Overdriving lights.
Yes I agree with you Titus on different power shifts the spectral band, but to my knolage (and I may be wrong)from 6 years of planted fresh tanks and everything ihave read in the last year on reef tanks (ya a year is how long I have been planning things so far, call me obsessive) but the spectrum only shows you the peeks in each light color so you can tell if you are getting a output in the 350 to 450nm range. now what you say about as the bulbs burn out the spectrum shifts but this gos to exactly what I was saying as it shifts it shift higher (fro a actinic as the coating that breaks down is what makes the lower wave lengths) so now instead of a large 350 to 450nm (PAR) it is reduces as the majority of the light has switched to a 400 to 700nm range. this is why the corals will not do as good as they are adapted to the lower end of the PAR range. but if you take your old bulbs the house plants would love them [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Also there is a difference between diferent corals and there requirments, deep watter coarls need the lower end of the par whare shallow water coarls will probably need the higher end of the par range, but take for example people that are running 10000K MH and that is it.. they have no Actinic addition but the PAR from the MH is so intence it supplies everything the need.
as for the linerarity I total agree.. but with one exception.. out put will be liner up to a point then it will go not linier (thins happens for lots of stuff in nature but while we are on this if the color changes when overdriving then in the same token it should change when underdriving so using VHO bulbs on IceCap might not be the corect spectrum the bulb was designed for either.. and when running them with NO bulbs you are over driving so the spectrum couls be changed again.. unless it is liner to a point then it starts to drift. so who knows.. I can get a PAR sensor for under 200.00 and a light meter for 30.00 but a spectrum analizer is big bucks so I can't aford that.. but I will talk toa few people who are in university and see if they have one and can rund a coupld tests for me.. who knows maby they do and will..
Steve
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