I was thinking about why would a smartlite not be as good as a britelite?

Well, plants can use the wavelengths that an actinic bulb puts out, but I
believe in most of the websites I have ever searched about lighting, it
seems to follow a trend that the lower the color temperature of the light
(provided it is full spectrum), the more 'intensity' or energy you get from
the light. I believe the term PAR is used to describe the amount of energy
delivered by the bulb to photosynthetic organisms.

I am basing most of my observations from analysis of various metal halide
bulbs on the market, where 10,000K bulbs produce less PAR than a 6,500K or
even 5,500K bulb of equivalent wattage. Maybe this doesn't hold true with
compact fluorescents? :-\

"LeighMo" wrote in message
...

One thing -- if you go the Custom Sealife route, get the Smartlite instead
of
the Britelite. They are exactly the same, except the Smartlite is 50%
actinic.
You really don't need actinic light over a planted tank, so you're better
off
with a Britelite, unless you're running a reef tank. (If you already
bought a
Smartlite, it's not too late; just buy a Britelite bulb when it comes time
to
replace it. They are interchangeable.)

Every month or so someone here posts a link to a page showing graphic
representations of spectrum delivered at different temperatures (kelvin,
that is). I never bookmarked it because I come across it so often so,
naturally, I can't direct you to it now.

Basically, there are two main positions I've seen taken he 1) the
traditional one, that higher-order plants do best at between about 5300k and
6700k, and the more radical 2) kelvins don't matter because, if you provide
sufficient intensity, the plants will get all the spectrum they need.

Myself, I like the look of a heavily planted tank at around 6500k, so I have
the luxury of not needing to have an opinion.

kush

"You can't have everything - where would you put it?"

Joe Fabritz wrote in message
...
I was thinking about why would a smartlite not be as good as a britelite?

Well, plants can use the wavelengths that an actinic bulb puts out, but I
believe in most of the websites I have ever searched about lighting, it
seems to follow a trend that the lower the color temperature of the light
(provided it is full spectrum), the more 'intensity' or energy you get
from
the light. I believe the term PAR is used to describe the amount of energy
delivered by the bulb to photosynthetic organisms.

I am basing most of my observations from analysis of various metal halide
bulbs on the market, where 10,000K bulbs produce less PAR than a 6,500K or
even 5,500K bulb of equivalent wattage. Maybe this doesn't hold true with
compact fluorescents? :-\

"LeighMo" wrote in message
...

One thing -- if you go the Custom Sealife route, get the Smartlite
instead
of
the Britelite. They are exactly the same, except the Smartlite is 50%
actinic.
You really don't need actinic light over a planted tank, so you're
better
off
with a Britelite, unless you're running a reef tank. (If you already
bought a
Smartlite, it's not too late; just buy a Britelite bulb when it comes
time
to
replace it. They are interchangeable.)