color shift with UV LEDs

[Timfish]

o0zarkawater asked me a how UV LEDs would affect his corals. What I've seen is over time some animals will produce more green fluorescing protein, GFP, and I thought I'd post this picture of streaking in orange/green zoas. This clone line I've had in my tanks since the late '98 under both MH, PC and T5. The "streaking" or green coloration (GFP) on the orange oral disc has only shown up under LED lighting with a strong UV component. This picture was taken about 5-6 months after lighting was switched from T5 to BML's 14000K fixtures. As you can see some polyps haven't shown any GFP production on the oral disc.

[Robb in Austin]

What did you take away from Dana's talk at C4 about LEDs?

[Timfish]

I need one of those chlorophyll meters!

I need a light meter that gives the actual spectral output from 300nm to 700nm not just a composite number like PAR, lux or color temperature.

I still don't know jack.

Learning how corals change their fluorescing and chromo proteins with changes in lighting can be challenging and frustrating. Dana Riddles articles and his lecture really help understand what's going on and maybe most importantly lighting requirements for a coral's chlorophyll can be quite different that the lighting conditions needed to elicit specific colors in the same coral.

[Robb in Austin]

My take away was 3W LEDs are overkill. And given that most people run theirs at 50-70% confirmed it in my mind.

I'd really like to see a large 1W fixture that I could place on top of the tank just like my T5 and would cover front to back just like my T5.

[Timfish]

Yeah, BML is only running theirs at a little over 1 watt. But even 1 watt can be a bit much with narrow optics. I've used 30 and 45 degree so I could but the fixture at the front and angle it back which keeps light off the front glass but then I have to be more careful placing corals because of the higher PAR the tighter angle gives the light field. I've seen one light bar using 1 watt leds but a 1' 9 watt bar cost $100, almost what an 1' 18 watt BML fixture cost. Something about paying more for less light bugs me.

[esacjack]

i too have implemented UV and HV into an LED array, Greens and reds are the most impacted it seems. Blue seems to take a negative hit though. Did you by chance notice the same thing?

[Timfish]

With this clone line I see a faint blue line between the Orange oral disc and the green tenticles which I do not see when under MH, fluorescent or LEDs lacking UV. I'll have to try some blue zoas under LED but the blue mushrooms I have in many of my tanks look brighter with the UV but some are actually showing white streaks blotches in the middle of the oral disc when they are close to the fixtures so intensity is a factor.