How to see if the fluorescent light tube is suitable for....

[mansiz]

How to see if the fluorescent light tube is suitable for plants? At first I thought that all fluorescent tube are the same, but after I done my research, I find out that there are so many kinds of fluorescent tubes,
I'm really confuse with these. I've a few question reguarding light, hope people out there could give me advise. :> Any help would be appreciated.

Q1: How to see from the light tube ( I mean those words on the tube ) whether this kind of fluorescent light tube is for plants? ( I have one whch is bio-lux ), is this for plants?

Q2: I do some research and find out that plants need red and blue light from light tubes to grow well, blue for growing and red for blooming. How do I know whether how much red or blue light does the fluorescent tube gives out?

Q3: How to differentiate between a warm white fluorescent tube and a cool white fluorescent tube? Is'nt light tube warm when it is switch on?

Q4: Is there any web-site to recommand reguarding plant lights?

 

[Guest]

Q1: You can check the manufactures website and hope that they have the information there.

Q2: See Q1

Q3: All light tubes are warm when on. The cool white and warm white refer to a range of color temps neither of which are good for plants when used alone.

Q4: There are many. You might try a Google search. Or you could start here http://w1.864.telia.com/~u86438141/articles/article_rng_lighting.htm

 

[vega]

You cant really 'see' which light are suitable as our eye cant analyse the light spectrum of the neon. Of couse u can buy those expensive light spectrum meter to test the spectrum but the easiest way is to buy plant tank neon light from your lfs.

 

[jsoong]

You can get plant fluorescent tubes from hardware store for less than the lfs. Just look for things that said "Full Spectrum", "Plant light" or something like that on the package. GE made one that even says "for aquarium or houseplant use" on it.

 

[Chrismac]

Hey,

The Bio-Lux Flouresent is a daylight simulator, used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder. I used to work nights lol

"Provide virtual daylight in areas with little to no natural daylight"


Chris.

 

[justDIY]

freshwater plants are very tolerant and accepting of a wide range of lighting.

look for bulbs that provide a wide, even spectrum...

the 4100K "Cool White" actually provides a very even spectrum, but my personal tastes tell me it looks awfull under water.

bulbs like the "Sunshine" and "Ultra Daylight" from GE provide a light that appears to the eye to be more like sunlight because they mess with the color balance. This messing pays off underwater too as the colors look more pronounced with less green and yellow.

On my 29 gallon tank I use a pair of 6700K bulbs, which have a bright bluewhite appearence, but all that blue tends to wash out some of the reds and yellows, from plants who are primarily not green.

On my 30 gallon, I have one 4100K and one 6500K bulb, which balance nicely. I get execellent reds, yellows and greens.

bulbs sold at the store claiming to be "plant" or "grow" bulbs are merely aimed at you the consumer, not the plant... the plant doesn't much care, but people see that weird purple color of the bulb and assume it must have lots of good rays that plants need. best to stay away from these, and the preimium price they demand.

 

[peterp]

Take a look through this fellows excellent site with DIY stuff
This particular page has a table of tubes and their output specs including a shot of each tubs spectrum.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/spectra.html

 

[jsoong]

justDIY, did you mean to say that regular flourescent tubes are just as good for aquarium use as specialty tubes?

For years I have been using 1 cool white & 1 warm white tubes for my house plants (together they are supposed to give the correct sprctrum). From lurking around here, & seeing all the fancy bulbs people are using for the tank setups, I thought that a specialty tube is needed for underwater plants. If the ordinary tubes will do, it will sure save a bundle!

 

[justDIY]

yes, if you don't mind the appearance of the light, the plants don't care one bit.

even the cool white bulbs are very 'warm' compared to a daylight or ultradaylight bulb (4100k vs 5000k-6700k)

I don't know about warm white bulbs, as they don't have the complete spectrum that a cool white does, they tend to aim more into the red and yellow to provide colors that make food, furinature and skin look appealing.

the 6500k "daylight deluxe" bulb I am using was purchased from home depot, $6 for a two pack... can't get much cheaper than that!

a lot of your specialized bulbs have carefully selected phosphors designed to give maximum effect for visual appearance, knowning that water absorbs red light more than other colors, speciality bulbs often over-compensate with red (in the case of the "plant and aquarium bulbs" giving the purple glow), or over-compensate with blue and reduce green avoiding the yellow appearance.

these spikes offer little actual benefit to the plants themselves, as long as the basic needs for quanity of light are met (time and proper wattage), the quality of the light is left solely to personal asthetic tastes.