T5HO 54W (48") K comparisons

[AndrewH]

Day Light - WB setting
_____3500 K__________4100 K___________6000 K__________10000 K__________Actinic_____


Auto - WB setting
_____3500 K__________4100 K___________6000 K__________10000 K__________Actinic_____


Fluorescent H - WB setting
_____3500 K__________4100 K___________6000 K__________10000 K__________Actinic_____


Custom/6000 K set as White - WB setting
_____3500 K__________4100 K___________6000 K__________10000 K__________Actinic_____


Custom/10000 K set as White - WB setting
_____3500 K__________4100 K___________6000 K__________10000 K__________Actinic_____

[AndrewH]

Going off a true Kelvin scale and what I actually see when I look at the lights the Custom/6000 K set as White is the most accurate.

What do you think?

[imeridian]

Wow, they look like paint swatches.

[AndrewH]

Yeah pretty crazy how a different tube can change the color so drastically.

[AndrewH]

On to the "meat and potatoes" - right-hand text indicate WB (White Balance) setting

[AndrewH]

[AndrewH]

[AndrewH]

Lets see if this works... (trying to make it easier to compare)



BTW... I have the full size individuals of all these photos if you'd like to see better details (you can see the snails winking) let me know and I'll e-mail them to you.

[AndrewH]

Which K rating makes the Red Tiger Lotus in the middle really "pop"?

Which K rating makes the dark drift wood on the left "stand out"?

Which K rating makes the bright green Hygro leaves on the right "come alive"?

[Wasserpest]

Thanks for redoing the shots. See, it is amazing how the camera compensates in AWB mode, making the 4100 and 10000K look exactly the same. The 6000K mode seems to be what I would expect them to look like more or less.

Of course, human eyes are amazing things, able to adjust to anything.

In my tanks, I try to use a 6500K bulb in front, to make light green groundcover (Wisteria, Sags, Marsilea) look green. A 10000K bulb in the middle as it works great with darker tones. And a pink plant grow bulb in the back to accentuate reddish background plants like Sunset Hygro, Ambulia, Alternanthera and such. Looks the best to me, but everyone is different.

Using a mixture of only 6500 and 10000 is too green for me, that's where the pink bulb helps out.

That leaves us with the question what to do with tanks that only use a single row of bulbs. I recently switched my 10gal tank from AHS 6700K 13W bulbs to a single pink GE/AGA bulb. It is slightly overdriven (22 vs 15W nominal), so it appears a tad whiter than normally. First the tank looked really red, but it is growing on me, and now I don't want to go back to the yellow/green.

[AaronT]

Great comparrison pics Andrew. Can I ask what your source is for all of those different bulbs? I'm looking for cheaper T5 bulbs to use in my emersed setups.

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by Wasserpest

Thanks for redoing the shots. See, it is amazing how the camera compensates in AWB mode, making the 4100 and 10000K look exactly the same. The 6000K mode seems to be what I would expect them to look like more or less.

Of course, human eyes are amazing things, able to adjust to anything.

In my tanks, I try to use a 6500K bulb in front, to make light green groundcover (Wisteria, Sags, Marsilea) look green. A 10000K bulb in the middle as it works great with darker tones. And a pink plant grow bulb in the back to accentuate reddish background plants like Sunset Hygro, Ambulia, Alternanthera and such. Looks the best to me, but everyone is different.

Using a mixture of only 6500 and 10000 is too green for me, that's where the pink bulb helps out.

That leaves us with the question what to do with tanks that only use a single row of bulbs. I recently switched my 10gal tank from AHS 6700K 13W bulbs to a single pink GE/AGA bulb. It is slightly overdriven (22 vs 15W nominal), so it appears a tad whiter than normally. First the tank looked really red, but it is growing on me, and now I don't want to go back to the yellow/green.

You're very welcome.

There are definitely still more unanswered questions than answered ones. Like regarding PAR & what the fish see and what's best for the fish at different times (like mating, when sick or healing, etc.), but maybe this thread will help get a starting point for future experiments.

Plus like you said, a lot of it is user preference as to which color looks best on their own tanks. And persoanlly, I tend to lean towards a mix like you stated you did on your tank vs. one bulb color/K rating.

Originally Posted by AaronT

Great comparrison pics Andrew. Can I ask what your source is for all of those different bulbs? I'm looking for cheaper T5 bulbs to use in my emersed setups.

Thank you for the compliment.

You sure can (though the answer might not be what you're actually looking for ). I work in the light industry (I'm an electrical designer - design and specify all of the electrical systems in commercial buildings including the lighting) and received all of those lamps as "testing samples" except two of them which were included with the last T5HO fixture I purchased.

I do plan to get some different T5HO tubes in the near future to test the color differences between manufacturers vs. the same K rating (example: side by side comparison of a 5000 K tube from two+ different manufacturers to see how close they are to one another, which I'll post the results). I also plan to purchase PAR (a.k.a. Quantum meter) and light meters in the near future .

I assume you're looking for a link or a national store where you can by T5 and T5HO lamps? If so, I would highly recommend starting a new thread so that it would benefit others looking for the same thing (instead of being berried in this thread), plus more people might see your request and respond (of course I'll add the links that I've come across over the years ).

[tacks]

Andrew great job and nice of you to share with everone. thanks Ed

[AndrewH]

Thank you very much!

It was my pleasure.

[tylercrawford]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

Reference:

Nice chart!

I could see some people go crazy over simulating sunrise and sunsets with the lower k range lights on at the beginning/end of phototropic period.

That coupled with flash bulbs for lightning and misters for rain!