actinic lighting
- Thread starter glinton
- Start date
spruce
New Member
Actinic 03 is for aesthetics; it is on the violet end of the spectrum. The "03" really has no meaning. It is simply a marketing term used by the manufacture who 1st developed actinic lighting. I believe it was 1st used for the retail clothing industry.
Actinic 7100 is for photosynthesis; this really helps the growth of your corals. The color is more blue then violet. The "7100" is the Kelvin rating. Some German scientist name something-Kelvin coined this term. Natural sunlight at noon is 5500 Kelvin.
Pure 10K lighting is again for aesthetics, but it does help with photosynthesis. It is balanced sending out wave lengths at all ends of the spectrum. The reason why people consider and use 10K lighting for aesthetics is because if you had only actinic lighting in your tank it would resemble a black-light. Sorda cool at first but you grow tired of it, and it looks like a nightclub.
The color spectrum is ROY G BIV (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.) In the ocean, the ROY G end is absorbed in the 1st 10-12 feet of ocean water. Most corals are found between 12-25 feet of the Ocean’s surface. Corals have adapted to use the end of the spectrum which they receive most of. Which is the BIV end. Which is why actinic 7100 is the best light for coral growth.
Glinton, personally I like to use all three of the lights. Aesthetics are important to me, and photosynthesis is important to all of us.
So in summery:
Actinic 03 = The best aesthetics
Actinic 7100 = The best photosynthesis
White 10K = some photosynthesis, and balances the aesthetics look given by the actinics
At least this is how I understand it,
***I don’t want to sound like a Barney Fife, ya know!***
HTH,
B
Actinic 7100 is for photosynthesis; this really helps the growth of your corals. The color is more blue then violet. The "7100" is the Kelvin rating. Some German scientist name something-Kelvin coined this term. Natural sunlight at noon is 5500 Kelvin.
Pure 10K lighting is again for aesthetics, but it does help with photosynthesis. It is balanced sending out wave lengths at all ends of the spectrum. The reason why people consider and use 10K lighting for aesthetics is because if you had only actinic lighting in your tank it would resemble a black-light. Sorda cool at first but you grow tired of it, and it looks like a nightclub.
The color spectrum is ROY G BIV (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.) In the ocean, the ROY G end is absorbed in the 1st 10-12 feet of ocean water. Most corals are found between 12-25 feet of the Ocean’s surface. Corals have adapted to use the end of the spectrum which they receive most of. Which is the BIV end. Which is why actinic 7100 is the best light for coral growth.
Glinton, personally I like to use all three of the lights. Aesthetics are important to me, and photosynthesis is important to all of us.
So in summery:
Actinic 03 = The best aesthetics
Actinic 7100 = The best photosynthesis
White 10K = some photosynthesis, and balances the aesthetics look given by the actinics
At least this is how I understand it,
***I don’t want to sound like a Barney Fife, ya know!***
HTH,
B
bang guy
Moderator
My opinion coincides with Sammy's. Actinic is slightly better than other wavelengths but the difference is very very slight. Resent research has proven than Coral Zooxanthellae have many varieties, each using different wavelengths of light. Because of this Zoox hosting corals can thrive in any visible light. The populations of the Zoox best suited for current lighting conditions will increase in population to make best advantage of whatever visible light is most dominant.
On the Actinic 7100K bulb - it is neither 7100K nor Actinic. It's a Daylight bulb with a filter that removes most of the visible light letting only the blue light pass through. This, in my opinion, is one of the most useless bulbs in the industry.
Actinic will penetrate water much better than longer wavelengths. But most tanks are only 2 feet deep and that extra penetration doesn't make a significant difference IMO.
That all being said, I love the Actinic look. And I have, in the past, had an Actinic only tank that thrived.
Guy
On the Actinic 7100K bulb - it is neither 7100K nor Actinic. It's a Daylight bulb with a filter that removes most of the visible light letting only the blue light pass through. This, in my opinion, is one of the most useless bulbs in the industry.
Actinic will penetrate water much better than longer wavelengths. But most tanks are only 2 feet deep and that extra penetration doesn't make a significant difference IMO.
That all being said, I love the Actinic look. And I have, in the past, had an Actinic only tank that thrived.
Guy
jjboods
Member
I have an Aqualine Aquastarlight with 2 10000K 150 watt Mh's. The store I bought it from is VERY knowledgable. AND his opinions usually run on the simpler is better side. He carried both types...the ones with and without actinic PC's built into the hood. He could have made more $$ by selling me the one with, but had 2 tanks side by side, one with and one without. He said that it was all asthetics and preference, no real benefit. Although I liked the one with Actinic PC's better than the one without, not enough to justify an extra $150 without real benefit.
glinton
Member
But the actinic bulbs do count in that they give off radiation which inverts, etc. use for photosynthesis right? In other words, the bulbs aren't simply useless, are they? When you say that the actinic is for asthetic purposes only, you mean the color spectrum of the light, right?
I hope my question is clear!! If not, tell me and I will restate the question in another equally confusing way!
I hope my question is clear!! If not, tell me and I will restate the question in another equally confusing way!