Originally Posted by
convbmw
http:///forum/post/2543479
But please note that 2 of the bulbs are the purple ones and the other are the white lights.
OK sorry for the over load.
Lets address what you have, PC lighting as stated. What your bulbs are, 2 10K daylights although it appears that there are 4 bulbs there are only 2, and 2 blue actinics 420 or 460nm.
What PC Lighting is, basically a flourescent light tucked in a smaller space. Hence the name power compact, the bulbs have a u shape to them to save space and yet give you the wattage of a longer bulb. I hope this helps..
The daylight and actinic lighting give you a total wattage of 260watts, this is sufficient for lower light soft corals and some LPS placed higher on your LR.
While some may disagree I do not believe you have enough light for your anemones, PC lighting maybe ok for them if they resided just below your water line and didnt move, and that is still and IF IMO, this also depends on the species of anemones you have. PC Lighting is not strong enough to penetrate your water all the way to the bottom of your tank in an intensity to keep anemones and higer light demanding corals happy. After the light starts to penetrate your water after only a few inches it starts to lose its intensity significantly. While HO-T5 lighting and Metal Halide lighting is far more intense and has the ability to reach deeper in tanks.
To go a bit further into detail, intensity in lights does not mean higer wattage. It has to do with bulb type first and then the bulbs lumen out put. Each bulb type has a specific lumen output, some are more than others, PC or std N.O. flourscent have the least lumens per watt output, HO-T5's have much more, and in combination of other variables I wont touch on right now, have the capabilities to compete with metal halide lighting, which is stated to have the most Lumens per watt output of all the bulbs. These lumens dictate how far the light will penetrate the water and still keep their PAR value. PAR=Photosynthetic Active Radiation. Which is what our light demaning animals need to survive. While all the above bulbs have a PAR Rating what matters is what that rating is at certain depths. Specifics for bulbs are difficult to gather and get conclusions but it is a fact that out of all of the bulbs available for photosynthetic animals PC lighting is the least efficient and powerful.
Sorry for all the detail but I hope this all helps.... LOL.