Which colour temperature of T5 tubes to combine for maximum plant development?

[ralliart12]

Hi fellows. I am going to have a 2-tube T5 light fixture installed over my 2-feet tank. I'd read elsewhere on the Internet that good leaf development/growth relies on blue light & stem elongation relies on red light. I have a couple of questions with regards to this subject:

Question1: is the above statement accurate?

Question2: is "red" light around 7000K colour temperature while "blue" light is 8000K colour temperature?

Question3: I have already chosen ATI Pro Color as my "red" light, but I am clueless which ATI tube to use as my suplementary "blue" light, i.e. ATI - Aquablue Special, ATI Blue Plus, ATI Actinic or even ATI Purple Plus?

Will appreciate some information & guidance regarding my uncertainties above. Thanks.

P.S. Visual aesthetics isn't the current focus of the tank setup yet; maximum, quality plant growth is (& will be for the very-near-future).

[horst]

Somewhat correct. It is not blue or red "light". Rather it is the blue or red "spectrum" of the light. Like a rainbow there are 7 colors to make white light. Plants can only absorb at blue and red spectrum. Warm tone lights around 4000K have the highest red spectrum. While 6000 - 7000K have more blue spectrum. Actually for plants, any lighting above 6500K is a waste unless you are doing marine tank which needs above 8000K. For plants too high light conditions above 6500k will result in algae (expecially blue green algae).

[ryanchong]

Am i right to say my chrisstmas moss is not growing well becos i m using aqua sonic 12000 K light In my tank. Plse help becos I m wondering why is the moss growing slowly n is brownish despite co2 n fertilsation

[horst]

moss is low light plant. It will turn brownish when exposed to direct high light. When I say low light, it should be grown shaded or at sides of tank. Same for anubias, java ferns

[ryanchong]

I m using 2x18w 12000k for a 64 ltr tank tat works out to about 2.1W/gallon. I tot this is consider optimal lighting for growing Christmas moss? Like ome views n opinions.

[Neondagger]

i not so sure. but my 1 ft tank with spiky,mini taiwan,weeping,mini pelia,mini fissiden. all growing well under t5 12k light 2 tubes for 8hrs per day without chiller. But I do on aircon at night. probably 27-29C in the day

[Numbskull]

i not so sure. but my 1 ft tank with spiky,mini taiwan,weeping,mini pelia,mini fissiden. all growing well under t5 12k light 2 tubes for 8hrs per day without chiller. But I do on aircon at night. probably 27-29C in the day

No algae issue?

[Neondagger]

not for now. 2months tank so far. well have narrow leaf java fern also.

[felix_fx2]

not for now. 2months tank so far. well have narrow leaf java fern also.

so fast 2 months? felt like only 1 month has passed...

[felix_fx2]

Am i right to say my chrisstmas moss is not growing well becos i m using aqua sonic 12000 K light In my tank. Plse help becos I m wondering why is the moss growing slowly n is brownish despite co2 n fertilsation

How long have you kept them? You might want to check your temperature, IMHO temperature plays important role if you want to keep pretty moss...

please note your "Plse"should be Please & "becos" should be because. Does your browser have auto correct? "Priest la" Firefox underlines so many of your words....

[Neondagger]

so fast 2 months? felt like only 1 month has passed...

Well first month without shrimps. My sakura shrimps in there 1month. So 2months lor.

[felix_fx2]

Well first month without shrimps. My sakura shrimps in there 1month. So 2months lor.

So today test your new toy ok?
Expecting good pictures.

[Neondagger]

Yes felix requested.

I using T5HO light. 6-8watts per tube? probably 16W. 12K for each tube. Aquazonic.

[diazman]

In the end I had to ditch the Aquazonic T5 because one of the tubes wouldnt switch on anymore - assuming that part is messed up, so currently using Kenis 13 6500k Watts again. I could say it makes a difference with the colour since my mosses grew somehow faster as compared to the T5 (even when the tank received co2/ferts)

[Neondagger]

In the end I had to ditch the Aquazonic T5 because one of the tubes wouldnt switch on anymore - assuming that part is messed up, so currently using Kenis 13 6500k Watts again. I could say it makes a difference with the colour since my mosses grew somehow faster as compared to the T5 (even when the tank received co2/ferts)

Growing better. And faster in chilled water rather than co2 or strong light

[ralliart12]

In the end I had to ditch the Aquazonic T5 because one of the tubes wouldnt switch on anymore - assuming that part is messed up, so currently using Kenis 13 6500k Watts again. I could say it makes a difference with the colour since my mosses grew somehow faster as compared to the T5 (even when the tank received co2/ferts)

You mean to say the T5s from AquaZonic ain't dishing out 6500K type of colour temperature?

[felix_fx2]

In the end I had to ditch the Aquazonic T5 because one of the tubes wouldnt switch on anymore - assuming that part is messed up, so currently using Kenis 13 6500k Watts again. I could say it makes a difference with the colour since my mosses grew somehow faster as compared to the T5 (even when the tank received co2/ferts)

Lol, you got lucky.. it's a brand new tube? maybe the connection not good. i have some problem with my T5, one of the connector need to turn around and then it turns on... maybe need correct angle..

[Neondagger]

Bro from my experiences with moss. Moss grow better in chilled water. I grew them in t5 light and led. The result the same. But my outside tank do grow like siao. Sunlight FTW. You can try add a fan or a chiller if possible you find your moss will be nicer. Moss grow in every condition. Let me show you later how easy moss are.

[Neondagger]

This are the spare moss I got. I no tank to put. So I just put it beside my window. My bro alway let down the curtain so it's mostly partial lights and the room light. No water change all capped so probably no new air but still alive for about 1.5months.
Last time I bought weeping moss on driftwood. I place it in my balcony tank. after 1 week all from green become brown. but new sprout grew the next week and the new sprout were green.
Normally moss take 1-2 weeks to get used to the tank condition. So there will be some browning but when it get used. It will grow no matter what. So dun worry so much. some browning at the start is normal

[diazman]

Lol, you got lucky.. it's a brand new tube? maybe the connection not good. i have some problem with my T5, one of the connector need to turn around and then it turns on... maybe need correct angle..

Brand new set and tubes even felt like i wasted my money on the lightset. Realised when i reached home after school, one of the tubes did not lit up, tried meddling with the connection and end result - set is dead.

Been looking for a proper light set for quite some time already, lighting a 36 cm tank isnt that easy.