A "why" on the super-lights?

[eejay3]

We have a 29g FOWLR, but last night we got our first coral and anemone. My sister-in-law was here when we got back so she was watching us and I was telling her about the high-wattage lighting that they need. Then she asked me a good question -- Why do they need such bright light when they wouldn't get that much in the ocean? Anyone know the answer to this?

 

[tangs123]

they do get that much in the ocean dont they,
i guess they prefer that much lighting and survive better with it :thinking:

 

[scarface]

the sun is a lot stronger than what we think it is. But they do get that much light and I also think it has something to do with the shimming from the water helps too, correct me if im wrong

 

[hardcrab67]

Originally Posted by Scarface
the sun is a lot stronger than what we think it is. But they do get that much light and I also think it has something to do with the shimming from the water helps too, correct me if im wrong
Thats exactly what your trying to do, replicate the sunlight that they receive in their natural enviroment.

 

[kzoo]

Lights have a PAR rating (light wave size) the sun can penitrate very deep water and you may think that coral ect. dont get sun but they do. Also some reefs are very shallow and so some things need more light.

 

[eejay3]

It would be interesting to find out how many "watts" of sunlight they actually get in the ocean.
I'm not trying to weasel out of the right kind of lighting . . . I just thought it was an interesting question and would like to give her an answer. Thanks for the input. ***)

 

[robsw]

the sun is a lot stronger than most people think. if you think about it this way, the sun penetrates about 100 feet into the ocean. the reason for the super lights as you call them is becuase they replicate sunlight. many corals and anemones have photosynthetic organisms in them which are essential if they are to survive. with out the right type of lighting these zooanthelle are released from the coral and die. if these zooanthelle leave the coral it will die and turn white. i believe this is the same thing when someone says a coral is bleached because the zooanthelle are partly responsible for the color of the coral.
now that being said, i am not an expert, so if i am wrong i am happily corrected

 

[dogstar]

Corals almost dont get enough light from the sun and thats why they need it and coral reefs are only in the tropics in shallow water because that the only place there is enough light year round as well as stable warmer water..............I think.

 

[sunnfun]

The "super lights" that we use in aquarium hobby are special in that they emit light in specific spectrums. Most corals live a ways under water. When sunlight enters the water is is split into its color parts, think of a prism. Since red light waves are shorter they do not penetrate as deeply into the water and only make it the first 15 or so feet. As the light spectrum progresses towards blue the light waves get longer, they are able to penetrate deeper water. The bulbs we use are rated between 6.5k, 10k, 14k and 20k. Roughly 5.5k - 6.5k mimics standard sunlight at the water surface. As the number gets higher the bulb emits more blue light spectrum and less yellow and red. Hence the aquarium starts to take on the blue or underwater tinge instead of white.
Why are they so expensive??? :notsure: That one I can't answer.

 

[37g joe]

think of it this way go out sideTurn on a real powerful light On a sunny day the light barly looks as if its on. also thier are alot of spectrums we cant see with our eyes that normal lighting does not recreate.

 

[pyro]

I'm a swimmer and a lifeguard and I always think of it like a pool...
During indoor/short course season, you see a lot of crappy pool decks that attempt to light their pool with flourescent lighting. It looks nice on the deck, but after you dive in, you realize its pitch black a couple feet under the water. (YMCAs are big culprits with that)
During the summer when you do longcourse season outdoors, you will never see a dark spot in the pool down to the bottom.
I really don't understand PAR/lumens (or whatever they are) and the such; but that's how I always thought of it =)

 

[kipsreef]

a shallow reef (where anemones are found in the wild) can have PAR readings around 1500 at 10ft.
A 400w 10k bulb in a spider reflector will have a PAR reading of 800-1000 at the water surface.
When sunlight travels thru water, the PAR readings dont drop off as fast due to the mass of energy the sun has. When halide light travels thru water, PAR readings drop exponentially inch by inch. PCs and VHOs loose energy at depths even quicker. That's why you always see recommendations of halides over anemones.