Re: lighting obsession sounds like rubbish to me


"Don Geddis" <don@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:877jed4yf6.fsf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Fjord" <bp_harmon@xxxxxxxxx> wrote on 21 Aug 2005 23:0:
>> I'm setting up my first nano-reef. I'm reading some debates on
>> lighting, especially whether or not to use a glass hood. A common
>> concern I've heard is that glass will limit the transmittance of
>> certain wavelengths of light to the detriment of coral growth.
>
> Here's a recent article:
> http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/8/aafeature
> that shows (among other things) what happens to the wavelengths of the
> sun's light at different water depths, and how that compares with
> different
> artificial "full spectrum" lights.
>
Excellent article. Something else perhaps worthy of consideration is that
the discussion and results only pertain to the light spectrum of 400-700 nm,
(the so-called photosynthetic active region, PAR). Metabolic processes
(vitamin absorption, melatonin generation, etc) in land-based critters cover
a vast range of the light spectrum, and tinkering with that process is cause
for lots of issues. I know next to nothing yet about the photo-metabolic
processes of aquatic life, but I would imagine that there is business going
on underwater with light of wavelengths other than those measured by the
author (water is a very strong filter of shorter wavelengths, though, so I
can't see the UV portion of the spectrum as being to highly critical to
aquatic life residing at any depth)...

In the spirit of trying to provide your tank-dwellers with
as-close-to-their-natural-conditions as possible, a glass cover would seem
to me to take you in a direction away from that goal. Granted, your living
room windows do the same thing, (with your hood putting light back into the
system) but I won't compromise those for the benefit of my aquarium,
especially not in New England with yet another cold winter on the horizon...
:-)

Regards
DaveZ
Atom Weaver


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