just wondering what is the true affects that actinics has on our reef tanks?.i start my light schedule with them and then ends with them.i can see one reason is not to shock corals and fish with blinding light,thus giving them time to "wake up",but i have seened guys post that they supplement with actinics so im just trying to figure that part out.:scratchch
actinics and the purpose???
- Thread starter deelucky
- Start date
- Location
- Franklin Lakes, NJ
As far as I know, their only real value is for us... not the fish. They add blue to the yellowish lights that are better for growth.
- Location
- Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
i was also told they help bring out certain colors out of some coral. they just add to the spectrum of light given. If you have dull lights it will make the coral floresce.
scarf_ace1981
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- San Juan, PR
i agree actinics have several purposes:
dee- you are right, i mean the sun doesn't shine it's brightest as soon as it comes up. so we try and mimic that slow daylight w/ actinics.
they also can bring out certain colors in many corals. which we just love!!
dee- you are right, i mean the sun doesn't shine it's brightest as soon as it comes up. so we try and mimic that slow daylight w/ actinics.
they also can bring out certain colors in many corals. which we just love!!
that we do
The blue spectrum of light will cause the photo-responsive proteins within the tissue of corals to fluoresce more intensely and in the case of other types of proteins that are pigments to be expressed more actively. Or in other words, become more colorful.
Shaun,
So in essence the bluer the lighter the more REAL color produced? I always hear ppl b!tch at other people on what color really is when they compare 20K to 10K's. I am actually in the process of deciding whether to bump my lighting from 10K XM's (PAR 137) to 20K helios (PAR 147) 400W HQI. Not trying to hijack just need an educated answer.
So in essence the bluer the lighter the more REAL color produced? I always hear ppl b!tch at other people on what color really is when they compare 20K to 10K's. I am actually in the process of deciding whether to bump my lighting from 10K XM's (PAR 137) to 20K helios (PAR 147) 400W HQI. Not trying to hijack just need an educated answer.
I guess the bluer the light the brighter the floresence of the corals pigments look to our eyes . I guess ppl b!tch because corals look more brown under 10k rather than 20k. So the person with 20k is like my corals got more colors than yours. Not knowing that that other person has 10k over their tank. So even though people supplement with actinics its like saying the actinics they have over their tank only purpose is for viewing pleasure being that people that supplement allready have enough light and or par from their main light(as I noticed reefers that use mh say they supplement with actinics). As oppose to ppl that have PCs their actinics serve as a light source for corals and not just supplementation.or I could just be wrong.
This article is dated, but summarizes most of what I believe actinic lighting contributes to reef tanks:
Excerpt:
Actinic lights, for example, produce light only at a specific wavelength - 420 nanometers. This peak wavelength value, which produces a very blue light, was chosen because chlorophyll absorbs light near this wavelength during
photosynthesis. To promote photosynthesis in reef coral, actinic lamps are used.
Excerpt:
Actinic lights, for example, produce light only at a specific wavelength - 420 nanometers. This peak wavelength value, which produces a very blue light, was chosen because chlorophyll absorbs light near this wavelength during
photosynthesis. To promote photosynthesis in reef coral, actinic lamps are used.
i knew there had to be more than meets the eyes.:Yikes:
Psycho graphic
Trouble Maker!
- Location
- Somewhere on the East Coast
As I've always understood it, as light penetrates the water, the first color to be absorbed or blocked is what we see as Red, the deeper you go the only color getting through that corals use are what we see as Blue. This is the color the coral uses for growth and why we use actinic lighting.
Basically the same info as Deanos posted.
Basically the same info as Deanos posted.
As someone new to SW, I found this thread quite informative. Great question Deelucky!
It seems we spend so much time concentrating on the size and type of our MH's that we are too frequently overlooking this critical addition of actinics that is so important to the well being of our corals.
As simple as the article is, it certainly is packed with good info.
I knew my corals were loving the new daylight bulbs here in the room when my tank is, now I know why!
It seems we spend so much time concentrating on the size and type of our MH's that we are too frequently overlooking this critical addition of actinics that is so important to the well being of our corals.
As simple as the article is, it certainly is packed with good info.
I knew my corals were loving the new daylight bulbs here in the room when my tank is, now I know why!
Last edited:
The other lights will contribute to this also, since many MH are designed to peak at the correct wavelength to stimulate photosynthesis.
However, much more is going on in terms of color and fluorescence with actinic lights than just the stimulation of photosynthesis. For example, green fluorescent protein, a protein when stimulated by light in the blue-UV spectrum will glow green. Red fluorescent protein, isolated in common mushroom polyps, is also stimulated to produce fluorescence at similar wavelengths of light, same with many of the coral pigments. Using lingo - These wavelengths of light will also stimulate increased transcription of the genes within the coral leading to the synthesis of the subsequent proteins that we see as "colors".
Last edited:
Yes and no,
. It really just comes down to the fact that corals have adapted to be responsive to the blue wavelengths of light due to the fact that it penetrates water better. So they produce more color at that wavelength due to natural selection. They in general don't respond to the red wavelengths as well, for example there are no proteins that fluoresce at that wavelength that I know of. But that doesn't mean that the other wavelengths of light aren't important, it really just depends of the species of coral.From a biological prespective, having wavelength peaks that excite photosynthesis is important, then having wavelengths of light that activate GFP and RFP and stimulate production of pigments, this would be mostly towards the blue end of the spectrum.
I've had 20K XM bulbs. Corals had decent color but terrible growth. I then went with 14K Hamilton bulbs. Much better growth and decent color. Now I have 10K EVC bulbs and the corals have very good growth but the colors seem to be changing to a lighter pastel tint. I'm going to add some actinic supplimental lighting via 2 t5 bulbs and from what I hear the colors will be a lot better. What I don't understood is that in the ocean corals grow relatively deep in the water compared to our aquariums. But the deeper you go the less of the redish/yellow spectrum of light penetrates. So why is it that 6500K or 10000K bulbs produce the best growth in corals? I've heard so many different stories (opinions) on actinics helping with coral growth vs the lights just being for looks.
Nate
Nate
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
