View Full Version : what spectrum lights do i need?
quick061
01-06-2003, 8:18 AM
what spectrum lights are usually the best for a medium planted tank? 5100k, 6500k? i don't know, never done planted tanks before so i have no idea really what setup is the best.
right now i'm finishing up a hood with 4x40w 48" bulbs and am not really sure what intensity light i need to put in it. its too bad they're all on the same balast or i could have done stages and had a dawm/sunny/dusk setup but unfortunately i can't.
btw this is for a 80g tank that's 48x18x24" if that makes any difference.
Tempest
01-06-2003, 9:49 AM
Either one or both of those types would work.. I use half of each.
6500k would look better, imo
125gJoe
01-06-2003, 4:16 PM
My range 'limit' is 5500K to 8800K.
The higher the Kelvin, the bluer is will appear. The lower the value, the more yellow it will look. The 'limit' (for me) I mentioned will look white. Always try and get 'full color spectrum'. It should say that on the packaging, but may not always...
Orbitorly
01-06-2003, 9:44 PM
The range of 5000 k is the best for medium planted tank..
Richer
01-06-2003, 11:23 PM
5500-6500k will work fine either way. I personally use bulbs at around 6400k. I don't like how the bulbs in the 5000k range look.. a bit too yellow for me.
-Richer
quick061
01-06-2003, 11:33 PM
thx for the info, i think i'll start out with 3 6500k and 1 5100k and see how that looks.
i was just wondering, is there a good place to buy these online? the lfs's around here suck :mad:
Richer
01-07-2003, 12:26 AM
What kind of bulbs are you looking at? Normal fluoresecent light tubes? or compact fluorescent lighting?
The normal fluorescent light tubes, you can get at your local home centre (ie. Home Depot)... most bulbs rated in the 5000k-6500k range are called plant bulbs.
For compact fluorescent, I use www.ahsupply.com for my bulb needs. They ship fairly quickly (considering where I live, they actually ship pretty darn fast), and are pretty realiable.. I've made a few orders from them without problems.
HTH
-Richer
Originally posted by quick061
thx for the info, i think i'll start out with 3 6500k and 1 5100k and see how that looks.
i was just wondering, is there a good place to buy these online? the lfs's around here suck :mad:
If you're talking about normal fluorescent bulbs...
The Philips Daylight Delux (#F40DX) is 6500k and the GE Chroma50 (#F40C50) is 5000k. Those would match your numbers very closely and they are both available at Home Depot. The Chroma50 comes in a bright orange package with the word 'Sunshine' written in script on it, and the Philips bulbs come with no individual packaging; they're sold loose out of large boxes. Luckily, the Philips bulbs come with green colored endcaps (most come with silver) so they should be fairly easy to find. Each bulb should cost around $5.
I ran different combinations of these same bulbs on my tank for a while...and I had a GE Plant&Aquarium bulb too. From top to bottom, the order of the bulbs in this picture are:
Top: GE Chroma50 - whitish color
Second: GE Plant&Aquarium - pinkish color
Third: GE Chroma50 - whitish color
Bottom: Philips Daylight Delux - blueish color
http://www.motorworld.com/gcvt/pets/fish/pics/light_04.jpg
:)
quick061
01-08-2003, 12:27 AM
thx i'll look into them.
Originally posted by quick061
thx i'll look into them.
Before you run off to Home Depot, I have corrections to make! :)
I was just at HD tonight and I did not see any of the GE Chroma50 bulbs. Every light rack was stuffed with Philips bulbs...no GE's at all.
They still carry the Philips F40DX 6500k bulbs, but this time they were packaged in light blue individual boxes or shrink-wrapped in to pairs. I got two of these bulbs for only $5.99! They do have a 5000K Philips bulb too, but I can't remember the color of the packaging. The kelvin rating is cleary written on each box though, so it should be easy to find.
Your Home Depot mileage may vary ;)
quick061
01-08-2003, 3:49 PM
ok the hardware stores around me suck and there is no home depot. there is one about half an hour away i'm going to try tonight but i'm not sure how good it is so i'm not anticipating a good selection.
however, at the petco here they have 18,000K bulbs for planted aquariums. would those work? is it better to have all the same spectrum or a few high with a few low?
Dwarfnut
01-08-2003, 4:44 PM
Just in case you were wonder gcvt, I was at our local HD several weeks ago looking for some more of the compact flourescent bulbs I had bought before and couldn't find them. I asked one of the associates and he told me that HD had just made some kind of deal with Phillips to only carry Phillips bulbs. They are phasing out all the stock of 'old' bulbs from other manufacturers, so you might want to stock up now! My problem is that several of the fixtures I bought to put over my tanks use the T-8 bulbs which are harder to find! And try finding a 36" T-8 bulb above 4,100 K temp! I took my forever to find a dual-light 36" fixture and then it only came it T-8! I found the 36" T-8 bulbs at HD, but these are only 4,100 K and I'd really like to get some of the 6,500 K ones! Only place I've seen them is at a LFS for over $20 ea!
What size bulbs are you referring to in the 6,500K range? Length and what 'T' size?
Thanks Bill C.
Gumby7
01-08-2003, 8:59 PM
Sorry to ask a dumb question but if plants evolved for sunlight and sunlight is 5000K why would you want 6500K or higher? Unless its just asthetics.
Gumby
Originally posted by Dwarfnut
Just in case you were wonder gcvt, I was at our local HD several weeks ago looking for some more of the compact flourescent bulbs I had bought before and couldn't find them. I asked one of the associates and he told me that HD had just made some kind of deal with Phillips to only carry Phillips bulbs. They are phasing out all the stock of 'old' bulbs from other manufacturers, so you might want to stock up now! My problem is that several of the fixtures I bought to put over my tanks use the T-8 bulbs which are harder to find! And try finding a 36" T-8 bulb above 4,100 K temp! I took my forever to find a dual-light 36" fixture and then it only came it T-8! I found the 36" T-8 bulbs at HD, but these are only 4,100 K and I'd really like to get some of the 6,500 K ones! Only place I've seen them is at a LFS for over $20 ea!
What size bulbs are you referring to in the 6,500K range? Length and what 'T' size?
Thanks Bill C.
Ahh, that explains it. I was a little thrown off not seeing any GE products on the shelves.
The 6500k bulbs I was referring to ar T-12 size and 48" long.
HTH :)
125gJoe
01-09-2003, 12:47 PM
Originally posted by Gumby7
Sorry to ask a dumb question but if plants evolved for sunlight and sunlight is 5000K why would you want 6500K or higher? Unless its just asthetics.
Gumby Yes, on some tanks, or some preferences, the higher Kelvin can look better.
beviking
01-17-2003, 10:34 AM
What are the K's of the plant and aquarium bulb on gcvt's post????
I like that setup!
beviking
01-17-2003, 12:30 PM
hey beviking - 3200K! Try doing some research yourself sometime!:mad:
Dwarfnut
01-21-2003, 11:46 AM
FYI,
I was at Home Depot this weekend and did find that Phillips makes a "daylight" type bulb in the 48" T-12 size. Not exactly sure of the name, but they are cheap and have a rating of 6,500 K. I bought a couple and really like the way they look. Again, I'm not exactly sure of the name, but they are sold in packages of 2 and are under $6 for both!
I found that I like having a mix of these and the 'regular' aquarium bulbs you can get at HD also. I have 3 of the 'daylight' bulbs and one aquarium bulb over my 75 gallon and think it looks great now!
Bill C.