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FS Old School Light Spectrum Tester

Blue Light Aquatics

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Sorry folks, but if a cold and snowy Saturday in January can't get the message board buzzing with activity then we are in trouble!

Decided I was bored while having my morning coffee and would toss a grenade in the middle of the room to stir the pot a little bit and maybe get some gears turning.

So, pictured above is an old test strip that I have been using on reef tanks for about 34 years. Less old FFM shirt that indicates over splash when bleaching and disinfecting service gear in between aquarium clients.

The test strip (my left arm) used to turn significantly darker than the reference (my right arm) years ago under metal halide and T5 lighting. Since the advent of LED lighting and it's growing popularity I have found that the test strip remains strangely close to reference even after extensive use and busy aquarium service routes. Only darkening in the warm summer months when I hang it out the window of the service vehicle to dry in between tanks.

My conclusion and expert opinion after 34 years of research and data is that my old metal halides and T5's are superior to your LED's. I know that there are other old school brother and sister reefers out there that can back this claim up. Roll up yer sleeves and let's see those reef farmers tans! :)
 
I can’t really add anything useful here but thumbs up for an amusing post. My similar model test strip is a few generations older (50+ years) seems to only change colour under solar light (farmer’s tan) and is unaffected by LED. I can’t afford an upgrade and am rather attached to it anyway.
 
I am still rocking a lot of t5 on SPS systems, all ATI Sunpowers, the only t5 fixtures that I use due to reliability and easy to repair with parts readily available.
The color spectrum is superior than any led fixtures I have used.
The monotone of LED brings out more pops but lack of transitional color and make coral look more … plastic.
 

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