My simple 47g FW tank - Page 2 - Aquarium Advice

neilanh · 04-11-2008, 11:36 PM

Why 18000K? I'll be interested to see what your plants do under that lighting.

CatatonicBug · 04-11-2008, 11:49 PM

Because I have no idea what that number rating means, and when I was shopping, the higher that number was, the higher the price was.
I figured that meant that the number had something to do with quality or brightness. I was told that I needed more intense light to raise plants, so I went with the highest number. Can you tell I'm a bit of an impulse shopper?

What does that number mean anyway? Can anyone tell me the benefits of using a higher or lower number in different environments?

Karegg · 04-12-2008, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatatonicBug

Because I have no idea what that number rating means, and when I was shopping, the higher that number was, the higher the price was.
I figured that meant that the number had something to do with quality or brightness. I was told that I needed more intense light to raise plants, so I went with the highest number. Can you tell I'm a bit of an impulse shopper?

What does that number mean anyway? Can anyone tell me the benefits of using a higher or lower number in different environments?

I don't know much about lighting or planted tanks, but I do know that research is key. Probably wouldn't have been a bad idea to know before buying, but it makes for a cool forum story

**Fishyfanatic** · 04-12-2008, 09:48 AM

For info on plant requirements, make a post in the Planted Forum. We have many plant guru's that can help you out.

neilanh · 04-12-2008, 10:13 AM

Here's the quick and dirty summary. That K (Kelvin) number represents the color of the light. Some light is yellowish, some is whitish, some is blueish, etc. I imagine that 18000K has a very crisp white with a nice blue tint to it. Higher K numbers are good for SW reef tanks, but I don't know they'd be good on a planted tank. While corals and SW stuff probably would enjoy that color of light (when I say color it's literally the area of the color spectrum the light bulb produces), plants prefer a slightly warmer light, between 5000K and 10000K. Now, that being said, I've never attempted to grow plants higher than 10000K, so I can't speak to what will really happen from personal experience.

**melosu58** · 04-12-2008, 04:42 PM

Very nice looking tank. I was looking at your tanks in your sig and a sw tank sure would look nice there. LOL

CatatonicBug · 04-12-2008, 05:32 PM

I wish... I have a hard enough time getting the funding I need for this FW tank. I can only imagine how much it would cost to run a SW tank. I see some of the threads on this site talking about people using "extra" 150g tanks in the basement as filtration systems and all sorts of stuff like that. I think I'll stick with this for now.

I do have an extra 20g that I have been thinking about turning into an underwater garden though. Maybe in the next few weeks I'll look into that idea some more.

04-11-2008, 11:36 PM	#11 (permalink)
neilanh MTS Advocate Community Mentor Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 2,501 Images: 15	Why 18000K? I'll be interested to see what your plants do under that lighting. __________________ ~Neilan In the DC Metro Area? Check out GWAPA Look, I have a My Info Page! Where's yours? Useful Links: Vote for AA, Nitrogen Cycle, Fishless Cycling, Articles, Acronym List

04-12-2008, 09:48 AM	#14 (permalink)
Fishyfanatic Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Illinois Posts: 10,008 Images: 15	For info on plant requirements, make a post in the Planted Forum. We have many plant guru's that can help you out. __________________ Vote for Aquarium Advice 10 Gallon Lake Malawi Cichlid Fry 29 Gallon Community 55 Gallon Community Planted 55 Gallon Lake Malawi Cichlid Fry 150 Gallon Lake Malawi Cichlid

04-12-2008, 10:13 AM	#15 (permalink)
neilanh MTS Advocate Community Mentor Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 2,501 Images: 15	Here's the quick and dirty summary. That K (Kelvin) number represents the color of the light. Some light is yellowish, some is whitish, some is blueish, etc. I imagine that 18000K has a very crisp white with a nice blue tint to it. Higher K numbers are good for SW reef tanks, but I don't know they'd be good on a planted tank. While corals and SW stuff probably would enjoy that color of light (when I say color it's literally the area of the color spectrum the light bulb produces), plants prefer a slightly warmer light, between 5000K and 10000K. Now, that being said, I've never attempted to grow plants higher than 10000K, so I can't speak to what will really happen from personal experience. __________________ ~Neilan In the DC Metro Area? Check out GWAPA Look, I have a My Info Page! Where's yours? Useful Links: Vote for AA, Nitrogen Cycle, Fishless Cycling, Articles, Acronym List

04-12-2008, 04:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
melosu58 SW 10 yrs and over Community Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Richmond Va Posts: 11,260 Images: 73	Very nice looking tank. I was looking at your tanks in your sig and a sw tank sure would look nice there. LOL __________________ View My Tanks Click here to Visit FantasyReef

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04-11-2008, 11:49 PM	#12 (permalink)
CatatonicBug Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 456 Images: 6	Because I have no idea what that number rating means, and when I was shopping, the higher that number was, the higher the price was. I figured that meant that the number had something to do with quality or brightness. I was told that I needed more intense light to raise plants, so I went with the highest number. Can you tell I'm a bit of an impulse shopper? What does that number mean anyway? Can anyone tell me the benefits of using a higher or lower number in different environments?

04-12-2008, 05:32 PM	#17 (permalink)
CatatonicBug Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 456 Images: 6	I wish... I have a hard enough time getting the funding I need for this FW tank. I can only imagine how much it would cost to run a SW tank. I see some of the threads on this site talking about people using "extra" 150g tanks in the basement as filtration systems and all sorts of stuff like that. I think I'll stick with this for now. I do have an extra 20g that I have been thinking about turning into an underwater garden though. Maybe in the next few weeks I'll look into that idea some more.