come in very close to emulating the Blue Plus bulb,
others with heavier lighter approaches,
the violet, light blue and cyan range.
That approach to the wide or narrow blue spectrum
is something that I'd checked before I buy an LED.
Spectra quality is one of the most important factors.
I wouldn't buy a $20 T5 bulb
without knowing the spectrum offering.
And I certainly wouldn't spend
hundreds of thousands of dollars in advanced LED lighting
without knowing the spectrum beforehand.
In terms of getting that right ratio of near UV,
violet, royal blue, light blue and cyan LEDs
and adjusting to create that right blue peak,
there are three options.
The first is just assume the manufacturer
understands an application like reefing
and has the right ratio, spectrum and beam of LEDs
and just wing it by sliding all the blue channels to max.
Then add all your white in till it looks good to the eye
and then adjust the green and red LEDs
or even the violet and cyan colors to the eye.
Once you have that ratio down,
scale them up and down together
to meet your tank's power goals.
This path is the most common
but it has some obvious challenges
because no one owns a $3,000 spectrometer at home
to check their work.
There's a lot of trust here,
just kind of winging it and hoping for the best.
I will say that some of the better lights out there
have done all this work for you already,
the most obvious being the Kessil A360X.
They have that blue peak,
is nearly identical to the ATI Blue Plus.
Even the most difficult to replicate violet side,
I've not seen any other manufacturer come this close
to replicating the ATI Blue Plus bulb
and does it out of the box with no effort.
For the most part, this blue peak is also locked down
and doesn't allow you to mess it up
which is pretty valuable.
There are near UV, violet, red and green tweaks
you can make to the light
but you can't mess up the blue spectrum mix.
People frequently ask, why I use this light so often?
And a proven lockdown spectrum mix is one of them.
The Radion G5 Blue does this in a different manner,
which is designed on the box
to run all channels that match
for their proven AB plus ratio.
And the only adjustment is the intensity slider
which scales them up and down together.
This option does leave a bit more options
for tweaking to the final color to the eye as well.
The third option is just check out
Randy's BRStv investigates on this specific light.
He's measuring all the channels for you
with our spectrometer.
And then the team's knowledge
to produce a working spectrum mix that you can use
and know what you're getting.
The Burisch recommended spectrum mix,
the best guidance we can provide.
Another consideration on this is spectrum blending.
Unlike the historical gold standards of T5 and halide lamps,
which emit a very blended spectrum
from a single light source,
LEDs are all single bands of light
that need to be blended together.
I believe that inadequately blended
or focused beams of spectrum
have been one of the more hidden,
but biggest challenges that LEDs
have had in their initial years or even decades.
Our eyes often can't see it,
but when spectrum is poorly mixed,
the corals are getting blasted with intense beams
of specific wavelengths
often focused through the waters ripples,
which are effectively lenses.
In this case, Randy also shows
how many of these lights perform in this regard
with that dynamic spectrum test.
And it's worth watching
in the LEDs that you're considering.
In fact, it would change the way I'd use a light for sure.
The lights that perform the best often those like Kessil,
which have all those LEDs under a single lens
or those that use various forms of diffusers,
I'm comfortable with mounting them fair close to the water.
Lights that perform poorly in the dynamic test,
I wanna mount them 12 to 16 inches off the top of the tank
to blend the spectrums.
Mounting them higher spreads out the intersecting lights,
reduces the spotlight of spectrum
and compensates for the less than ideal performance here.
In any case, narrow, wide, perfect or less than so,
the corals will always have to adapt
to a somewhat new environment in our tanks.
There'll never be exactly the same
to what they encounter in the wild
or even someone else's tank.
Lucky for us, corals are amazingly adaptive creatures.
So given stable, healthy conditions,
most corals will adapt to variations
within the blue spectrum in our tanks.
The most important factor in allowing corals to adapt
is stability.
They will not do well
if you decide to change the light spectrum mix
and intensity source frequently.
I suggest not changing it more than once a year.
Better yet, use the information shared today
and set up your light the first time right
and then don't touch it.
The obvious missing piece in all this
is spectrum also means something to the human eye.
As much as I want the corals to be healthy,
I also want the corals to look awesome,
have the display pop with color.
So the next component of spectrum
is what does each of these bandwidths of spectrum
do to the visual look of the tank.
As much I can guarantee, it's not what you thought,
and the tank will look better ever
if you make some simple tweaks.
All that found
in our master reef tank lighting playlist right here.