 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / December 2005lighting question
Since acrylic tanks are mostly covered, with small openings on top, my question is this Will anything beneficial from the lights be blocked by the acrylic? E.G. , when lighting reptile enclosures glass or screen tops will reduce the effectiveness of beneficial UV rays. Will the same thing apply to acrylic tops and lighting with a reef tank? Here's a reply to a similar question asked a while back: Glass typically transmits approx 80% +/- of the visible spectrum (400-700nm) Acrylic typically transmits approx 92% +/- of the visible spectrum (400-700nm) Glass typically "filters" approx 90% +/- of utraviolet (<400 nm) Acrylic typically "filters" approx 95% +/- of ultraviolet (<400 nm) These numbers are "generalities" between plain ol' plate glass and cast acrylic (non-specific mfrs) There are also some color variations based on the nature of each mfr, grade, and batch, ie.,, glass has a slight green hue which will vary and these variations will affect light transmittal to some degree, and different acrylics made by different mfrs also have some color but a complete comparison would be prohibitive Of course there are special grades of both that transmit or filter different wavelengths for different applications. When you get to longer wavelengths (>700 nm) they do a coupla switchbacks as far as transmission goes but... If you need more info, lemme know. > Here's a reply to a similar question asked a while back: > > Glass typically "filters" approx 90% +/- of utraviolet (<400 nm) > Acrylic typically "filters" approx 95% +/- of ultraviolet (<400 nm) Is the lack of exposure to the lower end of the spectrum(<400 nm ) going to have an adverse effect on SPS,LPS or anemopnes? I understand that the upper band(>400 nm) is essential to their well being, but is the lack of the lower band ( <400 nm) detrimental? |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.