Anemone relocates

[MarineFlake]

I've had this BTA for about 6 months. I recently cut *way* back on using the MH 150 and just let the 2 x 65w actinics(420nm) run. I woke this morning to find this...

 

[STARFYRE]

I think he's upset. You might wanna put those MH back on.

 

[MarineFlake]

To be honest I was happy he bailed. Its been behind the reef since I got it. Granted it seemed happy where it was but it was a little upsetting to spend 55 bucks on something that decided to bury itself in the rock work. I've been considering switching the MH from 10k to 14k...It seems to like the actinics ok. Oddly when the actinics did pop on it moved to the bottom of the tank. I think it just needed a little nudging to find a more suitable spot. Im going to try and just use the MH for the bulk of the day over the next couple weeks and see what it likes the most. All new bulbs tonight (Good for another year!) so that may play into it as well. Honestly it was just a surprise to see it had moved after so long and so far from its oringal spot. They can certainly put down some distance for such a seemingly slow mover.

Peace!

 

[roka64]

They will move to where they are comfortable. Switching your MHs from 10k to 14k will only make the light bluer.

 

[loyalrogue]

They will move to where they are comfortable. Switching your MHs from 10k to 14k will only make the light bluer.

Question.
Would that make the light penetrate more depth or not? :?

 

[roka64]

Hmmm, I'm am not 100% sure. From SCUBA diving, I noticed blues and greens are the last color that you can see at greater depths. Basically the blue spectrum penetrates deeper than, reds, yellows and such. You start losing those colors after about 30 feet or so (it's been a while, so I can't really remember at what depth the specific spectrums will no longer penetrate). Anyone, feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I know at 120 feet, either blue (but I think green) or green were the only colors present. So, (now that I think about it) our tanks don't go to that depth, which would leave me to believe it doesn't really matter. Again, someone please correct me if I am incorrect....

 

[MarineFlake]

Light spectrum in our tank can't be measured or compared really to the ocean. As stated the water acts as a natural filter that gradually (The deeper you go) filters out all light. That said, you choose color temp based on the 'atmosphere' or the depth that you are trying to replicate in your tank. True higher kelvin ratings become bluer but its the wave lenght of the light that changes and aids in photosynthesis for corals and other inverts. The actual penetration is determined by the intesity of the light which we measure in lumens combined with the actual density of the light covering the surface of an object measured in lux (Or old school..footcandles) Its generally accepted in this hobby that increasing the wattage over a tank will generally increase the penetration of the light. As a rough example if I have a 75g tank with 220w of VHO lighting I would considering moving any corals that require high intesity light to the upper most positions on my reef. There they can enjoy the most light at the highest intensity I can offer. On the other hand, if I have a pair of 250w MH lamps over the same tank I can consider moving the same corals to a mid or maybe even a low position on the reef since the light will penetrate much deeper into the tank. I would fathom that 500w of MH over a 75g would probably cover the entire tank and then some! Anyway the measure of a lights wavelength does not dictate its ability to penetrate water in a situation where most tanks are only 24" or so tall. Rather in this hobby we focus on the wattage of the lights over the tank to help act as a guide. HTH

Peace!

 

[loyalrogue]

Excellent post.
Thanks for the info!