UV lighting

You mean like actinics?

 

VHO Blacklights don't put out enough power to hurt anything. I would definitely stay away from black light metal halide bulbs though.

 

I would stay away from blacklights.  My goal and I would think the goal of every responsible reefer is to match the natural environment that the fishes and corals we house as close as humanly possible.  Last time I looked there was no big black light in the sky at night.  The night time lights I use is so that I can try to simulate moonlight.

 

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Posted By CyberJester on 11/05/2007 9:26 PM
I would stay away from blacklights.  My goal and I would think the goal of every responsible reefer is to match the natural environment that the fishes and corals we house as close as humanly possible.  Last time I looked there was no big black light in the sky at night.  The night time lights I use is so that I can try to simulate moonlight.
I guess if that's the case then everybody who has a barebottom tank
needs to start over with sand and the people using 20k lights and
actinic also need to discard their lights and buy new 10 or 12k lights.

 

Posted By tibbs2 on 11/06/2007 8:33 AM

Posted By CyberJester on 11/05/2007 9:26 PM
I would stay away from blacklights.  My goal and I would think the goal of every responsible reefer is to match the natural environment that the fishes and corals we house as close as humanly possible.  Last time I looked there was no big black light in the sky at night.  The night time lights I use is so that I can try to simulate moonlight.
I guess if that's the case then everybody who has a barebottom tank needs to start over with sand and the people using 20k lights and actinic also need to discard their lights and buy new 10 or 12k lights.
Not true, I am a diver and have dove off of Rock bottom reefs before as well as ones that comprise more of crushed corals and large particulates then sand.  As for the blue intensity of your light; that is a matter of depth.  There is a point at water depth where 20k is the natural condition on the reef.  However, I have never seen a UV light in the sky at night.   A lot of the organisms we keep are caught in the wild habitat and moved to ours.  How would you feel if someone removed the amount of O2 in your air or dialed up gravity a bit for you?  I don't think you would appreciate it very much.  Now I know we can't simulate a perfect environment for each of our little friends (due to preferred habitat depth, pressure, and a variety of other factors), but, as I said I believe it is our job to at least try.

 

You're right ben, I think it is something like 6500 k or something.

I do subscribe to the natural environment theory myself. But I think a small black light wouldn't be much different than some of the actinics people use.  Most of the SPS I saw were in shallow water with less blue light but i seem to see more actinic and deeper blue SPS tanks. It may not be as natural but it does seem to make the corals flouresce a little more.
So where did you dive at?
My only ocean dives so far were at Miyako island, about an hours flight southwest of Okinawa. I hope to dive somewhere tropical again next year.

 

If you ever buy a used mattress, never swipe a UV light over it before purchasing it. /site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wink.gif