Another light question

[blert]

Bulb quality and AGE play a large roll also.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Lets say i agree to most of you guys here on color temperature.
Why dint my hair grass/ glossostigma grow with a 12000K T5HO?
Why is it that it is growing well now with a 6500K t5H0??

i have used the same nutrients. same CO2 count. same water changes. same filter..

Like I mentioned, most high kelvin "saltwater" bulbs have the largest color peak in the blue portion of the color spectrum and usually have diminished peaks in the red and green. Red is the most useful color for our plants and a 12000k bulb often has very little. Your 6500k bulb almost certainly has more red. Even if the par value is higher with the 12000k it's higher in the wrong color spectrum for aquatic plants. Even saltwater plants grow faster with 5500k - 6500k bulbs over 10000k - 14000k bulbs which is why they are so often used in refugiums.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Thanks to all

This has being a great discussion. I learned a lot about light and my tank.

I will need to research the spectrum of my actual bulbs, before I move on. I think that i will decide based on the spectrum and par of my lights.

I will also add CO2 to my tank, I'm working on, buying the pieces little by little as $ (and wife) permits...

 

[chirpingbluebird]

Like I mentioned, most high kelvin "saltwater" bulbs have the largest color peak in the blue portion of the color spectrum and usually have diminished peaks in the red and green. Red is the most useful color for our plants and a 12000k bulb often has very little. Your 6500k bulb almost certainly has more red. Even if the par value is higher with the 12000k it's higher in the wrong color spectrum for aquatic plants. Even saltwater plants grow faster with 5500k - 6500k bulbs over 10000k - 14000k bulbs which is why they are so often used in refugiums.

The specs of the tube show green spikes at 6500K! lower the kelvin the reddish spikes. correct me if i am wrong!

 

[CorallineAlgae]

The specs of the tube show green spikes at 6500K! lower the kelvin the reddish spikes. correct me if i am wrong!

It depends on the manufacturer. Some 6500K bulbs have lots of red spike and others don't which is why going by kelvin alone isn't always safe. In general some things are safe to assume, like 10000K bulbs are white compared to the blue of a 14000K and 5500K bulbs look yellow. When you talk just about a specific kelvin rating and look at them from different manufactures you see some surprising differences which is why with aquarium fluorescent lights they market certain bulbs as 'for plants', 'for fish', or 'for corals'. While a bulb may fall into a certain kelvin rating it is usually tweaked to perform a specific job. Kelvin rating alone doesn't give you that. Will a generic daylight bulb grow plants? Usually yes. It just isn't the whole story. I've grown plants for years with common CFL 6500K screw in daylights from Lowes. I now grow them better with plant specific T5s.
To add more confusion, some plant or saltwater specific lights aren't even rated in Kelvin but are instead rated in nm. For plants were talking about 650nm (red). I know I know. I'm trying to not go off topic into PAR ratings and CRI levels but 650nm bulbs are made just for growing plants.

 

[aqua_chem]

The specs of the tube show green spikes at 6500K! lower the kelvin the reddish spikes. correct me if i am wrong!

Interesting fact though, even though 6700K is green, plants don't actually use that much green light. Why then would you want to use a 6500K bulb to grow plants if the major peak is outside the absorption range of chlorophyll? Assuming peak temp is the most important factor....

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Interesting fact though, even though 6700K is green, plants don't actually use that much green light. Why then would you want to use a 6500K bulb to grow plants if the major peak is outside the absorption range of chlorophyll? Assuming peak temp is the most important factor....

Right. The reason most plants look green is because they are actually reflecting the green light away from the plant and into our eyes. The only reason bulbs with a green spike is ever desirable is because it makes the plants visually look more lush to the viewer. It doesn't do much more that that. If a bulb has a nice green spike AS WELL as proper red and blue spikes it should work for both growing plants and showing them off. Green alone makes new plants look great right up to the point where they start to die! lol ouch! Lots of people go with an assortment of bulbs to get good 'growth' for their plants and a nice overall desired 'look' for the tank.
Kind of like when the boss hires the cute ditsy girl or the hilarious goofy guy at the office. They can make time at work much livelier, but we all know the bulk of the work is done by the rest of the team.

 

[aqua_chem]

I was trying to be rhetorical... but yes, that was my point.

 

[chirpingbluebird]

It depends on the manufacturer. Some 6500K bulbs have lots of red spike and others don't which is why going by kelvin alone isn't always safe. In general some things are safe to assume, like 10000K bulbs are white compared to the blue of a 14000K and 5500K bulbs look yellow. When you talk just about a specific kelvin rating and look at them from different manufactures you see some surprising differences which is why with aquarium fluorescent lights they market certain bulbs as 'for plants', 'for fish', or 'for corals'. While a bulb may fall into a certain kelvin rating it is usually tweaked to perform a specific job. Kelvin rating alone doesn't give you that. Will a generic daylight bulb grow plants? Usually yes. It just isn't the whole story. I've grown plants for years with common CFL 6500K screw in daylights from Lowes. I now grow them better with plant specific T5s.
To add more confusion, some plant or saltwater specific lights aren't even rated in Kelvin but are instead rated in nm. For plants were talking about 650nm (red). I know I know. I'm trying to not go off topic into PAR ratings and CRI levels but 650nm bulbs are made just for growing plants.

Thank you for the reply.
i was just wondering how ADA lights are manufactured. I dont know if you will agree with me, but ADA has the best lights in the hobby. ADA's metal halide, florescents and PLLs are the best. any idea about their specs?

 

[aqua_chem]

Giesemann T5HOs rock all comers IMO. I get my best results with them.

 

[rkilling1]

Thank you for the reply.
i was just wondering how ADA lights are manufactured. I dont know if you will agree with me, but ADA has the best lights in the hobby. ADA's metal halide, florescents and PLLs are the best. any idea about their specs?

Best lights for what? Growing plants, not really. Most bulbs grow plants just as well.

For making your plants look nice? Sure. They use a higher light output in the green spectrum. This reflects off of the green plants and makes it appear to YOU that the plants are doing better.

I'm not against them and I do appreciate having the additional color, but that comes at a price.

For me, I'll stick with the 5 dollar bulbs that grow plants just as well.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Giesemann T5HOs rock all comers IMO. I get my best results with them.

Hands down. Unless you're actually trying to get less light and growth from your plants (not dosing co2 and ferts or just have to many bulbs already) Giesemanns are unbeatable. I haven't used ADA lights so I can't compare them but I've used just about everything else (bulb brand wise) including HQI halides and the Giesemanns are freakishly good. If the ADAs are as good I'll need to place an order.

 

[skywhitney]

Giesemann T5HOs rock all comers IMO. I get my best results with them.

Absolutely! I love my Geisemann's. They've made a huge difference in my tank and in a buddy's tank who just got them.

 

[George9]

Absolutely! I love my Geisemann's. They've made a huge difference in my tank and in a buddy's tank who just got them.

Haha. I think hes referring to me as the buddy.

Love Geisemanns so much

 

[skywhitney]

Haha. I think hes referring to me as the buddy.

Love Geisemanns so much

Haha yes I was.

I am running two midday and two aquaflora. I've noticed differences in my plants when each bulb individual bulb was introduced. I get great color from the aquaflora and amazing growth from the middays.

 

[ejaramillo01]

I will order some Giesemann light ...T5 HO
Do I need to combine Midday with Aquaflora bulbs?

Can I have just Aquaflora? or just Midday?

 

[skywhitney]

I will order some Giesemann light ...T5 HO
Do I need to combine Midday with Aquaflora bulbs?

Can I have just Aquaflora? or just Midday?

You can have either. I like the combination personally. You don't have to combine them if you don't want to though.