SALTY72
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
what is the difference between 420 nano and 470 nano?
nanometers
- Thread starter SALTY72
- Start date
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reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
If I get my directions right, LOL, 420 nm is going to be more blue and 470 will be more violet. 470 is 50nm more into the UV spectrum.
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
IT ain't that simple, and I am not qualified to explain it, but to give you an idea, Actinic is not 420nm, most actinic peaks at 420nm.
SALTY72
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
so my question came up because coralife offers actinic 420nm and royal blue 470nm so this is why i asked? what is the difference and which is better suited for my reef tank? specs of tank below
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
IMO, you want a bulb that peaks at 420nm.
youronlysin
Aquarium Advice FINatic
470 is going to be more blue than 420. At 400 nM, the spectrum would be percieved as violet; not to be confused with UV. the higher you go in the spectrum, the percieved color changes from violet to blue, then on to green, yellow, orange and then red at around 700 nM. Once you move beyond 700 nM you move into the infra-red spectrum. The ultra-violet spectrum is at a shorter wave-length below 400 nM. The main difference between 420 nM and 470 nM would be the percieved color....470 being more blue.
How that affects the aquarium is more difficult to explain and I dont think I can. In short, everything needs energy to survive. We use certain forms of energy to create other forms energy to sustain life. Plants need light energy for photosynthesis where they create more forms of energy that they need to sustain life. Light is composed of photons and photons of one color only differ from photons of another color by the amount of potential energy they contain. Certain colors have the potential to produce more energy than other colors. Probably why aquarists have chosen the specific colors they have. Now which color is best suited for which type of life I cant say; Im sure there is a scientist somewhere who knows or maybe even someone on the site who is smarter than I.
How that affects the aquarium is more difficult to explain and I dont think I can. In short, everything needs energy to survive. We use certain forms of energy to create other forms energy to sustain life. Plants need light energy for photosynthesis where they create more forms of energy that they need to sustain life. Light is composed of photons and photons of one color only differ from photons of another color by the amount of potential energy they contain. Certain colors have the potential to produce more energy than other colors. Probably why aquarists have chosen the specific colors they have. Now which color is best suited for which type of life I cant say; Im sure there is a scientist somewhere who knows or maybe even someone on the site who is smarter than I.
youronlysin
Aquarium Advice FINatic
420nM lamps would produce a light that would be most efficient to promote photosynthesis.
SALTY72
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
wow, that was a lot of info thanks a bunch.
