WISRD Research & Engineering Journal

3. Lighting We continue to investigate how to best create the most effective lighting system for corals grown in the marine laboratory at MORI. 3.1 Light Specifications Light is provided to each 6’ long, 90-gal research tank using two Aquatic Life 36" Hybrid T5HO 4x39W Fixtures (Fig. 21). Each fixture houses 4 fluorescent T5 bulbs and allows for additional LED fixtures to be installed in the center opening, to which we added Kessil A360 LED fixtures.

Figure 21. Left: The Aquatic Life 36" Hybrid T5HO 4x39W fixture. Right: Adjustments being made to two fixtures hanging above the research tank. 3.1.1 ATI T5 Bulbs Initially, ATI T5 39 Watt Blue Plus bulbs were used, which were recommended by Bulk Reef Supply (BRS). BRS argues that the T5 bulbs are advantageous in that they fill in any shadow gaps created by LED fixtures. The T5 bulbs give off a strong violet/blue color (Fig. 22), which unfortunately has a negative effect on the images taken by a Raspberry Pi camera used to observe coral, due to the loss of color and contrast in the images. Since our best images are taken once the T5s turn off for the day, as of the writing of this report we are going to investigate using the Kessils alone.

Figure 22. Left: ATI T5 Blue Plus bulb. Right: Color of the Blue Plus T5 bulb.

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