#Aquarium water yellow tinge Patch

This procedure was conducted at night, with the only light being supplied by 200-watt incandescent lamp and was used in testing the ‘clear’ and ‘yellow’ waters.įigure 6.

Alignment was maintained by reference marks, and the vertical pipe was marked in 1″ increments.

This friction fit allowed the assembly to be raised and lowered in the drum. The PVC pipe was held snugly in place when it penetrated a hole in a piece of 2″x4″ lumber.

#Aquarium water yellow tinge Patch

A specially built jig made of PVC and CPVC pipe held the spectrometer’s patch cord at a 45 angle to a Spectralon 99% diffuse reflectance standard (Labsphere, Sutton, New Hampshire, USA) as well as the Li-Cor quantum sensor. The top of this drum had been removed to allow access. It is possible that the preferential absorption of violet and blue light by yellow water could impact the coloration and health of symbiotic invertebrates, especially when conditions such as spectral quality and intensity were marginal to begin with.įor those interested, a detailed account of determination of light qualities, water color, and suspended solids follows.įifty-five gallons (US) were transferred of water were transferred to a 60-gallon black polyethylene drum. In a poorly maintained aquarium, an aged lamp(s) with low production of violet/blue light combined with increasing yellow water (absorbing more of these wavelengths) could result in problems for some corals. It is well known that some lighting sources (metal halide and fluorescent lamps) lose intensity as well as spectral qualities (especially in the violet and blue ranges) as they age. Yellowing of aquarium water can occur due to poor maintenance practices. The incandescent lamp is held in place by another jig. The sliding jig holds the spectrometer patch cord, Spectralon reference, and quantum sensor. Listing of wavelengths used by researchers to induce fluorescent coloration in marine invertebrates. Could yellow water absorb enough violet and blue light to hinder photosynthesis or prevent production of brilliant coloration in corals? This article will describe how experiments were conducted, and report conclusions on this matter.įor our purposes, attenuation is defined as “loss of energy suffered by radiation as it passes through water as a result of absorption or scattering.” We also know that these light bandwidths are crucial in promoting the brilliant colors (both fluorescent and non-fluorescent) in many coral specimens. These bandwidths are important in the promotion of photosynthesis – something we strive for in planted freshwater aquaria as well as coral reef tanks. Why might color of water be of importance to hobbyists? Aside from aesthetics, color is known to preferentially absorb certain light wavelengths, such those in the bandwidths we call violet and blue. The yellow water can potentially affect photosynthesis and coral coloration in a negative way. These corals can live for 900 years or more and colonies can grow up to 6 feet high.Looking downwards into containers of yellow aquarium water (left) and fresh artificial sea water. Brain Coral – This type of coral is so named because it has a spherical shape with a grooved surface.Table corals are usually dull green or brown in color and many reef fish take shelter under their plates. Table Coral – These corals belong to the same branching type of coral as staghorn corals but they grow in large, flat plates.These are one of the fastest growing corals and they are generally found in Caribbean waters. Staghorn Coral – This is a branching type of coral that forms cylindrical branches that range from a few inches to over 6 ½ feet in length.Pillar corals can grow up to 8 feet tall, growing on both flat and sloping sea floors. Pillar Coral – This type of coral grows upward from the sea floor without any secondary branching.Below you will find a list of some of the various types of hard corals: These corals filter plankton out of the seawater that passes around them for their main source of nutrition. The latter type, azooxanthellate corals, are commonly found in deep water, non-reef environments and in other isolated or colonial forms. The former include shallow-water corals that play a major role in reef-building – these are also corals that depend on zooxanthellae algae as their main source of nutrition. Hard corals can be further separated into two different sub-groups, zooxanthellate corals and azooxanthellate corals. There are more than 2,500 different species of coral in the world and they are broken up into two main categories – hard corals and soft corals.