# Plants, Corals, Lighting



## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

How come plants and corals do better in hole different spectrums? Plants do better with 6,500k and 6,700k. While coral do better in 10,000k and 12,000 and actinics. Y is that? Over the millions of years that both of these organisms have been around, wouldn't they of adapted to live in the same spectrum? Its just a little topic I'm curious about, does anyone know the answer to this question?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

Generally speaking it is due to the water filtering out the red in the light spectrum leaving blues particularly further down in the water.Many shallow water corals will do rather well under 6,500 kelvin lighting but will loose much of their bright pigments from lack of the ultra violet spectrum.


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## beaslbob (Oct 17, 2012)

tankman12 said:


> How come plants and corals do better in hole different spectrums? Plants do better with 6,500k and 6,700k. While coral do better in 10,000k and 12,000 and actinics. Y is that? Over the millions of years that both of these organisms have been around, wouldn't they of adapted to live in the same spectrum? Its just a little topic I'm curious about, does anyone know the answer to this question?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
Good observation.

Just a guess but the different spectrums in our aquariums are different because reef tank want corals not plants (algae). In reef tank refutiums with macro algae for instance the spectrums are similiar.

But come corals are in very deep water with more blue spectrums.

my .02


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