astroclown
Member
I got a 70Gal. For a reef tank, what is the difference between wattages vs luminens when it comes into raising a reef.
Im confuse about how much watts I need vs luminens.
Lighting!
- Thread starter astroclown
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I got a 70Gal. For a reef tank, what is the difference between wattages vs luminens when it comes into raising a reef.
Im confuse about how much watts I need vs luminens.
irish pride
New Member
I can not get very technical but I do know it has alot to do with types of corals you plan on keeping. And is there a particular type of lighting you are planning on using? I can try and help you best I can but soon enough there will be someone who has the technical experiance you are looking for.
scottnj
Member
Non technical answer, wattage is a measure of the usage of electricity the bulb uses, how much energy it takes to run the bulb. Household bulbs are measured in Watts for some reason and its what most people are used to, but also why you will see bulbs listed as 15W bulbs with the output of a 60W bulb, etc.
Lumins are a measurement of light intensity. Ideally the way to measure would be lumins of light at the subject, so if your putting something in the bottom of the tank and had a submersible meeter you could find exactly how much light was hitting that peice of coral. (Sort of like using a light meeter in photography.)
-Scott
Lumins are a measurement of light intensity. Ideally the way to measure would be lumins of light at the subject, so if your putting something in the bottom of the tank and had a submersible meeter you could find exactly how much light was hitting that peice of coral. (Sort of like using a light meeter in photography.)
-Scott
irish pride
New Member
Scott I do appreciate the "Lighting for dummies" lesson. I can honestly say I have never had explained in words I could comprehend. Thanks again...
astroclown
Member
Thnks for the Tip!
bang guy
Moderator
Originally posted by ScottNJ
Lumins are a measurement of light intensity. Ideally
Not really... Lumens are a measure of how bright an object is to the human eye. It's only loosely coupled with how much light is being emitted. You really need a PAR meter to determine how much useful light is being produced.
scottnj
Member
Bang, do you always disagree with me or what?
For what its worth I have never seen a definition of Lumin that says anything about the human eye. Rather its a measure of the luminous flux in a specified area given off by a single candle.
A Lumen is defined as the luminous flux emitted in a solid angle of 1 Steradian by a point source having a uniform intensity of 1 Candela.
[n] a unit of luminous flux equal to the amount of light given out through a solid angle of 1 steradian by a point source of 1 candela intensity radiating uniformly in all directions
Anyhow, the point of my post was that Watt is a measure of power, lumin is a measure of Light.
-Scott
For what its worth I have never seen a definition of Lumin that says anything about the human eye. Rather its a measure of the luminous flux in a specified area given off by a single candle.
A Lumen is defined as the luminous flux emitted in a solid angle of 1 Steradian by a point source having a uniform intensity of 1 Candela.
[n] a unit of luminous flux equal to the amount of light given out through a solid angle of 1 steradian by a point source of 1 candela intensity radiating uniformly in all directions
Anyhow, the point of my post was that Watt is a measure of power, lumin is a measure of Light.
-Scott