T8 full spectrum vs T8 Floramax

[ThomasG07]

In my 50 gallon I have a Aqueon T8 full spectrum light on one side and I added a T8 flora max light on the other for my plants but it is much much dimmer than the full spectrum. Does the floramax really work?

 

[Fresh2o]

I believe it does because the spectrum is "narrowed down" to something that favors plant growth. What's beneficial to the plants may not always be pleasing to you (visually). I had a similar experience with a different product (ZooMed Flora Sun T 8)...light appeared dimmer and fish colors were off. Returned the tube and went back to the full spectrum. Now if you are running bulbs in parallel (such as in a dual bulb fixture) as opposed to side by side, then mixing the plant spectrum bulb with a full spectrum bulb will give good results for you and the plants.

 

[AaronW]

Personally I have not used this product. But if you have a planted tank I'd save up for T5HO. A freshwater fixture could run you at about $150. Which isn't a bad investment if you want some nice plant growth.

 

[Zimmanski]

I did the same thing, the color spectrum of the fouramax did better for my plants in my ten gallon I switched one of the hoods on my 55. I couldn't handle the difference in brightness on the side of my tank so I ended up getting the aqueon dual t5 instead. I know where your coming from, fouramax worked well, but looked awful side by side to the standard daylight

 

[ThomasG07]

Personally I have not used this product. But if you have a planted tank I'd save up for T5HO. A freshwater fixture could run you at about $150. Which isn't a bad investment if you want some nice plant growth.

I'm new to plants. I don't even have plant substrate I just have gravel. The only stuff I have in there is some bulb plants and a bunch of anacharis

 

[Zimmanski]

I'm new to plants. I don't even have plant substrate I just have gravel. The only stuff I have in there is some bulb plants and a bunch of anacharis

You don't have to have plant substrate to have plants, all I have is sand and mine do great.

 

[ThomasG07]

You don't have to have plant substrate to have plants, all I have is sand and mine do great.

What kinds of plants do you have?

 

[AaronW]

Zimm is right. I only bought plant substrate for my swords because they keep getting up rooted. But the plants you have will fair just fine in gravel

 

[aqua_chem]

What you're observing is a quirk of human biology. Our eyes overemphasize certain ranges of color, particularly midrange on the visible spectrum:



"Full Spectrum" bulbs usually have a strong emission band in the yellow-green spectrum where, as you can see from the above picture, there is high absorption and a greater deal of overlap. "Plant Grow" bulbs tend to have strong emissions in the red spectrum, where as you can see there is little overlap and less absorption. Plants, on the other hand, "see" light like this:

Notice the increased absorption in the red range? This means that bulbs that have stronger emissions in the red range are "brighter" to the plant. There is a similar effect in the blue region as well.


As an aside, this is one of the reasons that I think people saying that 6700K bulbs are best for planted tanks. The color that 6700K corresponds to is in the yellow-green area where plants are essentially "blind". It's actually the non-6700K emissions of 6700K bulbs that plants can actually use.

 

[jetajockey]

Yes exactly, and it's also a compromise for what is most visually appealing yet still effective for plant growth, at least that's how I look at it.

 

[Zimmanski]

You don't have to have plant substrate to have plants, all I have is sand and mine do great.

Water wisteria, compacts, green cabomba, cabomba furctata, amazon and argentine swords, hydro hotto, and rosette swords.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

T8 flora max

The zoo med flora max has really helped my plants thrive in my 55 gallon. I would for sure choose the flora max.

 

[DavidAl]

The combination does wonders for my plants, even the difficult to grow Ludwigia peruensis. These are regular T8s.

David