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I am going to have to change my light bulbs on my planted aquariums pretty soon. My question is which to get. I like the Zoomed brand. Should i buy the Flora sun max plant growth(8500k with peak emmisions in the red and blue spectrum) or the the Tropic sun daylight bulbs(5500k). I have the 5500k ones now. I jjust want to know which would be best to grow plants.

Hi,
Given the choice between the two, I think I'd go with the
Flora Sun Max at 8700K. I'm running PCs at 8800K and
depending upon the plant, you can practically see the plant
growing in front of your eyes.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

5500K lights bulb will give your tank a much yellower
appearance and you will see less red in your plants. Even at
6700K your tank will be greenish in colour. I would also
recommend the 8500K as opposed to the 5500K. Not only will
your plants like it better, you will see more colorations
(reds and pinks will actually be visible and not overshadowed
by the greens. Much more pleasing to they eye and really lets
you color your tank up.

HTH,
Megil.

clownloachfan,

I am not in sink with the previous posters, or at least I would like to answer your question &#8220;Which is better?&#8221; with another question: For who?

This is the answer if you would have replied: &#8220;Plants&#8221;

Now, not having any proof other than talking to fellow &#8220;planters&#8221; and using them myself, I would say that the 6,700K is the best plant growing temperature, followed by the 5,500K. I run both of these (actually, I think I have a 5,000K, not a 5,500K) on my large tank, the 29G has a 6,700K, and the 20G has a 10,000K (was bought before I really got into plants) and a 6,700K.

This is the answer if you would have replied: &#8220;The human eye&#8221;

Then the 8,500K is for sure better than the others mentioned above, maybe a 10,000K would be even better.

Now, I guess my statements will cause a discussion about this, but that is what we are all about &#8211; Discussing things .

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 01-Dec-2005 08:25

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hi,
Let's start with the plants...
They prefer light in the red and blue spectrum. However,
"We" humans don't see worth a darn using either, only.
Ships at sea (men of war) use red light because it does not
travel far and when the sun sets, all the lighting in work
areas that are exposed shift over to red lighting.
The red part of the spectrum does not penetrate into the
depths as the blue part does. The red light is absorbed
within the first few feet while the blue continues on.

Look at a tank that is lit with blue lights, in the extreme
for instance, one lit with the blue LED "Moon lights."
The colors are all washed out and fish take on shades of
grey and black.

Tanks that use the low color temperature bulbs tend to
be yellowish or even reddish in color. This affects how
we perceive the colors of the plants and fish.

Tanks that use the high color temperature bulbs (20K+)
tend to be bluish in color, and this affects how we see
the plants and fish. The blue will wash out the plants
and you will miss the green highlights. It will also
washout some of the fish's colors fading them some.

Folks who use bulbs at either end, will generally also
use at least one bulb that is in the 6700 range to offset
the inherent problems the other bulb causes.

The best compromise are bulbs that are around 6700K to
8800K with 6700 being the accepted best. Folks with
deep aquariums (24+inches) will generally use bulbs
around 8800 to 10,000K as the blue will penetrate the
depths of the tank better.

Hope this helps...
Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

From what I've read, 6700-8000k is the best range for most plants, unless it's a deep tank or you're trying to do something funky...

I haven't had any problems with my 18,000k bulb in my 29 planted... then again, I also run 6700k and 4200k bulbs in the tank to kind of counter balance the 18,000k. I don't really reccomend doing that tho... I don't think I'll ever go higher than 12,000k in a planted tank ever again, and that might be for high noon or something, not all day

I think I'm going to go with 7100k when I get my PC's in my 29, maybe 5500k or 6700k for morning or night, and 10,000k or 12,000k for high noon... I don't really know what I'm going to do for sure yet...

Anyway, moo

Thanks for all the replies. Just to clear something up, I am deciding for the plants. So it would be the 8500k's i should get then?

Hi,
I'd go with the 8500K bulbs.
I think you will find them more than sufficient.
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Ok, thanks, 8500's it is.