Is 10000k to much for F/W Plants?

[Nick D]

Hi...
I'm upgrading my lighting to power compacts and have the option of
getting several different kelvin rated bulbs. I realize that the
higher the kelvin rating, the cooler the visual of the bulb appears. I
don't like my tank looking yellow with a 5500k bulb...so I want to get
a 10000k bulb for a crisper white light, but I've heard that I cant
grow plants very well with 10000k? Is this right? Is 10000k considered
a salt water/ marine bulb?

I've heard everyone raving about these GE 9325k bulbs and how great
they look but, aren't they awful close to 10000k bulb?

What about 6700k? Are these pretty yellow/ orange looking?

Thx
Nick D.

[Empty]

(Nick D) wrote in
om:

> What about 6700k? Are these pretty yellow/ orange looking?

That's the bulb you want. 10k is good for reefs, but plants utilize
different spectrums than corals (due to the difference in attenuation
between 2 feet of fresh water and 20 feet of salt water). 6700's look good
also in my opinion.

~Empty

--
'You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it
kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other
till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains,
children, it's blood... blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may
be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.'
Spike

[Michi Henning]

"Nick D" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi...
> I'm upgrading my lighting to power compacts and have the option of
> getting several different kelvin rated bulbs. I realize that the
> higher the kelvin rating, the cooler the visual of the bulb appears. I
> don't like my tank looking yellow with a 5500k bulb...so I want to get
> a 10000k bulb for a crisper white light, but I've heard that I cant
> grow plants very well with 10000k? Is this right? Is 10000k considered
> a salt water/ marine bulb?

Yes. If you put a 10000K bulb over a planted freshwater tank, chances are
that the only you will grow are algae.

I spoke to the Giesemann technical people about this at length, and they
do not recommend to go above 5700K. Yes, the light looks a bit yellow,
similar in color to what you get from an incandescent light bulb but it also
discourages algae. You might get away with 6700K, but I would
definitely not go above that. (6700K looks quite white, even a little cold,
at least to my eyes. I suspect that 10000K would look positively awful
on a planted freshwater tank.)

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[Sandy]

Michi Henning wrote:
> "Nick D" > wrote in message
> om...
>> Hi...
>> I'm upgrading my lighting to power compacts and have the option of
>> getting several different kelvin rated bulbs. I realize that the
>> higher the kelvin rating, the cooler the visual of the bulb appears.
>> I don't like my tank looking yellow with a 5500k bulb...so I want to
> it also discourages algae. You might get away with 6700K, but I would
> definitely not go above that. (6700K looks quite white, even a little
> cold, at least to my eyes. I suspect that 10000K would look
> positively awful
> on a planted freshwater tank.)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Michi.

Have a look here, it shows the same aquarium under different combinations of
tubes.

http://www.culbertfamily.com/jenya/aquarium/lights/



--
Don`t Worry, Be Happy

Sandy
--

E-Mail:-
Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk
IRC:- Sandyb in #rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com Port:6667
#Rabble Channel Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/rabbled
ICQ : 41266150

[Michi Henning]

"Sandy" > wrote in message
...
>>
> Have a look here, it shows the same aquarium under different combinations of
> tubes.
>
> http://www.culbertfamily.com/jenya/aquarium/lights/

That's interesting, thanks a lot for the link!

It's difficult to judge colors on-screen -- from what I can see from the
pictures
the pictures in column 2 seem to give the most "natural" color reproduction,
if a bit on the cold side. The 6400K illumination seems to be a bit devoid of
read and yellow tones, as far as I can tell. A bit like the "cold" flourescent
light you get in offices. Personally, I prefer slightly warmer tones.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[RedForeman ©®]

what are the red/blue lights?

I'd like to see a better explanation of that page... red/blue doesnt tell me
anything....

--
RedForeman ©®


"Sandy" > wrote in message
...
> Michi Henning wrote:
> > "Nick D" > wrote in message
> > om...
> >> Hi...
> >> I'm upgrading my lighting to power compacts and have the option of
> >> getting several different kelvin rated bulbs. I realize that the
> >> higher the kelvin rating, the cooler the visual of the bulb appears.
> >> I don't like my tank looking yellow with a 5500k bulb...so I want to
> > it also discourages algae. You might get away with 6700K, but I would
> > definitely not go above that. (6700K looks quite white, even a little
> > cold, at least to my eyes. I suspect that 10000K would look
> > positively awful
> > on a planted freshwater tank.)
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Michi.
>
> Have a look here, it shows the same aquarium under different combinations
of
> tubes.
>
> http://www.culbertfamily.com/jenya/aquarium/lights/
>
>
>
> --
> Don`t Worry, Be Happy
>
> Sandy
> --
>
> E-Mail:-
> Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk
> IRC:- Sandyb in #rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com Port:6667
> #Rabble Channel Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/rabbled
> ICQ : 41266150
>
>

[Sandy]

RedForeman ©® wrote:
> what are the red/blue lights?
>
> I'd like to see a better explanation of that page... red/blue doesnt
> tell me anything....
>
>

I would say they are just the normal coloured fluorescent tubes you get in
discos, shop fronts and butchers (makes the meat look redder).


--
Don`t Worry, Be Happy

Sandy
--

E-Mail:-
Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk
IRC:- Sandyb in #rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com Port:6667
#Rabble Channel Website:- http://www.ftscotland.co.uk/rabbled
ICQ : 41266150

[Harry Muscle]

"Sandy" > wrote in message
...
> RedForeman ©® wrote:
> > what are the red/blue lights?
> >
> > I'd like to see a better explanation of that page... red/blue doesnt
> > tell me anything....
> >

I believe they are usually used on reef tanks. If you look through a fish
magazine you should probably find some ads for such bulbs, they might be
able to tell you more info about the bulbs.

Harry




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[RedForeman ©®]

I'm familiar with actinic bulbs, but can't be certain if they don't actually
say the are red actinic, or blue actinic, like Sandy said, they coudl be
disco lights for all I/we know...

--
RedForeman ©®


"Harry Muscle" > wrote in message
...
> "Sandy" > wrote in message
> ...
> > RedForeman ©® wrote:
> > > what are the red/blue lights?
> > >
> > > I'd like to see a better explanation of that page... red/blue doesnt
> > > tell me anything....
> > >
>
> I believe they are usually used on reef tanks. If you look through a fish
> magazine you should probably find some ads for such bulbs, they might be
> able to tell you more info about the bulbs.
>
> Harry
>
>
>
>
> -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
> http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
> -----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

[Harry Muscle]

"RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message
...
> I'm familiar with actinic bulbs, but can't be certain if they don't
actually
> say the are red actinic, or blue actinic, like Sandy said, they coudl be
> disco lights for all I/we know...
>
> --
> RedForeman ©®
>
>

I checked one of my mags, and they had an ad for what I assume is a bulb
like the red/blue on that website. The red bulb is rated at 8000K and the
blue at 12000K. Unfortunately I don't recall the name anymore (bad memory).
However, the red (I believe they called it pink) bulb was supposed to be
designed for plant growth.

Harry




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[Marcus Fox]

"Harry Muscle" > wrote in message
...
> "RedForeman ©®" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I'm familiar with actinic bulbs, but can't be certain if they don't
> actually
> > say the are red actinic, or blue actinic, like Sandy said, they coudl be
> > disco lights for all I/we know...
> >
> > --
> > RedForeman ©®
> >
> >
>
> I checked one of my mags, and they had an ad for what I assume is a bulb
> like the red/blue on that website. The red bulb is rated at 8000K and the
> blue at 12000K. Unfortunately I don't recall the name anymore (bad
memory).
> However, the red (I believe they called it pink) bulb was supposed to be
> designed for plant growth.

Have a look at www.arcadia-uk.com. I know it's a UK based site, but they
have ideas about the lighting you might need for plants. I have the Original
Tropical and Freshwater lamps in combination - each are T5 15w in a 2 cu ft
tank, to grow my plants. The tank looks great, although I may need to
replace one of the tubes, as I have had it for a few months now.

Marcus

[Troy Bruder]

I'm running a 10k (simulated day light) light in a heavily planted 29
gallon.. Looks great, and the plants are doing wonderful. If anything,
stuff is growing too quickly!

Troy


"Nick D" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi...
> I'm upgrading my lighting to power compacts and have the option of
> getting several different kelvin rated bulbs. I realize that the
> higher the kelvin rating, the cooler the visual of the bulb appears. I
> don't like my tank looking yellow with a 5500k bulb...so I want to get
> a 10000k bulb for a crisper white light, but I've heard that I cant
> grow plants very well with 10000k? Is this right? Is 10000k considered
> a salt water/ marine bulb?
>
> I've heard everyone raving about these GE 9325k bulbs and how great
> they look but, aren't they awful close to 10000k bulb?
>
> What about 6700k? Are these pretty yellow/ orange looking?
>
> Thx
> Nick D.

[seeOtwo]

Look here:
http://mynatureaquariums.com/index.htm

Only 10,000K on all tanks that you see. And lots of light. No reason
to not use 10,000K for a planted tank.

But some plants do look washed out a bit compared to 6,700 or 5,500.
Red fish appear more red under the warmer Kelvins.

--Nikolay

[BB]

Absolutly stunning tanks, Looks like you put alot of time into it. Out of
curisity what are your thoughts on the new Coralife lights, compact tubes i
beleive. I have heard they are wonderfull for plants compared to the basic
set up for lights. Thoughts? If I may ask as well what are you using for a
substrate?

Thanks

"seeOtwo" > wrote in message
om...
> Look here:
> http://mynatureaquariums.com/index.htm
>
> Only 10,000K on all tanks that you see. And lots of light. No reason
> to not use 10,000K for a planted tank.
>
> But some plants do look washed out a bit compared to 6,700 or 5,500.
> Red fish appear more red under the warmer Kelvins.
>
> --Nikolay

[Michi Henning]

"seeOtwo" > wrote in message
om...
> Look here:
> http://mynatureaquariums.com/index.htm
>
> Only 10,000K on all tanks that you see. And lots of light. No reason
> to not use 10,000K for a planted tank.
>
> But some plants do look washed out a bit compared to 6,700 or 5,500.
> Red fish appear more red under the warmer Kelvins.

Beautiful tanks! So, no algae problems? Common wisdom has it that
too high a color temperature encourages algae growth. So there you
go, so much for common wisdom... :-)

Personally, I still prefer the warmer look of lower color temperatures but,
ultimately, it is a matter of taste and what mood you want to create.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[seeOtwo]

"BB" > wrote in message >...
> Absolutly stunning tanks, Looks like you put alot of time into it. Out of
> curisity what are your thoughts on the new Coralife lights, compact tubes i
> beleive. I have heard they are wonderfull for plants compared to the basic
> set up for lights. Thoughts? If I may ask as well what are you using for a
> substrate?
>
> Thanks

BB,
Those are NOT my tanks. They belong to Luis Navarro who I believe
never posts here.

The pictures don't do the tanks any justice. In reallity his tanks
are so striking that one can easily mistake them for artificial.

That being said I'm not sure you would like my opinion on aquarium
lighting, hehe. But here it is:

Light:
If you want plants then throw away the basic light that comes with
your tank. :-)
As far as Compact Fluorescent bulbs are concerned I don't think there
is a big difference between the diferent manufacturers supplying the
US market. Kim that runs AHSupply is known to sell bulbs that he
personally has confidence in. They are not Coralife but most
everybody knows AHSupply - great prices, great service, no glitches in
the product, as simple as that.

Substrate:
Luis uses a rather complex mix of different materials. Without too
many details - his substrte is layered - a base of some sort of
organic substrate, also something to fluff up the substrate and not
let it compact badly, everything is topped off with inert material.
Ask about layered substrate here and I belive many folk will give you
more details. I personally didn't have success with such substrates,
but Luis has.

--Nikolay

[seeOtwo]

>"Michi Henning":
> Beautiful tanks! So, no algae problems? Common wisdom has it that
> too high a color temperature encourages algae growth. So there you
> go, so much for common wisdom... :-)
>
> Personally, I still prefer the warmer look of lower color temperatures but,
> ultimately, it is a matter of taste and what mood you want to create.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Michi.

Michi,

As I said in the post to BB - those are NOT my tanks.

No algae in Luis's tanks no... The water in his tanks is so clear that
one of the tanks fooled me - I thought Luis was still setting it up
and it had no water, just plants, until I saw the CO2 bubbles raising
to the surface. :-)

I agree - it is a personal preference what bulbs to use. I like
10,000 K a lot but as I mentioned before - some colors do appear
lighter under such light. Some folk like to mix their bulbs so they
get the desired effect.

--Nikolay

[Alan Silver]

In message >, seeOtwo
> writes
>Those are NOT my tanks. They belong to Luis Navarro who I believe
>never posts here.
>
>The pictures don't do the tanks any justice. In reallity his tanks are
>so striking that one can easily mistake them for artificial.

He doesn't post here, he doesn't have any words on his web site ;-(

Any idea of his set-up ? His tanks look stunning.

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/

[seeOtwo]

>Alan Silver:
> He doesn't post here, he doesn't have any words on his web site ;-(
> Any idea of his set-up ? His tanks look stunning.

Alan,

I'll post what everybody that knows Luis can tell you:

- Layered substrate (see my other post in this thread)
- Light - 4 to 12 (yes, twelve) wpg, usually 10,000 Kelvin
- Dosing - Fe/Traces only
- Water changes - twice every week, 50% each
- UV sterilizer
- Eheim filter
- Plants - plan the layout carefully and don't uproot/move plants every few weeks.

That is it. No magic pill.
I, like some other folk, view Luis as an artist :-)

--Nikolay

[Michi Henning]

"seeOtwo" > wrote in message
om...
> - Layered substrate (see my other post in this thread)
> - Light - 4 to 12 (yes, twelve) wpg, usually 10,000 Kelvin
> - Dosing - Fe/Traces only
> - Water changes - twice every week, 50% each
> - UV sterilizer
> - Eheim filter
> - Plants - plan the layout carefully and don't uproot/move plants every few
weeks.

Up to 4 W/gal at 10,000K, no CO2, and no algae?
Amazing -- that's against all the usual advice. Maybe the
twice-weekly 50% water change has something to do with that?
At any rate, the tanks are absolutely stunning.

Cheers,

Michi.
--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com