News

Lighting the Aquarium Part 7: Photosynthetically Usable Radiation By Dana Riddle Photosynthetically Usable Radiation (PUR) is a portion of the spectrum that promotes photosynthesis. It is generally considered to be a subset of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR, defined as that light between 400 and 700nm), but this is only partially correct as some Ultraviolet-A wavelengths, […]

Orphek Atlantik V4 the best LED light for Coral growth and color Recently we have received what we feel is one of the best demonstrations of what Orphek Atlantik V4 Gen2 Reef lights will do for your reef tank.  The submitter we will call Reef Glow 19 and his You Tube video can be found […]

Lighting the Reef Aquarium Part 6: Coral Coloration – A Primer By Dana Riddle This colorful Acropora species is not fluorescent – the proteins it contains preferentially reflect red and blue light, making it appear purple. When I managed a commercial coral farm in the 1990’s, we were content just to grow corals and propagate […]

Lighting the Reef Aquarium Part 5: Tridacna Clams By Dana Riddle In Part 4 of this series, we examined the lighting requirements of a popular aquarium coral, Acropora. This time we’ll look at the light preferences of another popular reef aquarium inhabitant – the photosynthetic clam Tridacna. According to World Registry of Marine Species (WORMS.org) […]

I’ve been using 4 of the OR 90 strips over my SPS tank for about a year The tank is a 6 foot wide 135g SPS-dominated reef. The tech is nothing: Small sump, small return pump, basic skimmer, pair of Vortech WD40 QD for extra flow. Starboard (cutting board) on bottom of tank, no sand. […]

Light Requirements of a Coral Genus Often Found in Reef Aquaria By Dana Riddle In previous installments, we have discussed how to measure light intensity, reviewed light requirements of a Hawaiian coral, and discussed terminology. This time, we’ll look at light requirements of a coral genus often found in reef aquaria – Acropora. Acropora is […]

Orphek Atlantik V4 GEN2  Review and  time lapse video by Ryan Would I recommend these lights to a friend? Haha is that a joke?! Since buying these lights I have been actively trying to get every friend I know to switch over to these lights. After first getting them I was just blown away by […]

The Myth of Corals Requiring Unlimited Amounts of Light  By Dana Riddle I had the pleasure of living on the Big Island of Hawaii for almost two decades and took every opportunity to study the natural reefs there (See Figure 1.)  One of my projects involved the determination of light required by photosynthetic corals (note: […]