lighting 6700k vs 18000k?

[xyyz]

i have two of these "high output" bulbs in a fixture above a moderately planted 29 gallon aquarium. i have seachem's flourite as the substrate. i'm not using any CO2 at the moment, and i'm not adding any additives for the plants until my water conditions stop fluctuating so much.

both bulbs are 24" and consume 24W. the life-glo is rated at 6700k while the power-glo is rated 18,000k.

should i swap one of the bulbs and have two of one kind? which bulb is the better bet for dealing with the light for my plants?

at the moment, and i don't know if it's because of the plants, but the light seems to have a very greenish tint.

 

[JohnPaul]

In general, it's recommended that people with planted tanks choose bulbs somewhere in the 5,000-10,000K range. I've never in my life seen an 18,000K bulb, so I can only imagine what that might look like. I wonder what the name on the package is ("Nuclear Meltdown"?) So if I had to make a guess at a culprit, it would be the 18K bulb. But that's nothing more than a (perhaps halfway educated) guess.

 

[rkilling1]

Those high output bulbs are just a waste of money.

Just go to home depot/lowes and pick up some GE fish bulbs for 5 to 6 bucks or some phillips T-8's that are atleast 4100K.

Yes you can run two of the same bulb, but the color is up to you.

As far as the green tint, they only thing I can think of is green water algae in the water column that may appear to be from the lighting.

 

[xyyz]

i got these bulbs because i got the hagen double t5 light fixture for $20 instead of $134. i do agree they're not all that.

these t-8's, will they work on this t5 fixture?

 

[rkilling1]

i got these bulbs because i got the hagen double t5 light fixture for $20 instead of $134. i do agree they're not all that.

these t-8's, will they work on this t5 fixture?

I guess I missed the T-5 statement.

You want HO T-5 bulbs like the ones you currently have. My post was on the assumption that you had a T-8 setup.

 

[xyyz]

do i need more light? 2x24W=48W the tank is a 29 gallon tank, which puts the ratio at 1.7wpg. i thought the tank would be a lot brighter. the colors are pretty washed out, and there's not too much brightness.

how do you guys manage to get such bright white light with your setups?

 

[Purrbox]

I think if you were to swap out the 18000K bulb for something in the 5000K-10000K range you'd find that you lighting will look better. The bulbs with 10000K plus really are meant for SW setups which recieve much more filtered light due to the depth of the water.

Since you described your aquarium as looking green, you may want to place some tank water in a white cup. If the water looks green, then you're dealing with green water and not just a lighting issue. Green water does affect the way the lighting looks.

The setups that look so bright white are probably high light setups that are running at least 3WPG, if not quite a bit more.

 

[xyyz]

i swapped out the 18000k for another 6400k like you suggested. things are much brighter, but still somewhat faded. the mopani driftwood started to give the water a orange-ish brown hue.