# Actinic Blue & Marine Blue



## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

Is there any difference between *Actnic Blue Light *and *Marine Blue light * ?


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

I get more confused with so many brands trying to sell their blue light, so I will base my question on terminology & specification. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Actinic - Blue in color, spectrum range 420nm thereabouts
+ 14000 K - Blue in color
blue LEDs (basically the glass in blue in color) - Blue in color. I have a blue LED strip (its surely not actinic)

I would like to know -
1. Whats the difference in the blue/quality of all these ??? I suppose the actinic would make things glow more than the other, am I correct ?
2. What would be the spectrum range for the +14000K and Blue LEDs ???
3. Marine Glow lamps are which of the above ?? I find that they are not specified in nm's (420 nm, etc etc).
4. Have also seen that Marine Blue lights look blue in color when not lit whereas Actinic tubes look like white tubes .... am I correct ?

Please help.


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Actinic is technically violet in color with an emission at 420 nm. A Royal Blue light has a 450 nm emission peak, and a Blue light has a 470nm emission peak.

The actinic does not look as bright to the human eye because it is very close to the nonvisible UVA range of light. It does bring out fluorescence in corals and certain fish and is better for photosynthesis than the other two.

Royal Blue has a very bright dark blue color and is often used in LED's and moonlights.

Blue Lamps are even brighter to the human eye and the shade is slightly lighter than the Royal blue.

Hagen Marineglo lamps are a Royal blue. However they do have more energy output in the longer wavelengths (green/yellow) than some other Royal blue lamps such as ATI, Marineland, and Current.

When not lit all fluorescent lamps should look the same white color. The phosphor coating is always white. If the lamp is blue then it is a blue film put over the lamp. I have no idea what spectrum that would be. In any case the blue light is made by filtering out all but blue light from white light as opposed to just generating blue light originally. It is very inefficient and generally only used on incandescent lamps.

Andy


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## inurocker (May 9, 2011)

And yes there are true actinic LED's not just blue ones. Check out rapid leds they have the cree specs.


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

I got this Light today - *Philips TL-D 18W Actinic BL*. Mfgd in Holland. Can anyone tell me is this true Actinic ?

There was also another one with hardly anything written - *BIOLUX* but LFS fella tested it for me and it was Blue in Color. Dont know if that was Actinic,even though he says its likely to be an Actnic.

I have taken the Philips brand home.


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

The Philips is a true Actinic. 
I don't know about the other one.


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks DanniGirl. I also find that in the information/specification of Philips Actinic lights, some of the actinic tubes have a *NUMBER (like 03, 10 etc)* attached to it, though, the one I purchased has none. 
What do these numbers and no numbers (like my one) mean ? 
I also did not find any reference to the Philips TL-D 18W Actinic BL, I purchased, in any of the aquatic websites though I have heard that a lot of these tubes are used in my country. 
In the manufacturers website, I find that this tube is used as a "Insect Killer" ...    and the wavelength is mentioned in the range of 350-400 :

This is what is given in the specification of the tube I purchased from Philips website :
*Features -*
Emit long-wave UV-A radiation in the 350 - 400 nm range
UV-B/UV-A ratio less than 0.1% (UV-B: 280 - 315 nm)
R (Reflector) lamps have a 200Ã‚Â° internal reflector

*Applications -*
Photopolymerisation processes
Reprography
Insect traps

BTW, just on a side note, here I find a comparision of various types of light by a fellow countryman -
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/aafeature2
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

That emission spectrum is entirely in the UVA range. It is not an actinic for aquarium use as it is outside the range of photosynthesis. It is used to attract insects to bug zappers and for certain photopolymerization processes.

I would not use it.

The Phillips Actinic 03 has a 420 nm peak and is the original "actinic" lamp through which all others are compared to.

I have no information on the Biolux but if you look at the lamp directly and see little squiggles in your vision then it is probably an actinic. If you don't see the squiggles then it is a blue.

PS Don't look too long as intense blue and actinic light is not good for your eyes.
Andy


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Narwhal72 said:


> That emission spectrum is entirely in the UVA range. It is not an actinic for aquarium use as it is outside the range of photosynthesis. It is used to attract insects to bug zappers and for certain photopolymerization processes.
> 
> I would not use it.
> 
> The Phillips Actinic 03 has a 420 nm peak and is the original "actinic" lamp through which all others are compared to.


Wow, I did not know that, Andy.

I have 2 Philips TL 20W/03 Actinics so I assumed the other Philips were comparable. Learn something new everyday. :thumb:


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Double post


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

This is what I have found out about Actinics. 
1. None of the actinic bulbs are made specifically for aquarium use. Almost all are used for industrial purposes like UVA printing, insect traps, Medical use etc. However, in some countries advt, Philips names "Aquarium" as a use characteristic ..... Ex. Philips - France.
2. Actinic are classified usually as BL-Black, BBL-Blacklight Blue, AQUA and SA-Super Actinic. Ex. Actnic BL has the highest peak at around 370-375 nm followed by the 2nd highest peak at 440nm and the 3rd highest at around 420nm. http://www.technilamp.co.za/insect.html
3. Actnics in the Philips range care categorised as 03/05/09 - Basically, these categorisation is based on the NM at which the highest peak in the spectrum take place in test conditions. For Ex. in the 03 category, the peak takes place at 420 nm. However, in all cases, its the range which matters. This is an excerpt "Well, in very rudimentary nutshell, actinic (which is essentially a "brand" name) light has a very specific spectral peak (440 nanometers)"
4. Lower nm values - more violets visible along with blue. Some actinics spread their range even upto 620-630 nm range though the peak maybe anywhere between 420-450nm.
5. Some co's market their products as "Actinic Blue", "Actnic White" - Quote - "marketing and a wheelbarrow full of ****."
6. Quote - "........ am a bit quizzical about the fact and why other folks should find these lamps color differences remarkable... both types "work"... i.e. produce light in "actinism" wavelengths... they just have slightly, but perceptible appearances from slightly different mixes of visible (to humans) wavelength mixes ..........". Quote - "All of the UV light sources used in testing for this article are capable of excellent results with any of the processes. However, there are subtle differences involving both contrast and speed that may make one or another of these lights more attractive for a specific process". 
7. The actual variation in the peak does not matter as long as its Actinic. Quote - "............. The most important factor is intensity, then spectrum. Full-spectrum/daylight lighting is best for corals with some actinic lighting for appearance sake ............"

References - http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup ... icfaqs.htm
http://donklipstein.com/f-spec.html
http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Light/L2/l2.html


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

If someone really wants to know in-depth about lighting and lights, just go through the following links.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-05/sj/index.php - You can also see the actual coloring of your Color Temperature / Nm.

Dr. Sanjay Joshi of Penn State University is an authority on reef/aquarium lighting
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/sj/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/sj/index.php
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/sj/index.php
http://www.aquarium-design.com/reef/uvlighting.html
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/atj/index.php

Here is a link on the frequently asked question on aquarium lighting
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup ... icfaqs.htm

So I will just summarize some facts on light which I have learnt after going through many many sites on light and its properties/effects -
1. Visible spectrum starts from 320nm
2. Blue color actinic is 440nm and above
3. Below 440nm is violet
4. UV is 320nm and below, but whats important is that its the UV-B radiation which is bad. So you need to see the ratio of UV-B/UV-A percentage when purchasing the lights. Lower the better.
5. Actinic being 420nm is wrong. Infact Actinic was a word coined by Philips for low wavelength/spectrum value lights.
6. Usually, aquarists have obtained best results in their aquarium by mixing Actinic + White light, and the best is basically a personal preference.
7. Actinic lights are good for plants/corals, the statement is not fully correct. Infact, other wavelengths are required too, some for absorption, some for the chemical reaction. The sun's light provides all the above wavelengths for good growth.
8. The ocean depth is blue, not just because blue light is absorbed last, but also due to the fact that its dark in there with so less light being able to go through.
9. Quote to a Question - "Higher PPFD over a wide spectrum does result in higher growth rates. Most of the time the higher PPFD lamps are around 6500K. But this tends to look yellow to a lot of people. So 10000K is a compromise between the yellow look and the blue look while providing a good amount of PPFD"
10. Quote - "the collective response of the human eye, has a peak at 555 nm (photopic vision) and a peak of 507 (scotopic vision) as established by experimental data on human subjects. The response of the human eye to various wavelengths peaks at 555nm, so at equal intensities green looks brighter than the red and blue"


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

It looks like you have pulled some information from a variety of sources but I am afraid you have a few facts incorrect and misinterpreted.

"Actinic" is a term originally coined by Phillips for use with ultraviolet lamps for film developing processes. This was in the early 70's before their use for aquariums was discovered.

But in the aquarium hobby "Actinic" refers specifically to a lamp with a peak at 420 nm. It is used to tell the difference between it and a Royal Blue and Blue lamp.

UVB has wavelengths between 280 and 320 nm, UVA has wavelengths between 320 and 400 nm, Visible light begins at 400 nm, not 320 nm. Yes, some people have the capability of seeing light below 400 nm but the majority don't.

The absorption peak for chlorophyll _a (found in all plants and algae) is at 420 nm. 450 nm and 470 nm are outside this range. Chlorophyll _a has a second absorption peak in the red range.

There are other pigments that can use different wavelengths as well.

Blue/violet light has the shortest wavelength of visible light which allows it to penetrate water further. Red light (the longest wavelength) is attenuated in the first 3' of water depth. This is why many deep water fish are colored red. They disappear in the deeper water. It is also why many male fish have breeding colors that are blue. Blue shows off brighter so it is more visible to females.

Andy


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks, for correcting the facts.


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

No problem. But looking back, "facts" was a poor choice of words. I should have said "statements".

Not sure if you were being sarcastic or not.

My apologies,
Andy


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