Shimmer!

[Kdocimo90]

i have three moonlights in my 210g that produce AWESOME shimmer... The key is to have good flow at the water surface... For instance, when i had all my pumps off and the moonlights on, there was no shimmer, but when the pumps are on, it looked awesome.

[jprince58]

Originally posted by Kdocimo90
i have three moonlights in my 210g that produce AWESOME shimmer... The key is to have good flow at the water surface... For instance, when i had all my pumps off and the moonlights on, there was no shimmer, but when the pumps are on, it looked awesome.

With or without the main lighting on?

[Kdocimo90]

without... I use the moonlights at night, when all the lights are off. Makes some of the corals look like they're glowing in the dark too.

[jprince58]

Ahhh...that's what I suspected. Unless you're using some pretty high-powered LEDs, the main tank lighting will overpower the ripple effect.

[Kdocimo90]

yeah, i dont think you'll be able to get the shimmer effect with t-5s (which i have) or pc lighting.

[fender4string]

Wow, thanks for more replies everyone-I wasn't expecting so much advice on this question . So I suppose the best I can do with the lighting I'll have is to try and get some surface disturbance with moonlights. I guess worst case scenario is I only have shimmer at night

[jprince58]

Originally posted by fender4string
... I guess worst case scenario is I only have shimmer at night

That's not so "worst." Actually, you can't count on it, but you can sometimes get a little shimmer effect from lights other than MH or LED. I'm sitting here, looking at one tank as I type. The actinics are still on and there is a definite, albeit faint, shimmer in about the top 4"...with PCs. It's not much, but it's something. My frag tank gets natural sunlight for a few minutes every afternoon and the shimmer is astounding. If only... [sigh...]

[Kdocimo90]

get moonlights for night.. trust me, you'll like it

[jprince58]

Originally posted by Kdocimo90
get moonlights for night.. trust me, you'll like it

I do and, yes, I do like them.

[crvz]

Originally posted by fender4string
thanks Justin, my only guess is that maybe the lunar lights aren't bright enough to show through the other lighting but who knows if that's right or not.

So I guess shimmer's out. Maybe it'll be something I can spend more money on later .

That's precisely why. The shimmer is a result of the point source of light being refracted by the disturbance of the water. With bulbs, they even everything out, so it's hopeless to get the same effect. And they'll wash out the lower powered LED if you hope to introduce shimmer on top of them.

[xian]

Any point light source will create "shimmer" You just need to find one that will shine through your florescent lights. You may want to try putting an incandescent bulb in your hood. I know people who have used party bulbs as "moonlights"