Light and acrylic

[siege]

My Coralife 36" PC's have an acrylic cover. Does acrylic filter light outside of lost PAR/Lumens? The lights are about six months old, and while it's rather little, there is some salt creep on the cover. Otherwise, we have a glass top on the aquarium that would stay clean if I was a little less sloppy about water-tests and what-not and stopped using the top of the tank as a storage area for the baster, etc.

Anyway, I seem to have plenty of light, but was just curious if I'm losing any real potential with this thin (maybe 1/16th inch) sheet of acrylic or not.

 

[jjw]

I am replying to all your posts tonight, LOL. Anyway, I have a pC too, I think the bigger issue is the blue actanics go down hill much faster than the white daylights. I even heard that those bulbs should be replace every 4 months, or you get such a color shift it will encourage algae growth. Just want to pass it along and someone can confirm that for me.

 

[vettesarebest]

No your not loosing any light. It is protecting you light and you should keep it on. I have all Coralife Lights and they all have it. If you are loosing anything at all it is VERY minimal. As far as cleaning it, it slides out and you can wash it or wipe it down.

 

[mojo]

Yes, you'll lose some light from the acrylic. The only way to know how much is to test it with a PAR meter.

JJW- do you have any research that shows that blue actinics go bad faster? I've always taken the opposite stance- they're only there for your viewing pleasure, not for the corals, and any shift in spectrum will only affect what you see. I've run the same actinic lights for years and years with no problems...