Too all LED users!

I think this is more related to color temperature of the light source. You can load up your tank with blues and get better color with any type of lighting. You are right though that corals will color morph over time to be more efficient under certain lighting, so when moving them from LED to T5 they may look browner. If you give them a few weeks under that lighting, I'm sure you will find that they color back up though.

 

So if I am reading this thread right, LED's seem to be good choice. I've read a lot of different threads today, and LED's are really looking good on other peoples tanks. I'm one of those people that has to see things to believe them. I'm new to reefing, but I am very interested in LED's. I'm getting ready to set up a new tank and I am looking for the best/cheapest way to go.

I can see how this would make since. I know that placement of corals has a lot to do with their behavior as well. I would also think that the depth of your tank and the distance between your lights and corals has a lot to do with the color of corals as well.

 

The technology is definitely ready and LEDs are an awesome way to go. There are also a lot of tiny companies out there right now that are looking to get on the expensive light wagon with cheap knockoffs they didn't design though, so do tons of research, demand to see some solid numbers and get feedback from others before picking a system. It's a dangerous thing to shop for right now.

You are correct. Just about every little thing is going to affect a corals color and also growth pattern. Most corals will grow towards the light and try to occupy as much real estate under the light. While doing this they will also balance out growth patterns to suite flow. One type of coral can really be made to look a thousand different ways under the same amount of varied conditions. Their communities rival ours in adaptability and complexity.

 

I actually notice that our corals looks better under T5's than LEDs, as you can mess around with different bulb combination's to get a particular look.

 

with the myriad of color choices available in LED one could say the same about LED (I'm a MH guy myself)

 

Bulb color choices & lighting choices will of course change a tanks appearance.

Look at all the blue tanks loaded with 20k lighting so people can get thier "pop", I've read a couple different places that 6700k is actually the better choice for some types of coral growth. The downside is people dont like the "yellow" look, and also 6700k is more the spectrum pleasing for algae as well.

Bulb choices are in some cases for the eye and not the coral.

Its almost like putting on the old school red/blue 3D glasses.

 

I run 6700's on reefs. If you balance it out properly, you wont even notice the yellow.