http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cwbt2D65i9k/R2LFrYW5n7I/AAAAAAAABdc/Wv2F1RzAF0k/s1600/Chlorophyll.jpg
As shown above, plants need the majority of the light to be around 400-450nm and 650-675nm (or blue and red light). The blue light is used for leaf growth, and promotes bushy, compact growth, while red light is mainly used for flowering and strong stems. They reflect most green light, thus explaining why leaves are green.
http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2007/12/understanding-full-spectrum-aquarium.html?m=1[/QUOTE]
Right, well one thing's for sure. I'm going for LED...!
Brookster, I like the look of the Finnex you recommend, but can't find them in UK...!
I was recommended these AquaGro GroBeams by a guy in a British forum and went to my LFS to check them out. I took pictures of the front and back of the box, cause the back has the spec and I've attached them too.
The guy in the shop recommended the Ultima - the broad spectrum natural white units (the spec on the left, which to me looks like too much "wasted" green and almost no red) but there's another model called the ColourPlus. (The spec on the right which almost perfectly matches the chart showing colour temperature most beneficial to plants...!)
Now, I'm hearing that it's as bad for plants to have too much light as too little and the very blue / red units may over cook them. And also they would not look very natural, but may help the colours in the fish "pop".
So, here's my theory. The guy in the shop says 3 of these will be perfect for my tank. I think 3 ColourPlus may be over kill, but I'd like some of that spiky blue / red light in there too. (Note the ColourPlus is made up of 4 white LEDs, 2 red, 2 blue and 2 green while the natural daylight ones are just 10 x white). What if... I put 1 natural daylight unit at either end and 1 ColourPlus dead centre (3 units in total). This way 24 of the LEDs in the tank are still white, but I'll have an area at the centre of the tank where I'll have an open space that's lit with the more colourful range to enhance the fish colours, but without making the whole tank look unnatural or over lighting the plants...
What do you think?
Also, looking at the spec sheets, is 3 of these running the length at the centre of this tank (44" x 20" x 24") going to be the correct amount of light. They're like 2000 Lumens each...
Thanks guys...
(Pics in next post)
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