moonlight question

[jomatty]

I have recently purchased a LED set up from a fellow reefer that I am very happy with. The only issue I am having with it is that when run on all blues, which I had hoped would be the night setting (at least for a few hours after the main lights go out), seems to be too bright and the fish seem not to like it. I would like something so that I can see the coral at night and also so that I can appreciate the phosphorescent nature of some of the reef inhabitants.

I don't know the exact spectrum of the blues and purples (blues and purples are on one switch, and the daylight spectrum on the other), but the previous owner has also said that they were too intense for him to use as a moonlight. Is there any formula to find out how much of a certain spectrum is appropriate for a moonlight? The tank is a 40 gallon long.

The main question I have though is if I can use a t5 bulb as a moonlight? I have a small 12-13 inch t5 fixture that fits on a 10 gallon tank. I am wondering if an actinic bulb on this would work as a moonlight or if there is another bulb that i could put in this light and would work.

Any info about deciding how much LED blue and purple light is too much or about t5 bulbs that may work will be very much appreciated

 

[MarineDepot]

Hello Jomatty,

I would think that any T5 would be too bright for moonlighting, even a smaller bulb. You can try it with a 420nm bulb, or true actinic, and see what it looks like, but I would imagine it would be too bright on a 40 gallon. You might consider some dedicated moonlight LED's such as the Current USA TruLumen 3-LED Linking Modules. I hope this helps.

Chris R.