T5 and UV ?

[Yanir34]

Hello everyone , I wonder if anyone had ever tested UV outputs from T5 bulbs ?

Is there any UV reading from this bulbs ?

I saw in some YouTube video that the acrylic screen filter out UV ?

For clarification , I mean to ATI bulbs .

 

[Oscar47f]

The glass or acrylic screen will filter out the harmful parts of the UV spectrum so likely you’re not getting much at all… that’s a good thing. You don’t want to be exposed to… just to clarify UVC is the most harmful but you probably still get some UV-A and UV-B

 

[Miami Reef]

Hello everyone , I wonder if anyone had ever tested UV outputs from T5 bulbs ?

Is there any UV reading from this bulbs ?

I saw in some YouTube video that the acrylic screen filter out UV ?

For clarification , I mean to ATI bulbs .

Nice! The reboot is coming along great! There is a minuscule amount of UV around 350 nm. It’s a tiny tiny amount.

 

[rtparty]

There is little to no UV from T5 bulbs. Proving UV is not needed for corals to thrive

 

[UncommonSense]

Fun fact? Germicidal (UV-C) T5HO bulbs exist! — these use a quartz bulb sleeve, vs glass sleeves on more common T5HO bulbs…

You want or avoid these quartz sleeved bulbs, for obvious reasons!

 

[Yanir34]

There is little to no UV from T5 bulbs. Proving UV is not needed for corals to thrive

If its not needed then why MH produce it, and furthermore, there is certain corals that thrive much more under halides ?
I'm talking about mostly SPS uvcoourse

 

[Zuluuz]

If its not needed then why MH produce it, and furthermore, there is certain corals that thrive much more under halides ?
I'm talking about mostly SPS uvcoourse

The 1989 paper by Fleischmann measured how ultraviolet (UV) light penetrates tropical seawater. About 33% of UV is absorbed in the first 2.5 cm, 85% is absorbed by 13 m, and roughly 10% still remains at 25 m depth. The study used polymer films to quantify UV attenuation in clear marine water.

https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1989.34.8.1623

 

[Yanir34]

The 1989 paper by Fleischmann measured how ultraviolet (UV) light penetrates tropical seawater. About 33% of UV is absorbed in the first 2.5 cm, 85% is absorbed by 13 m, and roughly 10% still remains at 25 m depth. The study used polymer films to quantify UV attenuation in clear marine water.

https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1989.34.8.1623

What is average deapth of SPS corals , in coral reefs world wide ?
I'm guessing it's fee meters ?

 

[Oscar47f]

If its not needed then why MH produce it, and furthermore, there is certain corals that thrive much more under halides ?
I'm talking about mostly SPS uvcoourse

That’s a interesting argument because the same rules apply, and you most definitely don’t want UVC coming out of your lighting system…

What I like about your argument is that yes SPS are found in shallow water where yes there is for UV BUT it doesn’t mean that this is why they thrive or they even use all the UV… coral coloration is like sunscreen to limit UV exposure

 

[Oscar47f]

This is also why the MH vs LED vs T5 argument is completely stupid and it’s people like Chris meckly and Salem not understanding how light works and how organisms react to light…

LED lights are far ssuperior to other lighting sources 9 times out of ten

 

[Miami Reef]

Just because nature exposes corals to UV doesn’t mean it’s needed or beneficial.

 

[rtparty]

If its not needed then why MH produce it, and furthermore, there is certain corals that thrive much more under halides ?
I'm talking about mostly SPS uvcoourse

The physics of how of halides work is why they have UV. There is no way around it. The vast majority of UV from a halide is filtered by the glass. Very little, if any, gets through

Why do some SPS do better under halides? My guess is the broader and more complete spectrum than LEDs provide. Same for T5s. No LED on the market can produce the spectrum that halides and T5s do

 

[rtparty]

LED lights are far ssuperior to other lighting sources 9 times out of ten

Purely subjective with no evidence to support it

 

[Yanir34]

Don't get me wrong guys...I think that some LED's fixtures today are very good ! Companies like ATI and Reefi have the best led's I the market.
Yet ,I'm a old school guy

 

[Oscar47f]

Purely subjective with no evidence to support it

Nah as a mechatronics engineer I can say that with absolute confidence

LED lights last longer
Produce less heat
Are more efficient
Can be tuned to any spectrum
In the old days were cheaper still technically are without the corporate greed
Etc etc

 

[Oscar47f]

Purely subjective with no evidence to support it

Perhaps what we use in the hobby is not always up to par and we as consumers don’t push companies to give us what we want but the tech is out there and it is way better that’s why LED’s are ALWAYS used wherever possible instead of other lighting and you can take that to the bank

I don’t make the rules nor do I give info without a reason I’ve studied light and electronics and the misinformation in the hobby is astounding

 

[Oscar47f]

Don't get me wrong guys...I think that some LED's fixtures today are very good ! Companies like ATI and Reefi have the best led's I the market.
Yet ,I'm a old school guy

That’s valid ! I use T5 for the look on a tank of mine too but that’s also because I got the fixture for free haha but if I had to spend my dollars it would be on LED’s

 

[Yanir34]

I really didn't want that this theard will become argument about LED's vs T5 vs MH.
Here is my last tank that was powered by ATI 10×54w and 2 kessils 360x tuna blue.
It was also powered with calcium reactor and kalkwasser .
I was really happy with the results !

I know that DIY Balling is also good option for dosing ,and I know that good results can be achieved with both methods. Again , old school guy

 

[Oscar47f]

I really didn't want that this theard will become argument about LED's vs T5 vs MH.
Here is my last tank that was powered by ATI 10×54w and 2 kessils 360x tuna blue.
It was also powered with calcium reactor and kalkwasser .
I was really happy with the results !

I know that DIY Balling is also good option for dosing ,and I know that good results can be achieved with both methods. Again , old school guy

This is just stunning wow !

So one question on kalk, is that what you use until you were at maximum dosage then you added balling ?

 

[Yanir34]

This is just stunning wow !

So one question on kalk, is that what you use until you were at maximum dosage then you added balling ?

Nope , I used balling of tropic marin at the beginning...but it was very expensive due to the ridiculous high dosage on daily basis.
Then I moved to DIY balling (Randy's recipe) it was much more cost effective, but s had to dose almost 1,000 ml of alk and calcium , daily and it was PITA to make liquid solutions every 10 days.

So , I moved to calcium reactor , but it took my pH tank downhill.

Then , I added kalk (8,000 ml ,daily) and it was sweet spot balance with the Carx.

My new setup includes 100 liters container for kalkwasser.