Uv lights?

[elgecko]

Brian_W,
Your plant does look very good.

Here's my nice green plant.

Although you are using, double the light output then I am.

 

[chloroplast]

WOW. That IS green!

 

[Spikeanator]

i use two "flora sun" and two "ultra sun" zoo med bulbs for my lighting over most of my cps.

thanks

Brad

 

[chloroplast]

Quote[/b] ]i use two "flora sun" and two "ultra sun" zoo med bulbs for my lighting over most of my cps.

Thanks for the info. I take it you're satisfied with the results. Do the plants you acquire get better/enhanced coloration over time?

 

[seedjar]

Quote[/b] (JustLikeAPill @ Nov. 29 2005,3:36)]and they are enclosed in a case so no uv ever reaches anything that doesn't pass through the filter.

Not always - the ones that my grocery store used to keep the air in our backstock area clean were more like lighting sconces, and there was another UV bulb in a striplight above the produce prep area that was only really sheilded at eye level to prevent glare. All the lights seemed to be very low power, not even as bright as a low-power general use fluoro tube. The thing is that light passes readily through just about everything organic at the cellular level. It's no problem at all for weak UV light to get inside a single-celled organism and mess up its DNA. But to really significantly harm multicellular creatures, light has to be able to pass all the way through several layers of cells (such as dead skin) before it reaches any vulnerable (i.e. not dead) genetic material - and whatever else it is that UV interferes with, I can't remember if it's just the DNA. Also, single-celled organisms only have one shot at surviving each UV exposure, but if a few cells of a multicellular organism die, it's not usually a catastrophe. We're built with mechanisms to accomodate for it, because the sun's UV radiation is more than powerful enough to make trouble.
~Joe

 

[chloroplast]

Quote[/b] ]I can't remember if it's just the DNA

Unfortunately, it's not just DNA.....proteins and lipids (as well as the processes that make them) are also damaged.

Quote[/b] ]but if a few cells of a multicellular organism die, it's not usually a catastrophe.

That's true.....but it's not the few cells that die that should concern us. We should be more worried about those that SURVIVE but remain damaged (mutated) that have the potential of becoming cancerous.  

 

[seedjar]

Yeah, you're right, chloroplast - that's kind of what I meant but I didn't bother to elaborate. But that's also why I said we have mechanisms to take care of that kind of damage. I think the major point is that if a little single-celled organism gets zapped, that's the end of the line, but multicellular organisms as species will usually be OK unless the germline cells are affected.
~Joe

 

[chloroplast]

This discussion we're having is bringing back horrible flashbacks of college cell bio, biochem, and genetics....but then again, they were a breeze compared to what's being dished out to me in med school.

Something you said caught my eye:

Quote[/b] ]But that's also why I said we have mechanisms to take care of that kind of damage.

it reminds me that we should be grateful that our bodies have all these repair mechanisms....imagine how brief our lifespan would be if we were built like Microsoft software--after running for only a couple of months, we would pick up one of those "fatal" errors and shut down spontaneously!

Now, I've got to get back to my tanning bed!

 

[Brian_W]

Quote[/b] ]imagine how brief our lifespan would be if we were built like Microsoft software--after running for only a couple of months, we would pick up one of those "fatal" errors and shut down spontaneously!

Our 70-90 year lifespan is but a blink of an eye.  Nature places flaws into everything to insure that nothing lasts forever.

Now what was that about UV light again?

Brian

 

[Spikeanator]

Quote[/b] (chloroplast @ Nov. 30 2005,4:17)]

Quote[/b] ]i use two "flora sun" and two "ultra sun" zoo med bulbs for my lighting over most of my cps.

Thanks for the info.  I take it you're satisfied with the results.  Do the plants you acquire get better/enhanced coloration over time?

i think they do...here is a picture of one of my cephs. it well all green when i got it. and now i like the way it has colored.

 

[chloroplast]

Quote[/b] ]Nature places flaws into everything to insure that nothing lasts forever.

Some would accuse you of anthropomorphizing nature, but there are days (when everything seems to malfunction) when I would tend to agree!

Quote[/b] ]it well all green when i got it. and now i like the way it has colored.

Well, after seeing all of these nice pics, perhaps I'll buy my plants a couple of daylight bulbs for Christmas.