BB450 is fluorescent light which is 420nm-470nm peak enhanced amd its light looks deep blue.
My own thinking on corals has been coming closer to that of plants--we must mimic the sun.sfsuphysics":3c6qecxh said:While both 460 & 420 will fluoresce, I'm a big fan of the 420 when it's alone simply because our eyes register the purple as really dark, as a result the glowing from the corals tends to pop a bit more due to the contrast between light and dark. 460 however typically is made a bit more efficiently in that the PAR is almost always going to be more on a bulb vs bulb comparison (i.e 54w 420nm t5 vs 54w 460nm t5) now whether or not that's better for the corals I think is still hotly debated.
seamaiden":wf2m7lec said:My own thinking on corals has been coming closer to that of plants--we must mimic the sun.
The zooxanthellae of corals are brown in color, which is the best color for absorbing blue light (Bensosn, 1984). [...] The accessory pigments isolated fron zooxanthellae, such as cartenoids and several xanthophylls, all exhibit peak absorbtion between 408 and 475 nm.
Subcomandante Marcos":306s3rpf said:The sun exhibits near black-body radiation, which does not have a peak. It is a smooth, broad spectrum that has a maximum at about 5,500 Kelvin (the sun's surface temperature).
I've been under the impression that these activities need more than just one or two specific wavelength peaks (or sufficient strength of a particular wavelength).sfsuphysics":35v434wq said:Well photosynthesis occurs at a particular wavelength or two doesn't it?
But yeah, lights typically have a sharp peak at a wavelength or two, however they often have additional light coming off them.
Yes, and this is why I find all artificial light to be lacking for my own current needs (which are not necessarily all that different from the aquatic application we're discussing here). Plasma bulbs, however, almost PERFECTLY mimic the sun. Damn that $1,500 price tag just for the bulb! <shakes fist> Then again, we do still have The Big Metal Halide in the Sky.Subcomandante Marcos":35v434wq said:The sun exhibits near black-body radiation, which does not have a peak. It is a smooth, broad spectrum that has a maximum at about 5,500 Kelvin (the sun's surface temperature).
seamaiden":79zmgidc said:I've been under the impression that these activities need more than just one or two specific wavelength peaks (or sufficient strength of a particular wavelength).
Yes, and this is why I find all artificial light to be lacking for my own current needs (which are not necessarily all that different from the aquatic application we're discussing here). Plasma bulbs, however, almost PERFECTLY mimic the sun. Damn that $1,500 price tag just for the bulb! <shakes fist> Then again, we do still have The Big Metal Halide in the Sky.Subcomandante Marcos":79zmgidc said:The sun exhibits near black-body radiation, which does not have a peak. It is a smooth, broad spectrum that has a maximum at about 5,500 Kelvin (the sun's surface temperature).