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  L# Would Soft White Lighting Be Ok...
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SubscribeWould Soft White Lighting Be Ok...
T/A
 
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Mega Fish
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male usa
Just wondering what people thought.

Would Willow Moss and Hornwort grow when using just a normal soft white fluorescent light?
Post InfoPosted 12-Mar-2006 04:49Profile PM Edit Report 
FRANK
 
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EditedEdited by FRANK
Hi,
Normal, "Soft White" fluorescent lighting is used for
home, office, lighting for reading. It is muted and not
the best for plants. Bulbs that are labeled DAYLIGHT
or SUNLIGHT are rated at 6700K and have the harsh light
of sunlight.

While I think the plants would survive, I'm not sure
how well they would grow, especially as compared to
being grown in the "correct" light.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--
Post InfoPosted 12-Mar-2006 07:06Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
T/A
 
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Mega Fish
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male usa
Yeah I sort of figured that. Just thought I'd ask.

I do have daylight bulbs for 3 of my tanks. But I just setup another 10 gallon just for breeding my Platies. And the only available lighting that I have is two full hoods with screw-in bulbs. I know there are daylight fluorescents in that form, but I was hoping I didn't have to buy anything new for this tank.

I think I'm just going to try it out. If the plants start dieing off, I'll just move them into one of my other tanks.


Would adding a clear incandescent bulb along with the fluorescent bulb add any benefit?
Post InfoPosted 12-Mar-2006 07:45Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
T/A
 
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Mega Fish
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male usa
EditedEdited by T/A
It's been a few weeks now, so I wanted to share what's happening.

I split up the hornwort and willow moss each into 3 portions:
#1--> 1 portion for my 10 gallon Platy fry tank. That's the tank with the "soft white" fluorescents, 26 watts in total.
#2--> 1 portion for my divided 10 gallon Betta tank. Over that tank I have about half of a 4 foot shop light with two 40watt, 6500K fluorescent bulbs.
#3--> 1 portion for my 10 gallon ADF tank. The same lighting as tank #2 is used for this tank.

To make a long story short I'll just say that the Hornwort in tank #1(soft white lights) is now more than 3 times the size of the other tanks. Every day I notice more growth and lots of pearling in this tank. While the other tank's growth is very minimal over a weeks time and never seem to have any pearling.

Everything that I've read and heard, always states that you need "daylight" bulbs to have success with live plants. I had no reason to doubt any of that advice, but I wanted to try the normal "soft white" fluorescents anyway. Imagine my surprise when each and every day those "soft white" lights continue to produce great growth in the Hornwort I have floating in the tank.
Post InfoPosted 05-Apr-2006 07:01Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
bensaf
 
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Fish Master
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Everything that I've read and heard, always states that you need "daylight" bulbs to have success with live plants.


Must have been reading in the wrong places, shoulda come here first

I've always maintained that spectrum means squat to plant growth. It's purely an aesthetic issue on how the different spectrums will render plant and fish colors.

I've got a number of different bulbs over my tank, none of them the "right" spectrum. 10,000k, 12,000k and 4500k. (very hard to find the daylight in PC and T5 formats here).

I don't think I'd like the color rendering from all soft white bulbs, but I've no doubt they'll grow plants just fine.

Looks wise I like the mix of 6500k and 10,000K , just haven't been able to find another set of 6500K to replace my old ones.


Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.
Post InfoPosted 05-Apr-2006 08:23Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
T/A
 
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Mega Fish
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"Must have been reading in the wrong places, shoulda come here first"

Well I've been using this site for over 2 years now, and I know I've asked questions and read about lighting. But I guess I didn't ask the right person.

I didn't think I'd like the look of the "soft white" lights either, but honestly it's not bad at all. It looks very similar to my 25 gallon, which has a 5500K bulb.
Post InfoPosted 06-Apr-2006 06:41Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
FRANK
 
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Hi,
Plants use the light from the red and blue parts of the
spectrum. Red is at the lower end, and blue, the upper
end.

If you were to take black metallic object and heat it,
it would turn colors from black to red and up to a blue
white color. These temperatures are expressed in "Degrees
Kelvin." The chart that I mentioned in an earlier post
shows compact fluorescent bulbs and the Degrees Kelvin
for the various white bulbs.

The lower end of the bulbs in the 2000 to say 5000
is also called the "warm or warm white" area. It is in the
"red" end so to speak and will grow plants very well.
However, it is also a "soft" white light and not very
"bright" leaving tanks looking poorly lit or even yellow
in color.

Lights that are at the other end of the spectrum tend
tend toward the blue part of the spectrum, will penetrate
deeper into the water column (good for tanks 24 inches or
deeper), and in the extreme will tend to wash out some
of the greens making the plants look washed out. These
bulbs being in the blue part of the spectrum will also
grow plants, but again the tanks become too harsh to
look at. They can appear to look as if the tropical, noon
day sun, is glaring down on the tank and your eyes.
These bulbs are generally 10,000 to 20,000K and higher.
They are especially useful for saltwater reef tanks and
most of the time, they are mixed with bulbs of lower
"K" ratings to ease the harshness of the light.

Over all, for a freshwater tank, planted or not, the
bulbs with the 6,500-8,800K range are the best middle
of the road bulbs. They produce the best CRI ( greens
look green, reds look red, etc.) and will grow plants
perfectly fine.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--
Post InfoPosted 06-Apr-2006 22:33Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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