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RuGlu6
05-07-2012, 05:38 AM
Found this on You tube where Aqueon ProFlex Sump is being shown.
Then in the coments below they are talking about actinics being as important or even more important for growing algae then white light.
This is new to me what do you guys think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYj7PQzl4cY

Quote from the coments section from you tube:

• The Coralife Mini Aqualight fits all sizes of Pro Flex filters. For the models 2 and 4 it turns 90 degrees so the lamps run parallel to the long side of the sump. Chlorophyll a (found in all plants and algae) absorbs most of its energy in the blue wavelengths produced by the actinic light and there is no scientific truth that it does not work for a refugium. The downside is that it is not visibly bright to the human eye so many people think it “is not bright enough for plants”.
AqueonProducts in reply to Springs24:
The truth is that the ability to keep photosynthetic corals and algae would not be what it is today without the advances brought about by actinic lighting. There is actually more energy produced in wavelengths that chlorophyll A can absorb in an actinic lamp than any daylight lamp out there. If you wish to have a visibly brighter look to the refugium and still grow macroalgae I would suggest replacing the actinic with a 10K or 6700K lamp.
AqueonProducts in reply to AqueonProducts (Show the comment) 1 year ago
These still have a good amount of blue light energy because they use actinic phosphors, but look a lot brighter to the human eye because of the green and red wavelengths they also include.

gregzz4
05-07-2012, 06:39 AM
I feel that 'actinic' claim is bunk
Photosynthetic critters need light in a much different spectrum than 420nm

How does 420nm compare to, say, 6500K ?

RuGlu6
05-07-2012, 10:22 AM
My point exactly...

tang daddy
05-07-2012, 03:33 PM
Not so sure about atinics but if were talking about growing macro in a sump refuge area the best lights to use are 6400k or red grow bulbs as plants use more red to grow, if you look at grow/veg bulbs on eBay they are usually 6400k or red.

If you're trying to grow sponges in the sump 420nm or no light is best....

RuGlu6
05-07-2012, 08:01 PM
Yes , this is what we knew for years,
The question is why would Sump manufacturer
AqueonProducts (http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/sump--filtration/) (not some guy from the corner store) would make such claims?
.
http://www.jlaquatics.com/info/89/Overflows+%26+Sumps.html

sphelps
05-07-2012, 08:11 PM
Plants use both red and blue light primarily to grow. Algae is similar but various types use different spectrum depending on native depth. Shallow species use more red light, deeper species more blue. The common types we tend to grow will do better with a more red light but some blue could be beneficial.