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#1
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Light too bright?
Can you tell me if this is the wrong light for my tank. I recently
bought a Power-Glo 18,000K 30Lux 8W light for a 6gal eclipse tank that I'd like to grow plants in. As I do more research I've notice that this might not be the right light for growing plants (or for keeping the guppies happy either). It look like it has plenty in the blue spectrum range, but not enough in the red spectrum for any significant plant growth. As far as plants, I'm sticking to low light plants because I can only fit an 8W bulb in the 12" fixture that came with the eclipse unit. Java Ferns, Crypts (red wentii), and anubais. I know the 8W is a bit small to grow plants, but I must deal with it as part of the Eclipse unit. Do you think I should change to a 5,000K - 6,000K rated bulb? Does the K even matter for plant growth or is that a rating of lamp color visible to the human eye. From what I've read, it's more about the red and blue spectrum that the human eye can't see anyway. Thanks for any help you can give. |
#2
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basserman wrote:
Do you think I should change to a 5,000K - 6,000K rated bulb? Does the K even matter for plant growth or is that a rating of lamp color visible to the human eye. From what I've read, it's more about the red and blue spectrum that the human eye can't see anyway. Maybe, yes, yes, right, correct. In that order. Quick physics lesson: Wein's law states that the peak emission of a blackbody radiation source is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the temperature of the blackbody. That means that you can tell the spectrum of a blackbody by its temperature - or vice versa. So the "K" you see on lights is the temperature in degrees Kelvin that a blackbody radiation source would have to be to produce the same spectrum as the light. So, does the K matter for plant growth? Yes. If you have a light with an extremely narrow emmission spectrum of say 500 to 510nm and nothing else then your plants will die very very fast. Luckily aquarium lights all have fairly broad spectrums so that isn't really a concern. And incidentally if you had a 500 to 510nm light it would look extremely bright to you and be the same as no light at all to the plants. Why? Because that's green light - the peak emission of our local blackbody, the sun. Our eyes are adapted to see it better than any other color because it's the color that is coming from the sun most brightly, while plants are green specifically so that they won't absorb that color - if they did it would burn them to a crisp. Which incidentally is exactly what happens every fall, the trees lose their green color and get burnt to a crisp, the leaves turn crunchy and brown. That's why it's about the red and the blue. Our sun is between 5000 and 6000K and has a peak emission of green, but since red and blue are fairly close to green it emits quite a bit of those too. So if you have a 5600K bulb it will emit about the same light that the sun emits - which is obviously good for plants. But if you have something like a 3500K bulb you'll be emiting lots of red light that plants can use which also works...or if you have an 18000K light you'll be emitting lots of blue light that plants can use, which I haven't personally tested but I suspect it would also work. One thing that might be a concern is UV light. As your K gets higher you produce more of it and most living things don't like that much. Someone who's tested an 18000K bulb on plants will be able to tell you if that is a concern or not. In the end if it looks bright to you and isn't purely green then it'll almost certainly work fine for the plants. Your eyes are developed to see the same spectrum that plants are developed to use for photosynthesis...because we both use the same blackbody to get our light from; the sun. -Daniel |
#3
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Daniel,
Thanks a bunch for that reply! Very helpful! Jason |
#4
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I've been using strictly 18k Power-Glo bulbs for a couple years now with
phenomenal plant growth results. My ludwigia is always a bright red color and all my other plants grow like weeds (of course dependant on other factors like proper fert dosing and CO2). What I like about the color is that it shows fish colors beautifully. I've had neons/cardinals with vibrant results and now keeping a school of harlequin rasboras. I've tried the typical Phillips sun spectrum bulbs that people claim work just as good but was very disappointed with the dull yellowish light it cast on everything--making plants look pale and fish colors unattractive! The only downfall is that the lighting can get pretty expensive...especially when you must replace flourescents every 6 months. Dave. "basserman" wrote in message oups.com... Can you tell me if this is the wrong light for my tank. I recently bought a Power-Glo 18,000K 30Lux 8W light for a 6gal eclipse tank that I'd like to grow plants in. As I do more research I've notice that this might not be the right light for growing plants (or for keeping the guppies happy either). It look like it has plenty in the blue spectrum range, but not enough in the red spectrum for any significant plant growth. As far as plants, I'm sticking to low light plants because I can only fit an 8W bulb in the 12" fixture that came with the eclipse unit. Java Ferns, Crypts (red wentii), and anubais. I know the 8W is a bit small to grow plants, but I must deal with it as part of the Eclipse unit. Do you think I should change to a 5,000K - 6,000K rated bulb? Does the K even matter for plant growth or is that a rating of lamp color visible to the human eye. From what I've read, it's more about the red and blue spectrum that the human eye can't see anyway. Thanks for any help you can give. |
#5
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what I forgot to add was that color isn't really that important...it's more
what looks best with flora and fauna. Watts per gallon is what you need to concern yourself about. Generally 2-3wpg is best with CO2. "DaveSurfer" wrote in message news:Lg53e.142493$gJ3.113564@clgrps13... I've been using strictly 18k Power-Glo bulbs for a couple years now with phenomenal plant growth results. My ludwigia is always a bright red color and all my other plants grow like weeds (of course dependant on other factors like proper fert dosing and CO2). What I like about the color is that it shows fish colors beautifully. I've had neons/cardinals with vibrant results and now keeping a school of harlequin rasboras. I've tried the typical Phillips sun spectrum bulbs that people claim work just as good but was very disappointed with the dull yellowish light it cast on everything--making plants look pale and fish colors unattractive! The only downfall is that the lighting can get pretty expensive...especially when you must replace flourescents every 6 months. Dave. "basserman" wrote in message oups.com... Can you tell me if this is the wrong light for my tank. I recently bought a Power-Glo 18,000K 30Lux 8W light for a 6gal eclipse tank that I'd like to grow plants in. As I do more research I've notice that this might not be the right light for growing plants (or for keeping the guppies happy either). It look like it has plenty in the blue spectrum range, but not enough in the red spectrum for any significant plant growth. As far as plants, I'm sticking to low light plants because I can only fit an 8W bulb in the 12" fixture that came with the eclipse unit. Java Ferns, Crypts (red wentii), and anubais. I know the 8W is a bit small to grow plants, but I must deal with it as part of the Eclipse unit. Do you think I should change to a 5,000K - 6,000K rated bulb? Does the K even matter for plant growth or is that a rating of lamp color visible to the human eye. From what I've read, it's more about the red and blue spectrum that the human eye can't see anyway. Thanks for any help you can give. |
#6
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On 2005-03-30, basserman wrote:
As far as plants, I'm sticking to low light plants because I can only fit an 8W bulb in the 12" fixture that came with the eclipse unit. Java Ferns, Crypts (red wentii), and anubais. http://www.aquariaplants.com/lowlighttank.htm -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
#7
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The leading role of LED lighting in the niche, including bike lights and electronic products, but the industry is to support its own thanks to its prosperity and development in technology and user-friendly attributes.
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How To Use Grow Lights |
#8
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Quote:
For the plants you`ve mentioned there really isn`t any issue with what light you have, i`ve had all these plants grow well in unlit breeding tanks. You won`t see the plant pearling but these plants are incredibly hardy and undemanding, I would possibly consider some root ferts for the crypts and maybe for the water column. but don`t worry about that too much. |
#9
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Aquarium fish, an important aspect of the exposure you need to carefully consider the planning and design of the aquarium. You need to decide the amount of lighting to provide them. If too little or too much light is given, there will be adverse consequences for your fish, live aquarium plants.
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Garden Pond Kit |
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