[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Chroma 50/Lighting Questions
Along with the others who have written in, I would give a "thumbs up" to
the GE Chroma 50. I used it to replace an aging Vitalite and my eye
really can't tell the difference (But my wallet sure can! A Vitalite is
more than 3X more expensive!).
A broader note about lighting: I would STRONGLY recommend to anyone
considering what bulbs to buy not to just use one type. I have found that
the more different bulbs are put on a tank, the brighter the colors of the
contents. I have a Coralife "Trichromatic", a Triton, and the Chroma 50
over my 20H. The Coralife brings out the green. The Triton brings out the
reds and adds warmth because it is somewhat pink. Finally, the Chroma
50 adds a yellow component that makes the tank look like it is in
sunlight. I find that the light is quite "additive" in this situation. In
other words, one bulb enhancing the green does not detract from another
enhancing the red. I swear the tank looks at least 10X better with all
three bulbs on than with just one of them. With any of these bulbs alone,
the color rendition is actually quite poor according to my eye.
I assume the reason for this is that "full spectrum" bulbs still emit
primarily in a few distinct wavelengths that correspond to the particular
phosphors used. More types of bulbs means more types of phosphors and a
broader range of emmission peaks that produce a more complete spectrum.
If this is true, then the light would probably be better for the plants as
well as our eyes! This bit of speculation leads me to my first question:
1. Does anyone know of a resource that would provide emmission spectra
for the flourescent bulbs that are out there? I'm talking graphical here,
not the color temperature, which is really only somewhat helpful for
telling us how the bulb will look to us (the plants aren't interested in
our eyes).
Also:
2. Has anyone found good, cheap replacements for the Triton or
Trichromatic bulbs? My luck with the Chroma 50 has made me curious as to
how many more corners I can cut! :-)
-Eric