IS 6700 lumens betetr for planted tanks?

[shrimppaste]

Hi Guys,

I have read somewhere that plants actually absorbs 6700 lumens light better. That at 10,000 lumens, it is at a different spectrum that they use. Anybody tried this and saw the diff? So my questions are:

1. is it better to use 6700 lumens for planted tank? Some people suggested a 50 50 of 10,000 and 6700.

2. Does 6700 lumens tube come in the form of a T5?

Thanks so much!

[Jungle-mania]

I have heard of this since the day I started this hobby and it is still widely accepted in Australia as the convention. But I have tried it many times with failure and seen it with failure in other tanks too. The only ones that I have seen work with success are the odd ones made by the pros and usually are with plants like nanas and java ferns. IMHO, I stick with 10,000 one

[newtank]

Hi Guys,

I have read somewhere that plants actually absorbs 6700 lumens light better. That at 10,000 lumens, it is at a different spectrum that they use. Anybody tried this and saw the diff? So my questions are:

1. is it better to use 6700 lumens for planted tank? Some people suggested a 50 50 of 10,000 and 6700.

2. Does 6700 lumens tube come in the form of a T5?

Thanks so much!

are you referring to 6700K and 10000K light?. These are the color temp of the lights. If you want to go by lumens, the general guide is 30-50 lumens per litre of water.

[madnugget]

bro i think u got it all wrong.. its not lumens.. its the spectrum of the light.. 6700K is like mid-day light if im not wrong..

[shrimppaste]

Arrgghh,

My wife is gonna kill me I already bought a 67000 one. So anymore experets out there? 10,000 or 6700 as I still have the 10,000 one I can always exchange it when she goes to sleep haha!

[mozaqua]

Arrgghh,

My wife is gonna kill me I already bought a 67000 one. So anymore experets out there? 10,000 or 6700 as I still have the 10,000 one I can always exchange it when she goes to sleep haha!

6700 Kelvin is a good spectrum! 10,000 K is too high for most plants to use, this is mostly in the Blue/UV spectrum! 10,000K is good for reef tanks or maybe a plant tank with very deep water.
Too much Blue/UV color will just make a lot of algae.

Stick with the 6700K ("Daylight" lamp) and you will be fine.
If you want to widen the spectrum range add one 'Daylight' and one Plant bulb (should be purple color *NOT PINK) because it has rare earth phosphorus coating.
*I have seen these new pink colored bulbs, which are NOT for plants. They are for fish, marketed to "enhance red color", although never tried.

The best way to know if the bulb is good for plants is to see where it peaks in the color spectrum. Many tube MFGs will have a graph showing the peak color output. Pick a bulb that peaks in orange (600nm) and blue(400nm) [not UV or Infa-red these do not help plants]

Hope this helps you.

Regards

[shrimppaste]

Hi thanks everyone. Yah so what I did was to ahve a 50 50 mixture. On the back where most of the plants are, I am using 2 39 watt 67000 K and in front I use 2 39 watts 10,000 K. Now the tank is very bright and crisp. And the reason why I started reading what temperature to use is because my plants are still not bubbling. Just straying a bit, I read that plants bubble when there is a saturation of O2 in the water and in a tank with higher temperature, O2 saturates easily and thus plants pearl faster. My tank is at 24 constant. So I was wondering if this is whay they are not pearling

[ervinelin]

10k is a very clear white light, 6.5k is a slightly yellow light. From what I understand 6.5k is better for plants.

Marine folks use 10-15k.

[shrimppaste]

Guess what guys!! I changed to 6500K yesterday, and today my plants are pearling!!!!!!!!

[madnugget]

bro the effect very obvious? as in u did nothing no change in anything but just switch to 6500k? im running 2x36w 10kK on 1.5ft and only some of my HC pearl but there is still continuous tiny bubbling around

[shrimppaste]

It is very obvious. There are bubbles on my fern and my stem plants are bubbling. Yesterday after I chagned there was no visible change as I changed only halfway trhough like at 4pm. But today it was very obvious.

[milnek]

6.5K is the acceptable range for most plants as it is more on the yellowish side (closer to the sunlight) whereas 10K is too high for most plants as it gives off more blue spectrum.

[Wabi-Sabi]

Aquarists experienced with a wide variable results trying out different colour temperature (k). To add to more confusion, ADA swears by 8000k.The Arcadia Freshwater lamp has been specially formulated to combine a uniquely created colour temperature of 7,500K, peaking in the green part of the spectrum, with a very high light output. I am sure most people can attest that these 2 brands are good stuff.

[shrimppaste]

HI where can I get the arcadia at 7500? I called C328 and they only have the 10,000K Thanks!

[mozaqua]

10k is a very clear white light, 6.5k is a slightly yellow light. From what I understand 6.5k is better for plants.

Marine folks use 10-15k.

6500K is marketed as "Daylight" bulb because it is the closest to actual daylight spectrum. Yes, it is good for plants but the green is not of any benefit green plants since their leaves reflect this. 6500K "Daylight" is the best for viewing all the colors though.
For flowering and budding 4000K ("warm white") is commonly used for terrestrial plants in greenhouses. So this lower color spectrum could be combine with the "Daylight" bulb, for low cost lighting.
Although using the 4000K alone will look yellowish.

Guess what guys!! I changed to 6500K yesterday, and today my plants are pearling!!!!!!!!

It is very obvious. There are bubbles on my fern and my stem plants are bubbling. Yesterday after I chagned there was no visible change as I changed only halfway trhough like at 4pm. But today it was very obvious.

Great to hear! Some times it takes a while for plants to adjust, then the growth is accelerated. Be careful not to inject too much CO2 though.

Regards

[mozaqua]

Aquarists experienced with a wide variable results trying out different colour temperature (k). To add to more confusion, ADA swears by 8000k.The Arcadia Freshwater lamp has been specially formulated to combine a uniquely created colour temperature of 7,500K, peaking in the green part of the spectrum, with a very high light output. I am sure most people can attest that these 2 brands are good stuff.

My guess is the peak in Green spectrum is to add to the visual effect for viewing green plants! It does not really benefit most plants or animals though. Invertebrates and fish prefer red shift or blue shift depending on the species. Plants need orange and blue light mostly. Some red colored plants can utilize the green spectrum though.

[newtank]

Aquarists experienced with a wide variable results trying out different colour temperature (k). To add to more confusion, ADA swears by 8000k.The Arcadia Freshwater lamp has been specially formulated to combine a uniquely created colour temperature of 7,500K, peaking in the green part of the spectrum, with a very high light output. I am sure most people can attest that these 2 brands are good stuff.

to add even more confusion, Dennerle goes by 4000K...

[shrimppaste]

Hahaha, to add even more mroe confusion, I have a question. Say I ahve a lighting set that takes 2 T5. If I use 10,000K and 6500K Then will it be like an average, 10,000 + 6,500 divide by 2 equals 8250!!!!!!!!! Hahhaa. I mean I was thinking, light is like water if they mix they mix right?? Cause I have read somewhere that they say a mix of 6500 and 10,000 is best!

[BFG]

You have replaced a new light bulb and the plants are bubbling. It's the higher PAR of the new light bulb that excite the plants to produce more O2. The PAR will decrease over time due to age and you'll need to replace the bulb. While the bulb age, the spectrum will shift and if given time, the light spectrum will degrade and would be at the level whereby algae would benefit instead of the plants. 6500k, 8000k or 10000k, you could use them BUT it's the PAR that you need to watch out for. Once you'll see more algae growing instead of the plants, it's time to change your bulb, keeping in mind that all your other parameter are in good level.

PAR degrade due to heat if I'm not wrong so try to cool your bulbs. Don't cool it too much or it under performed, just provide enough air to flow over them.

[BFG]

Hahaha, to add even more mroe confusion, I have a question. Say I ahve a lighting set that takes 2 T5. If I use 10,000K and 6500K Then will it be like an average, 10,000 + 6,500 divide by 2 equals 8250!!!!!!!!! Hahhaa. I mean I was thinking, light is like water if they mix they mix right?? Cause I have read somewhere that they say a mix of 6500 and 10,000 is best!

This is not a 1 + 1 = 2 kind of a situation. You are just mixing the color of the light bulb. Those 2 types of light tube that you mix might gives off a nice light spectrum that might be nice to look at and coincidentally good for the plants too. Mixing of T5 light tube is prevalent in the marine hobby. Some light spectrum 'pops' up some color while other might wash out certain color. Not all green color are the same though.

Hope this helps!