Reply With Quote
6500K would be suitable... though if you find it too yellowish/orangey, then can consider switching one or two tubes to 12,000K ones. That could help create a color mix that leans more towards a whiter hue.
Hi guys,
I intend to use T5 HO light for my 4 feet planted tank. Will be using 4 pcs of T5HO @ 54 watts each.
Can the members recommend the best colour mix (colour temperature) for T5s needed to grow plants including red leaf plants (e.g. Alternanthera reineckii 'rosaefolia' & Ludwigia palustris).
I don't want the tank to look to yellowish shade either.
I see most T5HO light sets come with 12000K or 6500K.
Cheers.
6500K would be suitable... though if you find it too yellowish/orangey, then can consider switching one or two tubes to 12,000K ones. That could help create a color mix that leans more towards a whiter hue.
Hi UAOriginally Posted by Urban Aquaria
Does any colour temperature from the T5s have effect on any growth or colour of leaves on plants.
Some LFS tell me that 12000K can "encourage" algae. How valid is this argument?
Cheers.
Found a website about T5s for plants growth.
http://www.t5growlightguide.com/
Hope members will find this useful.
Thats the tricky part about color temperature and spectrums of light, while most plants can utilize a wide range of spectrums, i guess its a matter of how much of the light they can utilize as different plants respond differently, so you'll just have to test and observe their growth rate and condition.
Usually people choose the color temperatures of their light based on how they want the tank to look like too... 6,500K lights will create a more yellowish hue, while 12,000K will create a more bluish hue. So in that sense, the color temperature of the lights will also affect how the plant leaves look like visually (the leaves may still be same color, but just look differently under different lights)
It also depends on the tank setup and height... if the tank is tall or if the lightset is suspended higher above the tank, then 12,000K tubes that have more blue spectrum would be able to achieve better depth penetration through the water column (compared the more yellow/red spectrums in the 6,500k tubes that tend to have shallower reach), so a mix of both could be beneficial.
The benefit of using T5 lights is you can try different combinations of tube to see which work better and which you prefer to look at.
Hi do you know any LFS where they have a good selection of T5s tube lights.
SeaView seems to carry mostly AquaZonic brands.
Thanks.
Sorry man, i haven't been keeping an eye out for T5 tubes for the past few years (ever since i switched over to LEDs)... perhaps you can check at the "older" LFS which still stock T5 tubes.
FreshnMarine.com seems to have quite a wide range of T5 tubes available, can have a look: http://freshnmarine.com.sg/estore/ad...d=&keywords=T5
Maybe other existing T5 light users can update on where they buy their replacement T5 tubes too.
Hi,
May I know what brand LED you use?
Waah! T5 is so old!
The thing I like about T5HO is that its easy to find out if the tank is low / mid / high light, using the watts per gallon maths. Even though if this may not be accurate, it can give us some guidance, just like using water test kits.
With a LED set, what methodology can one use to find out if the light intensity from the LED is mid or high ?
I currently use mainly Up Aqua Z-Series LED light sets for my tanks... along with some DIY sets which i'm testing out at the moment. My tanks are medium growth setups so the moderate light intensity is sufficient for them, easier to keep everything in balance too.Hi,
May I know what brand LED you use?
I've previously tried out various other brands of LED lights, ie. Odyssea/Beamsworks, ISTA... even had an opportunity to try out a used MaxSpect Razor set for a brief period of time (which was actually way overkill for my tank setups, even at lowest intensity setting).
I guess it all depends on the tank dimensions and plant growth pace... there always LED lights to suit different setups.
LED is abit tougher to categorize in terms of the traditional WPG rating, they can produce the same light intensity while using less power so i guess there is some ratio that could be used.
At the moment, the best way to get a gauge on which LED lights are suitable for certain tanks and plant growth is to see what other people use successfully in their tanks, then use that as a benchmark.
Hi UA,
I dont know if this brand is enough for 4 feet tank that is 22 inches high.
Boss, I don't have the luxury like you to try out different types of lights.
Exactly the same reason I'm uncomfortable with LEDs. Most high end LEDs tend to be an overkill. Why pay for something when you end up using half the power? I have same problem with my LED. It was too much for the plants. I ended up lowering the light but I couldn't figure out if the light output from the LED is equivalent to low light or mid light unlike with T5s.
I have not seen much tanks with lush growth with LEds but I have seen many using T5s.
All photos are from Google images.
All photos belong to their rightful owners.
Is this lush enough for you? Using 20w led flood light on 40x20x20 cm tank
You can get 8000k osram from NA. I got mine from them. If cannot afford led with controllable color, t5ho much better choice due to better color rendering. Those white color led used in led lightset will make your plant color look washout.
We are not worthy. �� That's one super duper tank you have there.Is this lush enough for you? Using 20w led flood light on 40x20x20 cm tank
But your is a 20cm hight tank & I'm sure especially with your talent this is like walk in the park.
I was referring to big tanks like 55 in height.
Cheers.
Thanks for the tip off. I didn't know NA has T5s. He's just 3 minutes drive away from my home in Thomson.
I getting a brand new 4 ft replacement LED for my spoiled LEDs (which costs $450+) but I'm hesitant to use it.
During the past few week I was using a loaned T5 set and I'm very satisfied with the results. Maybe since I'm just 8 months into this hobby, I have not acquired the right experience.
For now I prefer a predictable light set.
I just wanna grow my plants like crazy, grab a cup of coffee and sit in front of the tank and just chillax.
Nothing more, nothing less. :-)
cheers.
A bit sad, there not much t5ho bulb options in this island. At the moment i stay to 2x 6500 osram + 2x 12k aquasonic. . Saw 7500k at seaview yesterday, but i have no requirement to change bulbs this year.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The Z-Series LED lights are okay for tanks up to 36cm height, and at that height they are already considered just moderate lighting... at 45cm height and above the lights wouldn't be sufficient unless the tank is meant as a low-light planted setup.
A 22 inch/56cm tall tank would definitely require much more powerful LED lights to grow a wider variety of plants.
Yeah, its costly to keep changing lights... its good you are checking and doing your research before committing to purchases.Boss, I don't have the luxury like you to try out different types of lights.
Though in my case, i had the opportunity to pick up some good deals on used LED lightsets over the past few years, so the overall costs are alot less "painful".The good quality LED light brands are actually surprisingly reliable though, some of the ones i got were already more than 2 years old and the LEDs still worked well.
Anyways, after a few try-outs (and lots of algae battles), i quickly got a feel for the amount of light i actually need for my particular setups, so its just a matter of trial and error.
I also noticed the large disparity in LED power in the higher-end range, but i guess LED lights are much more widely adopted and have been used for a longer time in the reef tank hobby (those reef tank keepers spend way way more on equipment then us freshwater chaps) and the amount of light they require for their corals is really high. Somehow the same brands and manufacturers also carry forward that concept to their light models for planted tanks, it seems they basically just change the light spectrums but still retain the same high powered LED configurations (thats where the LED dimming and channel switching features become useful).
Although LED lights for freshwater planted aquariums have been in the market for many years already, its still considered "new technology" (compared to florescent T5 lights) and there are still lots of development and new designs being constantly released. Nowadays almost every month we are seeing new models of LED lightsets entering the market, so the "standard" has yet to be established.
I guess its mainly because T5 has been around for a much longer time, so more people have been using it and hence there are more photos of tanks online using those lights around. Though the newer photos of aquascaped planted tanks are now showing more and more people using LED lights compared to T5.I have not seen much tanks with lush growth with LEds but I have seen many using T5s.
That being said, i do notice that a high percentage of those with larger tanks (ie 4ft and larger) still do tend to go for T5 or MH lights, mainly due to the cost of LEDs vs T5/MH. For smaller tanks (ie. 3ft and below), the cost difference tends to be narrower... but in larger tanks, the cost difference can end up very wide, so the relative prices factor greatly in those light choices.
Some articles on LEDs
http://leds.hrt.msu.edu/FAQs/
http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/...43/7/1951.full
Sometimes I think in other countries that are cooler. It makes more economical sense to use T5 since the by product is heat. So they cut down heater usage.
While we in the equator will want to use LED to cut down the use of chiller.
3 x 6500K + 1 x 8000K sounds like a possible mix. there's a tom Barr video somewhere where in the video you can see that he has a mix of white, pink and blue tubes though. pretty interesting
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
sounds like you might need more than 4 tubes actually
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi UAAnyways, after a few try-outs (and lots of algae battles), i quickly got a feel for the amount of light i actually need for my particular setups, so its just a matter of trial and error.
Thanks for the comprehensive reply. It seems for now T5s are the way to go for bigger tanks.
Cheers.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks