I need some help to understand....

flower

flower

Well-Known Member
I am setting up a 30g long seahorse tank. I need at least 6500K light to keep macroalgae and maybe some mushroom corals. I found a reasonably priced LED light, 3000 lumens... but what the heck is a lumen, basically I just need to know if it is at least enough output lighting for the macros?
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Lumens Is a means of light density based on foot candles.

Edit: correction Lumens are the total amount of light

Lux is also a measure of light but with the spectrum narrowed to what plants react too.

Edit: Lux is the density of the lumens hitting a surface. lumens/(area like cm2)

edit PAR is the measure of light density with the spectrum narrowed to what plants react too.

6500k is the spectrum of the light produced.

A good rule thumb would watts (flourescent) per gallon). If you get 2-4 watts/gallon of the refugium that would be a good starting point. Then adjust duration so the macros thrive but the uglies don.t

my .02
 
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2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Typically the 6500k white leds are not that great for keeping macros since they are somewhat monochromatic and don't hit the target ranges for chlorophyll. Some macros seem to do OK under them but they are not the choice of growers.

I use 4300k white and Red leds over my refugium and they do pretty well.

Cool white leds (6500k and above) are actually made from blue leds and are tweaked to give them a white color temperature look but their actual spectral output is primarily in the blue range only.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
UMMM... I guess you guys really need to dummy down the explanations for me to be able to understand. Maybe my question was answered, and maybe not, LOL, I can't tell.

Here are the specs for the light, I underlined the info I need to answer my question.... Is this light good enough for my 30g long tank to keep macroalgae, and a few mushroom corals? I just don't know how to gage LED lighting at all. For example: On a T5HO if it says 2 bulb fixture...10000K daylight bulb and 460nm actinic...I know that's good enough, but 60X 10000K daylight ???... I thought the if I understood "lumen" it would help...but no.

New 4th Generation Model
BeamsWork
Hi Lumen 90
36-39" Aquarium LED Light
Superior 3000 Lumen Output
Dimension: 36" X 5" X 1"
  • 66x HQ 0.5W LED (60x 10000K daylight, 6x 460nm Actinic)
  • 3000 Lumen
  • Super slim housing in black finish.
  • Full Splash guard
  • 2 mode ON / OFF power switch
  • Extend-able bracket . 39" max lenght.
  • AC110-240V AC adapter.
  • CE certified.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
UPDATE:

My full spectrum LED fixture arrived today... I don't really understand a thing about LED lights. I got this light new in the box from e-bay for $55.00

I hope it will suffice, I just need it strong enough for the macros and mushroom corals. The 30g long is only 12 inches deep.

Features of 36" FULL Spectrum Aquarium light:
1. Dimensions---36.00" x 5.00" x 1.00"
2. Brackets add 0.65" in height. Extendup to 4" on each side
3. 34 Watt, 3000 Lumen, 126 LEDs, Super energy efficient .20 watt LEDs
4. 6pcs 460nm LEDs Night Lights with separate control circuit
5. Slim and contemporary light design
6. Mode on / off function for day light and night light
7. Extendable bracket ---36"-40" (90 cm - 100 cm) max extend
8. Non-corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
9: 100V - 240V

63pcs White 6000-6500k
47pcs Blue 460-465nm
5pcs Red 620-625nm
5pcs Green 520-525nm
6pcs Actinic 460-465nm

126pcs total
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
For the hobby you can just ignore Lumens or Lux. These are measurements for how bright an object is to a human eye. Human eyes see the center of the visual spectrum best and the further away from yellow, either toward infrared or toward ultraviolet, the dimmer the object will appear even if it is putting out the same amount of light. For example, if you compare an actinic lamp with a daylight lamp of the same wattage the actinic will typically put out about 10% less light but the actinic lamp will look 95% dimmer. The lumens rating for the actinic will be tiny compared to the daylight and yet the amount of light is similar.

PAR is a better measure for the hobby as it is a measure of how much photosynthetic reactive light is being created. PUR is an even better measurement but PUR meters are expensive and PAR is sufficient.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Bang Guy, I actually understood what you wrote. Yay me!

On the specs I listed... I don't see a PAR, only the K rating and lumens. How do I find out the PAR rating of a light? I hope is isn't hard math, after adding and subtracting I'm lost. Whatever that little ^ symbol is...I have no idea. E=MC Square has always been a mystery to me, while everyone else knows what it means.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
flower said:
Hi,

Bang Guy, I actually understood what you wrote. Yay me!

On the specs I listed... I don't see a PAR, only the K rating and lumens. How do I find out the PAR rating of a light? I hope is isn't hard math, after adding and subtracting I'm lost. Whatever that little ^ symbol is...I have no idea. E=MC Square has always been a mystery to me, while everyone else knows what it means.
Click to expand...
4^2 = 4² = 4 squared = 4X4 = 16
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Energy = Mass X Speed of light X Speed of light

E (energy) = M (mass) times c (Speed of light) Squared

This is the end result of the Theory of Relativity and what allowed the US to end the war with Japan quickly.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
2quills said:
Flower, I hope for your sake the only explosion you see will be in macro growth lol.
Click to expand...
LOL... yes lets hope, and also that I won't need any math to do so. I may not be a rocket scientist, but I was told I'm the greatest Nana in the world, that has to count for something.
 
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