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best lighting for overall plants, i have a 36watt straight pin compact flouresent ballest and i want to buy 2 bulbs what is the best overall for freshwater plants, 10,000k, Antinic Blue,50/50. anything is greatly appreciated. Justin

6700 K should be good, most plant people use something around that. 10 000 K is ok too, it will look more "blue-ish". And anything between 6700-10 000 is fine of course. I would stay away from 50/50 personally.....the actinic is OK for fw tanks but you'll get more out of your fixture if you go without it IMO and straight actinic would just give you a kind of moonlit effect, not too good for plants either.

Last edited by trystianity at 25-Jul-2005 23:12

Plants need both blue and red light. 50/50 will still grow plants fine but a plain 10,000k bulb would probably do the better job. You'll end up with too much blue and not enough red. I actually think 10,000k looks closer to sunlight than 6700k. 6700k lights on my 20g look really yellow compared to my tank of 10,000k lights.

don't use actinic bulbs, your plants will grow horizointally instead of vertically.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

I've got bulbs ranging from 4200k to 18,000k on my 29g...the plants love it apperantly

There's not a lot of algae, and the plants have all the light they need....

It's almost time to replace my bulbs, and I'm thinking of going with 4200k-10,000k, because I don't like the bluish tint of the 18,000k, and the plants don't really need the 18,000k anyway

Anyway, I suggest you get 4200k-10,000k...get a 6700k too if ya can fit another bulb

Have fun

these lights will go into a custom hood, should i put a peice of glass between the lights and the tank?? i have some plexiglass will that work? thanks Justin

illustrae,

don't use actinic bulbs, your plants will grow horizointally instead of vertically.

That sounds kind of funny. Would that be because in your tank there is a natural light source that shines in from the side and you plants are growing towards it?

If that’s not the case, why would that happen?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Blue light causes plants to grow lower and thicker. Red light makes them grow longer/taller and more thinned out.

LittleFish,
I'm serious about them growing out rather than up. My compact fluorescent hood came with one daylight bulb (I can't think of the spectrum off the top of my head) and one blue actinic bulb, and my plants all looked kindof stunted and some of them like my water wisteria and rotala indica would spread along the bottom instead of growing straight up. The water roots you usually see floating off the stems of some plants would end up rooting in the substrate, pulling the plants down further. The tank is in a cabinet, so it gets no real light from anywhere else. I've since switched out the actinic for another daylight bulb, and the tank is looking much more natural now.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Hi,
You should probably review the thread that is posted
at the top of this forum. In it the subject of lighting
is well covered, albiet briefly.

For fresh water tanks, bulbs in the 6700-8800K range
will give the best appearance,and benifit to the plants.
Harsher light, 10,000K and higher are generally used
in Saltwater tanks that house corals and other invertebrates
that require that type of light to survive.
10,000K is about as harsh a light as one should use on a
Freshwater tank with plants, and absolutely useless in a
tank without plants.

Frank


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

how hott do compact floursents get? i want to retrofit them into the plastic top i already have, would this work or do they put off to much heat, and if they do could i had 2 pc fans to run air through it? Thanks Justin

Hi,
Compact Flourscent bulbs do give off some heat. My hood
is fairly thick plastic nearly a 1/4 inch thick and
has two 65 watt bulbs in it with a 3 inch (overall) muffin
fan at one end with a filtered hole at that other end.

Frank

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