Discussion of light levels

[Bpb]

I did love running metal halides. Especially 10k XM's. Wish I hadn't gotten rid of them


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[graham hunt]

Uv spectrum

Uv spectrum

You are going to find lots of UV down to 350 in 10K MH bulbs and the URI T5 and especially their VHO bulbs. I am not familiar with this Tropic 6500K bulb, so not sure if you are a MH or T5 guy. I don't think that you need a reptile bulb to get some of this. The old school light sources have had UV for a long time.

I don't know whether they lucked into their bulbs a few decades ago, or are really smart, but UVL gets it and always have some UV in them. They also test and show a chart below 400nm. See if you can find one that you like on here, but I recommend the Actinic White:
http://www.uvlco.com/AquariumT5.html

Hi jda,if I could jump in with a question,I run 400w radiums in guismann infinity fixtures with a dimtec glass shield supposedly uv and heat (ir) blocking,I have run the lights without shield using ushio/blv lamps which on lamps say are uv protected I assume glass envelope is made so.the radium instructions suggest
The lamps are not shielded and require a separate shield so I have been wary of not using it,it would seem from latest info uv could be usefull,heat for my situation is not a problem so I would appreciate your thoughts on using the shield or not with radius,mounting height is 10 jnches above water line.
Regards graham.

 

[jda]

The glass on SE bulbs filter out most UV in the low 300s - at least enough to be harmless. There is still UV in there. You don't need to use any extra glass for the ones that I know about. I take the glass out of all of my SE stuff to get the extra output.

A DE bulb absolutely has to have the glass shield or else you can do significant UV damage to your inhabitants.

 

[graham hunt]

Uv glass shield,

Uv glass shield,

Thank you jda,that puts my mind at rest,with luck a bit more spectral output,I will remove glass and watch to see if colour changes.
Regards graham.

 

[Bpb]

Also I want to chime in. UVB and ESPECIALLY UVC are absolutely known to cause various forms of skin cancer and cataracts under prolonged exposure, such as a situation of an open top tank with no canopy where you are constantly exposed to a direct beam. Definitely use glass shielding on double ended bulbs which lack the tempered glass shield mogul bulbs enjoy. Any hypothetical gains in coral health aren't worth risking your own or your family's


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[graham hunt]

Uv shield

Uv shield

Also I want to chime in. UVB and ESPECIALLY UVC are absolutely known to cause various forms of skin cancer and cataracts under prolonged exposure, such as a situation of an open top tank with no canopy where you are constantly exposed to a direct beam. Definitely use glass shielding on double ended bulbs which lack the tempered glass shield mogul bulbs enjoy. Any hypothetical gains in coral health aren't worth risking your own or your family's
Again thanks for the head up,as you say de are very tricky,ushio/blv se state on
Glass uv protected but not radium which in an open view no canapy situation is
Worrying,might not be worth the risk for perceived gain.think I may wait till I can find blv 14k which is proving a bit hard in U.K. Presently.
Regards graham.

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