black lights

can you use a black light or 2 in a reef tank do they have any advantages will they work like actinics?

 

unless they have the proper output then i say no. i have never seen just regular black lights used before in a reef setting...

 

A black light is the name commonly given to a lamp emitting almost entirely UV light and very little visible light. Ultraviolet light itself is invisible, but illuminating certain materials with UV light prompts the visible effects of fluorescence and phosphorescence.
In other words, it Might look cool but it also emits a light spectrum that could be harmful and detrimental for your aquarium.
Jim

 

ok so black light is out of the questio what i have is a 75g tank i want anenomes and some coal like bubble and some shrooms im poor so im useing 2 shop light fixtures on my take each holding 2 40 watt bulbs thats all i can doo for now what are my options for bulbs/ 2 actinics and 2 50/50? or what?

 

sorry for the bad spelling

 

I don't know of any normal output lights that are considered daylight or actinic. That doesn't mean they don't make them, I just don't have any experience with them. All the bulbs and fixtures I have used were either VHO, Compact Fluorescents, or Metal Halides.
Anemones are considered to be Light: High to moderate and Water Flow: Medium. You need a lot of N.O. bulbs to ensure adequate lighting.
Mushrooms and most Large polyp stony corals are low light critters. You might be able to get away with using NO bulbs. If you find a reference or link to NO bulbs for marine aquaria actinic etc. Send it to me and I will look it over for you and tell you what I can
Jim
I never made it to the spelling bee finals :-(

 

I have NO on my tank. My bulbs are made by Hagen. I have 2 Power-Glo (daylight 30W 10 000K at 36" long) and 2 Marine-Glo (actinic 30Wat 36" long). I have polyps, fnger leather, and a sebae anemone that are all doing just fine... There good for FO only setups in my opinion though.

Marc.

 

NO?
im new to the lighting lingo

 

never mind i figued it out no=normal output. my local pet shop has 48 inch 40 watt coralife 50/50 and 48 inch 40 watt actinic 03 by coralife

 

You can check out the acronyms page

It will give you a hand on understanding all the weird ligo you will see on this forum.

Marc.