A different Lighting Question

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by Bob I

Unfortunately that is incorrect. Full spectrum bulbs contain all the colours of the rainbow. When you go deeper into the ocean the shorter wavelengths are filtered out leaving only the blue. Therefore using only 10000K bulbs will still provide the blue colors, and is in no way detrimental to deeper water residents.

A label saying "Full Spectrum" is not a good way to judge the spectral output of a bulb, there are no standards for this distinction. It only means that the spectral output is spead across the visual light range. A given bulb may output much more blue or red light than others and still be labled "Full spectrum"

Neither is the kelvin rating. It is mearly a comparison of the overall colour of the output to a reference source that is heated to that temperature. There are also no standards for this rating.

As a matter of fact, spectral output is dependent on many factors, including the ballast. The same bulb will have different output on different ballasts. It will also change over time as the phospor in the bulb ages. Blue output will usually change first as well.

So the answer is, it depends.