johnnstacy
09/05/2006, 01:47 PM
Today I heard two things I have never heard before. Here were the two statements given by some who has been in the trade forever:
1. Light intensity has no bearing on color
2. Spectrum of bulb has everything to do with color
Here is why I was so surprised to hear that. I currently have a 250W DE setup and I'm running 10k Ushio bulbs. Today, I was getting ready to buy the Lumenarc III mini's in a 400W SE. I told him what I was planning on doing and he asked why. I told him I was looking for more color. This is when he said that it had nothing to do with whether I was using 250 DE or 400 SE or 400 DE or anything like that. He cited the fact that a capricornis he had given me was green but in my tank it is a tan color. He went on to say that most corals when exposed to light, adapt to the intensity. This will usually result in darker to lighter colors based on that intensity. In the case of this capricornis, it went from a green to tan. He said I could take that cap and move it down to the bottom of my tank and the color will be restored to green. Then he went on by saying that spectrum and even brand of bulb has more to do with color. I always thought that when people were talking about 10k, 12k, 20k, that they were referring to the amount of blue they wanted to see in their tank for visual purposes. He said that was only partly true. He said that the spectrum has a direct effect on the coral color. Not just what we see but how the coral changes. To make it more confusing, a 10k in one bulb can do something different then a 10k in another bulb. He suggested that I try changing one bulb at a time. Testing different brands until I find one that works well with my coral. He said the only reason that more people use SE then DE was because there is a huge difference in the number of bulbs available for one then the other.
So how much of what you have just read do you believe? Fact or fiction? It sure made me stop in my tracks before buying anymore darned equipment.
1. Light intensity has no bearing on color
2. Spectrum of bulb has everything to do with color
Here is why I was so surprised to hear that. I currently have a 250W DE setup and I'm running 10k Ushio bulbs. Today, I was getting ready to buy the Lumenarc III mini's in a 400W SE. I told him what I was planning on doing and he asked why. I told him I was looking for more color. This is when he said that it had nothing to do with whether I was using 250 DE or 400 SE or 400 DE or anything like that. He cited the fact that a capricornis he had given me was green but in my tank it is a tan color. He went on to say that most corals when exposed to light, adapt to the intensity. This will usually result in darker to lighter colors based on that intensity. In the case of this capricornis, it went from a green to tan. He said I could take that cap and move it down to the bottom of my tank and the color will be restored to green. Then he went on by saying that spectrum and even brand of bulb has more to do with color. I always thought that when people were talking about 10k, 12k, 20k, that they were referring to the amount of blue they wanted to see in their tank for visual purposes. He said that was only partly true. He said that the spectrum has a direct effect on the coral color. Not just what we see but how the coral changes. To make it more confusing, a 10k in one bulb can do something different then a 10k in another bulb. He suggested that I try changing one bulb at a time. Testing different brands until I find one that works well with my coral. He said the only reason that more people use SE then DE was because there is a huge difference in the number of bulbs available for one then the other.
So how much of what you have just read do you believe? Fact or fiction? It sure made me stop in my tracks before buying anymore darned equipment.