Types of Lighting for plants

[nagukush]

Hi Friends !

I have these 3 tubes of 30W lights in my tank. They are 3 feet in length. They give a pinkish-whitish light. Just wanted to know what kind of lights are these and if thesework well for plants.

Should I consider replacing them with white colored ones ?
Kindly guide me.
Thanks !
Kush

[nagukush]

Friends kindly advice....

[rich311k]

What color are the bulbs? Anything from 5000 to 15000k should work fine. The color is up to you.

[Mgamer20o0]

maybe...... what kind of bulb are they. i try and get day light bulbs they look good and plants grow good.

[Bk718]

pinkish whitish light could be 15,000K+

[nagukush]

What color are the bulbs? Anything from 5000 to 15000k should work fine. The color is up to you.

Hi Friends !

Thanks for the replies... actually I have no idea on what the 5000 to 15000K mean... kindly advice and how can I find this value for my lights ?

[Bk718]

on one of the sides on the bulb there should be some printed text, type out what you see

[aquapants]

5000 to 15000k refers to the temperature (in kelvins) of light. For example: regular daylight is somewhere around 5500-6000k
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

Cheers!

[Danyal]

sound like powerglo bulbs to me, they're supposed to be 18,000k but they are pretty good for plants.

[Bk718]

sound like powerglo bulbs to me, they're supposed to be 18,000k but they are pretty good for plants.

I believe aquaglo is 18K, powerglo is 20K, and dont think they are that great for plants, i had powerglo and plants were at a stand still..

[Lily'sDad]

I use GE Chroma 50s and SP65s. My plants like 'em and they're way cheaper than plant/aquarium lights.

[Notophthalmus]

Just a note- if you're looking at flourescent lamps at the home improvement store, don't bother with the 'plant and aquarium' lamps. They claim to have a superior ratio of wavelengths usable by plants, but it's not because they put out more light in those wavelengths than an ordinary lamp; they just have a coating that blocks the green wavelengths. Get a 'daylight' or 'full-spectrum' lamp instead.

[nagukush]

on one of the sides on the bulb there should be some printed text, type out what you see

Hi there !

I just checked the Bulbs and its written as 15000 on it. Are these bulbs good enough for plants then ?

[Bk718]

I dont believe so, for planted i think it should be 5500-10000

[gmh]

You might consider replacing two of the three, saving the two as spares for future use. A coulple of lower KH bulbs, say 5000K and 6700K should give you a broader light spectrum for plant growth.

[Jason-282]

I just purchased one of those 50/50 Coralife bulbs with 6000K daylight, and Actinic 03 blue light....the aesthetics of the tank look awesome, as well as the aquatic plants (it really brings out the green in them)...but as far as the plant growth, how are these types of lights?

[Bk718]

not suggested for planted tanks.