lighting...ahhhhh!

[crimsonmoon]

this whole you-need-lots-of-light-to-grow-plants fact is really getting on my nerves. lol.
now to my question
a long time ago i bought a light bulb put out by hagen. It was the flora glo bulb. it is 15 watts and only 2800k, but it says it "optimizes plant growth".
Currently on my 29g i have 34 watts of 7800 k and 17 watts of unknown k. Should i switch out the 17watts of unknown k for the 15 watts of 2800k, or would there even be a difference??? what would you plant gurus do?

 

[jpappy789]

You could try...the Kelvin rating supposedly doesn't do much for plants, they'll grow fine in most spectrums. It's about what looks appealing to you.

 

[ZachAttck]

As of right now i have only one 15W Flora-Glo bulb over my 20 gallon. Although I am about to switch to 2x24W t5 HO :headbang2:. I saw a big difference after i switched out my regular flourescent with this bulb. I'm not sure what that 17W is doing for your tank, but i know the Flora-Glo did help my plant growth.

 

[Bk718]

the lower K bulbs are not going to be as bright as 5500K or 10000K. As you go up the ladder the light goes from low yellow to bright white. And 2800K being in the really low low yellow group. So in my opinion, a 17w bulb thats 6700-10000K will grow plants better than the one in the 2800K.

 

[crimsonmoon]

thanks you guys, i think im just gonna leave it like it is then. don't fix what isn't broken right?