# Best color light for a livewell



## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Well the title kind of says it. I'm about to order some LED's and one is goin in the livewell. What is the best color? The livewell will be painted white, and I was going to use a blue LED, but now I'm wondering if white or red, or even a black light/uv LED would be better for the bait?


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## kstovall82 (Apr 7, 2011)

I always used the Hyper-White in my bass boat livewells and had good luck really don't know that it matters, but would love to see pictures of how it turns out.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

There will be plenty of pictures in my build thread when I get it going, but for now I can't find a good answer. Some say blue is the best to keep them calm, some say red is the best for your night vision, some say it doesn't matter? 

I was going to use blue lights in the cockpit also for night time, but now I'm thinking red for night?


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

I got blue underwaters and blue in the boat. The ones in the boat are so bright its almost annoying. Mores not better in the cockpit.. As for the underwaters, everybody said it wont help catch fish, well it doesnt nescessarily attract snook or anything but wherever i pull up and stop, 5 minutes later i have an instant baitball behing my boat. And we all know what hangs out on the edge of the light watching the bait :


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

And it makes for easy castnetting bait at night


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Some pics from the other night..


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

As u can see from the starfish pic, theyre bright!! (starfish was released unharmed)


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

What make are your lights cut? and how many did you put in the cockpit? and are you happy with the blue? or would you rather have gone with red or something else?

I hadn't really considered underwater LED's on the transom, might add some later once I get everything else going.


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## out-cast (Jan 27, 2009)

I have a white led in my well.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

If you're doing a lot of night fishing a really bright livewell light might not be your best choice.... Every time you take a bait from the well you're night blind for a few minutes. I do a lot of night fishing in Biscayne Bay with anglers aboard for baby tarpon. Fly fishing, we don't fool with the bait well at all but when we're tossing shrimp I want the softest natural light possible in the well. I've got to be able to see the fish we're working, only need to see the bait to pick the size shrimp I want, and we're stationed up under bridges, back in the shadows....

The only other thing to remember is that whatever light you chose make sure it's absolutely water proof since it won't last long in a livewell otherwise... hope this helps.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

The 4 chip LEDs are waterproof and should be good for what I want. Being it will be below the water line it should help to disperse the light a bit. But really I'm not sure how much night fishing I will be doing. I'm more interested in keeping the bait calm and alive the longest.
However in the future if i start doing alot of night fishing I don't want to regret my choice which is why I was thinking about going with red instead of the blue.....errr :-/


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Firecat: i have "seamaster leds" in the boat. They are encased strips. I got the biggest one they made. They are encased in clear plastic and are good sized diodes. Lemay is right, you dont want it to bright at all, i often find myself casting into docks and mangroves more with the lights on.more isnot better. Unless your at the dock lol. Purple is actually really easy on the eyes, the blue is too. Everyone likes green for some reason but it doesnt match my bimini blue hull at all..


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I really want the blue since I painted my sides light blue. I just read several interesting discussions and articles on colors and it seems blue will be just fine. I also read in a few chats that the navy has switched from red to blue on subs now and on some ships. 
So I'm gonna order the blue ones. I'll start with one in the livewell and one on each side of the console near the floor. If I like them I may add some more, and may put a few off the transom too. Thanks guys


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2011)

> I really want the blue since I painted my sides light blue. I just read several interesting discussions and articles on colors and it seems blue will be just fine. I also read in a few chats that the navy has switched from red to blue on subs now and on some ships.
> So I'm gonna order the blue ones. I'll start with one in the livewell and one on each side of the console near the floor. If I like them I may add some more, and may put a few off the transom too. Thanks guys


What does the Navy using blue lights on their subs instead of red lights have to do with your livewell? 

* Animals are much more comfortable around red light then any other color. When someone is trying to observe nocturnal animals or just animal behavior at night I have yet to see any light used then RED.

The best way to make your shrimp and baitfish as comfortable as possible would be for you to paint the livewell. Light blue on the bottom lid and sides and light brown on the bottom with some nice size rocks and a bunch of plastic plants.


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## breakin70 (Jan 11, 2011)

Im guessing his reference to the navy was that the navy and us sailors out here navigating ships are switching from red to blue or green because it is easier on the night vision.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

> What does the Navy using blue lights on their subs instead of red lights have to do with your livewell?


As Captjimo pointed out it has to do with night vision and the ability to recover your night vision after looking at a bright light.
Basically from what I've read red light is the best for dim or low light conditions, which is why they use them to video animals at night, but they are only good at low output. If you made a red light bright then it would take longer for your vision to recover and it would scare away animals. On the other hand blue and green lights that are brighter don't effect your night vision recovery as much as a white or yellow light would, and show more detail, which is why night vision goggles and hunting cameras are often in green.
So to sum up, if you want dim lights go for red, if you want brighter lights go for blue and green.



> The best way to make your shrimp and baitfish as comfortable as possible would be for you to paint the livewell. Light blue on the bottom lid and sides and light brown on the bottom with some nice size rocks and a bunch of plastic plants.


This is an area of alot of debate, after reading for hours it seems most guys agree the best thing to do is paint the inside light to medium blue and have a white light, or paint the inside white and have a blue light. Which do you think I'm going with  Also for a smaller livewell the smoother the better, rocks and plants would take up space and add obstruction (plus how do you keep them in place when bouncing off a chop?), where some larger livewells benefit from having live plants growing in them.

I'm researched out on this topic, LED's have already been ordered so you all will get to see them soon.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I recieved them today, with shipping and tax they are right at about $5 each, naturally the more I would have ordered the cheaper they would be. They are bright, but I haven't seen them at night yet which I'm sure they are even better. I took some pics and a quick video of me sticking it in a cup of water, not sure if they will show up ok or not. I am happy with my purchase and think they will work out well. 


PS. these things are tiny! but put out a great amount of light for the size.


















CLICK ON THIS! It's a video.


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