Light Kelvin??

[MantisX]

I recently ordered a bright kit for my 10 gallon from ahsupply.com. I ordered the 1X36 model. I chose the 6700K 36 watt bulb but I really didnt put much thought into it. Was the 5500K a better choice? I heard that sometimes 6700K doesnt output all of the colors in the spectrum as accurate?

[malkore]

6700k is fine. Kelvin is ONLY a measure of how the light looks to the human eye on a special black background. CRI (color rendering index) is a better measure...and a spectral graph is best.

In general, anything from 5000K to 10,000K is gonna keep plants very happy. Most of us mix our K temps to achieve a color that looks good to our eyes and satisifes the plants needs.

[MantisX]

Thanks Malkore. I wonder could I find a comparison somewhere on the internet? Ive always wondered how people achieve the "dark hole" look in some aquascapes, yet the light is so bright in other places.

[fishfreek]

The lower the kelvin the more the bulb will favor the red side of the specitrum. The end result is a light that is more yellowish in apperance.

[MantisX]

oh ok. I had a light that gave off that red effect before. I didnt like that very much, so I might as well keep 6700. By the way, it came in today and I got it in the hood. It doesnt look as bad as I thought. The only concern I have now is the rumors ive heard about 65-6700 kelvin not allowing most red plants to grow red.