What is real & what do I need from LED Lights

V

Velocity

Sorry Guys, I found tons of LED lighting threads and tried to find my answers but they kept circling around exactly what I need or want to know.

First off, 100 gal tank with lots of live rock, carpet, bubble Anem with some green hammer at this point. The tank has been up and running for years and I just picked it up yesterday from a friend who is moving.

He only has blue & white compacts on it

I want LED and can't figure out three questions

Do I need the one's that have multiple colors or is the blue & white fine

should I go with 120 watt or the highest watts I can afford

how many led boxes should I order; they say one is for 24inch and that states I need two however it's hard to trust all ad's
 
I run 2 AI Vegas on my 100 gal.... Very pleased with them... AI now offers the Hydra. Similar to the Vega, but have UV LEDs as well and new domed lenses to reduce the "disco ball" effect. Cheaper price tag too
 
Ive done a lot of research on LED's and on what is needed for coral and plant growth. here is what i have found and it so far has proven true:
chlorophyll uses blue and red - specifically chloro A has peak absorption at 430nm and 662nm, and chloro B has peak absorption at 453nm and 642nm. B-carotine (red cartenoid used for photosynthesis) has peak absorption points at 444 and 475. in corals the red light is less common in nature(due to depth and the way it scatters in seawater), so they have adapted to make better use of the blue - so the 430nm and 453nm blue is the most important. for b-carotine the 475nm band is more important, but this is not common (so far i haven't found any reports of its presence) in corals - however i believe it may be the primary component for pink Coraline algae (it is reported to be present in other algae). a few reports have shown several algae and cyanobateria have unique adaptations that allow them to use more of the mid-band wavelengths in the 460-660nm range, but i have not seen any reports that these bandwidths benefit the zoanthalle in corals. Ultra Violet light (less than 400nm) has not shown to have any direct benefit to corals in studies, though it may have some indirect benefit by effecting the tank(not confirmed, but still under research).

in conclusion, lights with a strong output in the 420-460nm blue range and (less intense) in the 660-640 red range will grow healthy corals. yellow, orange and green light (the mid bands) may help aesthetically, but will benefit algae growth more than coral growth, so should be used sparingly. UV and near UV light in the 380-420nm range may have aesthetic value, but is not required (corals seem to "POP" just fine under 440nm blue). so when buying/building/designing your lights focus on the proper spectrum of blue and red as a majority of the output - then add just enough additional spectrum to give the tank a pleasing look.
 
Agreed !!!

Very nice read and thanks for taking the time to share; I feel better about my final choice thanks to this.
 
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