VHO actinic lighting (or any type of actinic lighting)

[Amstar]

is there any benefit to this type of lighting when it comes to corals and fish? Or is this type of lighting soley for the viewers eyes (to help with colors inside the tank?)

just wondering if there is no benefit then why am i running my actinics when i am not home (440 watts of them) 

[JSLeedy]

The wave length 420nm is used by your corals.  You don't have to use it but your corals will like it. 

[jake]

Adds lots of color. Not just frrom your view point with the light on. It seems to actually allow them to color better IMO. It is a representation of what light frrom full spectrum reaches the reef level in the water. Not just 420,but it seems that is a wave length the corals appreciate.

Odd its 420nm eh?

[Joel]

The answer is going to depend on what corals are being kept. Water has a very heavy filtering affect on sun light stripping most of the color spectrum out with the exception of blue light. This is why when you watch divers on the discovery channel everything has a strong blue appearance to it under water. In other words, the water is not blue, rather it is what water has done to the sun light. Corals that exist in 20 to perhaps 60 foot of water experience light with a strong amount of blue light in it's spectrum. Accordingly, they have evolved to utilize that type of light for survival. The purpose in using actinic lighting and / or lighting that has high peeks in the blue end on the spectrum is to duplicate in our aquariums what sun light is like in very deep water. SO if your keeping corals that naturally occur in deeper water, then yes you should use lighting that includes strong peeks in the blue end of the spectrum such as supplemental actinic lighting. If a person is keeping corals that occur in much shallower water like Some SPS or Tridac clams, then the need for this type of light my not be needed.




Joel