2700 k and plants

zin

zin

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Dec 16, 2003
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I was bored during christmas shopping so i ran by the pet supply area at walmart, well i ended up buying a incandesent hood for 12$(for 10gallon) and 2 compact flouresent bulbs for 7 total. they didnt have a K rating on the box so i came home and checked on the web site and it was 2700.. kind of low, but they are "75" watts each.

will plants be ok in lower K light?

also anyone know a site where i could order higher K compact flourestents?
 
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At Walmart in the pet section you ought to find some 10 watt compact flourescent aquarium bulbs, about $5, they have two u-shaped tubes and screw into the standard incandescent hood.

At Home Depot, you can find 19watt, daylight spectrum spiral flourescent screw-in bulbs for $8, they have a larger base and may not fit if the hood has a reflector on it. If you remove the reflector, it should fit, you might want to paint that black plastic white to make up for the lost reflector.

I have both on 10 gallon tanks, the 19 watt bulbs are much, much better than the 10 watt -- of course. Both are better than a single flourescent tube on a 10 gallon tank.
 
I wont have time to go to a store to buy those for a few days(after holidays) should i go back to 2x15w sunlight flouresents till i can get compact sunlight ones?
 
After lots of reading iv heard watts matter most but temp color matters alot also.


Well anyways anyone have any experiance with lower kelvin light and plants.

Iv been hearing people want mid range kelvin simple because it looks good and is good for plants... lower kelvin looks a little yellowish, but is it still as effective for plants?

i was gonna buy the ones from home depot but im starting to like the yellow hue... looks more natural to me /shrug
 
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I have used those in fry out-grow tanks. They don't look very good IMHO, but the plants that I've grown haven't had a problem- Asian Ambulia and some Crypts.
 
Read this 'quoted info':

>>
5K - 7K Kelvin: Strong Blue Light
Promotes bushy growth. Ideal for rapid growth phase of plants.
Greatly enhances all-around plant growth when used with super
high output, high pressure sodium or 3K warm metal halide lamps.

3K - 3200 Kelvin: Warm Metal Halide
Highest photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) value of all HID
lighting for all phases of plant growth. PAR watts account for the
nutritional value of light and are a direct measure of the light
energy available for photosythesis.

2.7K - 2700 Kelvin: High Pressure Sodium Lamps
Redder color mix, used for propagation, blooming, supplemental
greenhouse lighting. <<

Don't use it.... Be happy and get 6500K or 6700K - the popular one's ......

There are many online sites to order the bulbs you need..
Look you Dr. Fosters Smith and Big Als Oline ...
 
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I got the bulbs in yesterday, The light looks more natural but they are 11watts each compared to the 2700 bulbs which were 20watts each, the tank looks more natural but dimmer.
should i maybe use 1 of each?

Is 2.2wpg of 6500>4wpg of 2700?
 
I cant even look at my 5500Ks anymore to "yellow":sick:
I own a 260w freshwater aqualight and dont like the tone on that my fav fixture has 2 aquarays in they are allglasses factory bulb.On a side note the aquarays are on my lowest light but most succesfull planted tank a 65g no co2 and 90watts no flo go figure.
There is a reason this is a hobby not a science.
 
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