White moon lights ?

[shilo_1]

Have any of you used white moonlights ?

I got my new light setup, and when I plugged in the moonlights...they were white rather than the blue I've always used in the past. It looks kinda cool, but is a lot brighter than the blue ones.

What do you guys think.....use the whites or try switch them out for blues ?

 

[Pico1]

my sunpod has 12 white and 12 blue LEDs built in. My lighting schedule is halides for 10 hours, white moonlights for an hour before and after haides, and blue moonlights for 12 hours at night. I say use a combo of both as the make for a great dawn/dusk effect.

 

[TCC]

I've seen tanks with both. I have a couple of white ones over my tank now. They're kinda "make shift" moonlights, but will do until I get my new tank and new lights.

Although I kinda like the effect of the whites, my next set will be blue. I'm sure someone will be able to provide advise as to whether the "brighter" is better or worse.

 

[shilo_1]

The moonlights are built into the canopy, so I would have to open the whole thing up to switch them out.
Color-wise, they look ok....but I wonder if the amount of light produced will keep my fish up at night. lol
I'll try to get a pic tonight when lights go out.

 

[Reefugee]

My Tunze controller came with a white moonlight as well. I prefer the blue color moonlight. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to replace the LED on the controller.

Brightness has very little to do with blue LED vs white LED. Some blue LEDs are brighter than white LEDs. Likewise, there are some white LEDs that are brighter than Blue LEDs. If brightness is the issue, try taping some opaque tape or colored cellophane over the LED opening, and that should reduce the brightness.

Minh

 

[H20Sidhe]

And remember, humans do not see blue as well as we see white. So while white may look brighter to us, it may not be brighter.

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7668773#post7668773 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H20Sidhe
And remember, humans do not see blue as well as we see white. So while white may look brighter to us, it may not be brighter.

Good point

-Justin

 

[shilo_1]

I do still wonder though, if its too much for night time. For example, with the blue LED's, I could just make out the rock formations, see some corals light up and notice movement if a fish swam under the light.
With the white LED's, it looks like a weak NO light is on the tank - everything clearly visible.

Oh well.......

 

[Justin74]

I havent really bothered to look further, but did come across a few discussions talking about blue\ultraviolet spectrums and they were if I understood correctly, saying that it is much more intense on thier eyes than the red side of the spectrum. Would be nice if someone could confirm or demystify this. Maybe Matt might know?

Matt: Do you know what spectrum color is more and less intense to fish or critters?

Ive been using a pair on my 30 that are white, and see "night time" activity but like you not sure if theyre just "making due" or what. Speaking of that kinda stuff, I saw the trippiest thing a few nights ago under the blue moon I got form Pico. It was the size of either a huge amphipod or a baby fish, just over 3/8" and was a bright flourescent pink just dashing around the tank. Till I focused the light on it and my clown saw and dusted it

If nothing else the blue color is much more entertaining with the flourescent light shows at night.

-Justin

 

[H20Sidhe]

Way back in the beginning of my reefin', I had 2 different night lights. I had a blue light that I used to simulate the moon (from 1st quarter through full moon to 3rd quarter), and a red light I used to view the tank during the half of the month including the new moon. It seemed by the behavior of the tank inhabitants they may not "see" the red light.

How would one devise an experiment to tell what spectrum is more or less intense to critters? I have seen some of the work which 'shows' that butterflys "see" ultraviolet, and that snakes "see" infrared. There are some assumptions there. We can measure photon intensity & compare that to human's subjective impression (by asking) to determine what spectrum we see better. It is much more complicated with animals - we can't ask them how bright it looks. Either they can see, in which case they will respond to visual stimuli, or they can't, and then they won't.

I think as long as you are keeping healthy animals (and Shilo, I think one question you are asking is will the white light cause insomnia & stress them out?) the most important factor is what is aesthetically pleasing to you. I personally think blue mooonlights are cool - I now have blue LED's on a monthly timer to simulate the moon phases.

The only other thing I've run across which is important: Black light is a NO-NO. Research I read in the 90's said that a black light quickly damages the DNA of corals. Although I've never read that the black lights we lived under in the 70's hurt any of us, :wildone: solar UV is bad for humans. Caucasians get skin cancer after around 40-50 years of sun UV exposure (remember - wear sunscreen) and our DNA is damaged way sooner than that. Apparently coral DNA is sensitive to black lights. I personally am not willing to risk my critters!

Come to think of it, I am going to look for a red LED for better night viewing without disturbing my tank's nocturne. Thanks for bringing it up!

 

[bkmorris]

don't you just love sherie? hehe

 

[orientalexpress]

i alway thought the moon are white,seem more natural.gl


lapsan

 

[shilo_1]

I guess the color is kinda growing on me, but my biggest concern was that it is just too bright for night time. I tried to take a pic, but none came out.

It doesn't matter - I've opted to not use them at night. Personal preference, I guess.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7672533#post7672533 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by orientalexpress
i alway thought the moon are white,seem more natural.gl


lapsan

 

[H20Sidhe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7671565#post7671565 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bkmorris
don't you just love sherie? hehe

Brooke (AKA:goofball) What, pray tell do you mean by that?LOL:mixed:

 

[dots]

I have read a few other threads that say the moonlights do not add to the tank as far as breeding or nocturnal habits, but more for us to be able to see what is going on without disturbing the situation.

Is that your guys point of view?

I have some of the blues that come with the aqualite pro setup. I kept them on for a month or so when the others went out to simulate a moonlit enviroment but noticed that even in the blue, the amphipods and shrimp did not wander around as much. When I decided to keep them off all of the time, unless I wanted to look at something specific, I noticed that the populations of nighttime critters were more abundant and spread out without the lights. In addition PE on the SPS was about double in the complete dark.

In short, I think the blue are still too bright and scare the nocturnal creatures into hiding in the cracks. I think to ensure your visible areas get scavanged, I keep them off, and only use the lights when needed.

 

[Reefugee]

Sacramentodots -

I tend to agree with you. Even with a moonlight cycle device, my guess is that other ambient light in my living room throws off any moonlight cycle that we might be trying to create. For example, sometimes my TV is on till 2 or 3 in the morning (well, after my light has gone off). In addition, sometimes I open the shades to my windows during the day, and other times I leave it close. So in my situation, I doubt that my moonlight really add much to fish breeding and such. With that said - I still like moonlights on my system because I am afraid of the dark. :eek2: Never know what lurks inside the stand at night.

Minh