[EdwardUI]

I am looking at different lighting solutions. Are bulbs at 5500K suitable for a planted tank?

 

[they call me bruce]

dont waste your time -they are ok but if you truly want the best and less alge problems
you want T5s that are 6500k or 6700k thats perfect

 

[Steve001]

I am looking at different lighting solutions. Are bulbs at 5500K suitable for a planted tank?

They'll do just fine. I'm going to get one of these.
http://www.lightbulbemporium.com/eiko_05622ek_sp50_955k.asp

This type of bulb has a high color rendering index of 93. It approximates noontime Summer sunlight.
Why they would be useful http://eiko.com/Products.aspx?CatID=94

 

[EdwardUI]

I was looking at some daylight bulbs from home depot. The key for me right now is it's much easier on the wallet then 4x T5 216W fixture. lol. If it works, I'll try it. If not, I'll use them to light my kitchen and try something else. Just needed to know if 5500K is going to be detrimental. I can work with algae for now.

 

[lauraleellbp]

They'll support plant growth just fine. They'll just probably make your tank look pretty yellow.

I'd mix and match them with some bulbs with a much higher kelvin if possible to "balance" out the colors in the tank better to your own eye.

 

[BBradbury]

Planted Tank Bulbs

Hello Ed...

Ace Hardware has a new "Aquarium Plant" bulb. I believe I have the name right. Don't know the dimensions of your tank, but I have 55 G low light/low tech tanks and am trying a bulb that's 48 inches long, 6500 K, 40 watt, T12. So far, I'm very satisfied with it. I just use one bulb and it cost less than $10.00. The plants seem good with it.

B

 

[Jadelin]

I have the Home Depot daylight CFL in my tank right now. The light is more yellow than some (still much more blue than 'warm' CFL). The plants seem to be growing fine, and I've been using them for around a year.

I've also bought some daylight bulbs from Target that look more blue; if you look around you can find daylight CFL that have different kelvin ratings.
(These were more expensive because I couldn't buy them in the multipack like at Home Depot; I'm using the HD ones because I bought them, but I like the look of the ones from Target better). I don't remember the Kelvin rating of the Target ones for sure, but I think it was 6000K.

 

[xmas_one]

I ran a mix of 5000k chroma 50's and Phillips cool white 6500k on my tanks for years. Tastes great, less filling.

 

[Mandalawi]

I'd mix and match them with some bulbs with a much higher kelvin if possible to "balance" out the colors in the tank better to your own eye.

My Question will be related to this statement.

I just set up a 60 gal. that is going to be planted with Koi Angels. Lighting is a dual t5 N/O strip that i retrofit into an old strip light lined with foil. Now the stock HD bulbs were 3000k. Going by the lighting chart that i looked at depth to the substrate is about 20 in.
I should be able to pull off Low light. Now my question.

If i change out one bulb for a 6500k bulb and one for a higher Kelvin will it change my lighting parameters making it harder for me to achieve low light?
(I don't want to much yellow or orange lighting with the Orange Koi's were going to get)

And i do apologize if it seems i'm highjacking the thread, that is not my intention.

 

[BlueJack]

They'll support plant growth just fine. They'll just probably make your tank look pretty yellow.

I'd mix and match them with some bulbs with a much higher kelvin if possible to "balance" out the colors in the tank better to your own eye.

^yep

 

[BlueJack]

My Question will be related to this statement.

I just set up a 60 gal. that is going to be planted with Koi Angels. Lighting is a dual t5 N/O strip that i retrofit into an old strip light lined with foil. Now the stock HD bulbs were 3000k. Going by the lighting chart that i looked at depth to the substrate is about 20 in.
I should be able to pull off Low light. Now my question.

If i change out one bulb for a 6500k bulb and one for a higher Kelvin will it change my lighting parameters making it harder for me to achieve low light?
(I don't want to much yellow or orange lighting with the Orange Koi's were going to get)

And i do apologize if it seems i'm highjacking the thread, that is not my intention.

No, it won't move you from having low light. Pick your bulbs based on how you like your tank to look. Some people like a more natural look, some like a blueish 'reef tank' look...

Here's a good site that will help you decide on what color you want your tank to look...

http://akvateka.hu/wera/garnela/akvariumfenyek/index.html

 

[Mandalawi]

Excellent site, Thanks Jack. roud:

 

[Jadelin]

Lighting is a dual t5 N/O strip that i retrofit into an old strip light lined with foil. Now the stock HD bulbs were 3000k.

I would definitely recommend changing out your bulbs, as 3000K doesn't have much usuable light for plants; 5000K is really the lowest recommended.

Also, just FYI, it has been found that aluminum foil doesn't make a very effective reflector. Mylar or just painting the inside of your fixture white helps reflect more light. I was very surprised at how much brighter my tank looked after I painted the inside of the fixture white.

 

[Mandalawi]

Yeah i had read that also. But didn't have the paint when i first re-assembled it. Not that it can't come apart very easily.

 

[xmas_one]

Apparent K values have little to do with pur.

 

[Jadelin]

Yeah i had read that also. But didn't have the paint when i first re-assembled it. Not that it can't come apart very easily.

Yeah, I didn't paint it when I first DIYed it, but later I decided to, and it made a visible difference.

 

[Mandalawi]

Apparent K values have little to do with pur.

I'm assuming you meant par. ? I agree you are totally right. The "K" value does not affect the "amount" of light. My concern was the amount of "Usable" light. i.e. my 3000k bulbs don't have much "usable" light for plants, Therefore i was wondering if your using a 6500K and a 10000K bulb are you technically still using a 2 bulb fixture as only one bulb really has that "usable" light for plants. Were catering more to our visual tastes.

Therefore would i still look at the chart as though i'm using a 2 bulb T5 NO fixture or would i use the values for a single bulb.? That's where i was taking this. Personally I'll change to a mix of bulbs that balance each other and don't make things look washed out and that don't add an over abundance of reds. No biggie just my possibly tired brain drumming up questions that don't really matter. :icon_bigg

 

[BlueJack]

Plants use wavelengths from 400nm-680nm almost equally. Blues and reds just a fraction better than greens and yellows.

 

[Jadelin]

I'm assuming you meant par. ? I agree you are totally right. The "K" value does not affect the "amount" of light. My concern was the amount of "Usable" light. i.e. my 3000k bulbs don't have much "usable" light for plants, Therefore i was wondering if your using a 6500K and a 10000K bulb are you technically still using a 2 bulb fixture as only one bulb really has that "usable" light for plants. Were catering more to our visual tastes.

Therefore would i still look at the chart as though i'm using a 2 bulb T5 NO fixture or would i use the values for a single bulb.? That's where i was taking this. Personally I'll change to a mix of bulbs that balance each other and don't make things look washed out and that don't add an over abundance of reds. No biggie just my possibly tired brain drumming up questions that don't really matter. :icon_bigg

Plants can use light from a 10000K bulb; 5000K-10000K is the standard range you usually hear. Most fluorescent lights will fall in this range without having to worry about it. Is your 3000K bulb fluorescent? I've never heard of one so low unless it was a 'warm' CFL.

Plants use wavelengths from 400nm-680nm almost equally. Blues and reds just a fraction better than greens and yellows.

This goes again everything I've ever heard about the light plants absorb (reds and blues). They can't be absorbing very much green light, since the reason they appear green is that they're reflecting it to our eyes (not absorbing it). If you look at a graph of plant absorption by wavelength there is always a large peak in the purple/blue wavelength (10000K-8000K) flat through green and yellow, and another smaller peak in the reds (~2000K).

 

[BlueJack]

This goes again everything I've ever heard about the light plants absorb (reds and blues). They can't be absorbing very much green light, since the reason they appear green is that they're reflecting it to our eyes (not absorbing it)

McCree did a study on algae in 1973 showing high absorption rates in the blue and red end of the spectrum for chlorophyl a & b. I think this is where most people get that information. He later proved this was not correct for higher aquatic plants. Plants have a couple tricks up their sleeves for absorbing light from other wavelengths. Phycoercythrin and phycocyanin are two of them.

If you look at a graph of plant absorption by wavelength there is always a large peak in the purple/blue wavelength (10000K-8000K) flat through green and yellow, and another smaller peak in the reds (~2000K).

Something like this? This is a measure of oxygen produced(a direct by-product of photosynthesis) at a specific wavelength. Blue and red light is only slightly more efficient than other wavelengths. Also, red light dissipates quickly in water, leaving shorter/stronger yellow, green, blue wavelengths to penetrate to any real depths.