Aquarium lighting comes in different "colours" as most of us know. Some prefer the whiter colours as it looks prettier in our tanks. Others like the daylight colours.
Which light spectrum do you use? And what are the differences (if any) you see in the health of the flora and fauna when using lamps of different light spectrums?
My personal experience is that fish seems less comfortable with the whiter colours. They're always hiding under 8000K lights.
That is something new to me. Maybe they can go under the "Others" section as I doubt they are anywhere near being as popular is the 6500K and 8000K bulbs. Or am I wrong?
For viewing purposes I prefer a mix of 6,500k and 10,000k. It's about as close to true 8,000 k as you can get in the States aside form the ADA bulbs now available. Fish and plants seem to do very well under those kelvins. Honestly though I think it has more to do with the quality of bulb you are using.
I had the Zoo Med Flora Sun bulb which had a horrible purple color to it that looked terrible in my office cubicle! I finally exchanged it for the Zoo Med Ultra Sun Bulb - Super Daylight 6500K. Now my 2 Gallon Nano - Betta Bowl looks great! And with the Daily Dosage Schedule, now looks the way I have always wanted it to look. And with the new light - I actually can show it off! (The other color made everyone that walked by my cubicle want to puke. I would only use THAT light when I WENT HOME for the day!)
Thank goodness, it looks good now!
I am surprised no one has pointed this out. You are taking a poll on color or kelvin, not on the spectrum of the bulb. It is quite possible to have 2 bulbs exihibit the same color or kelvin and show differing spectrums.
Spectrum can be defined as the distribution of variance or power across wavelength or frequency.
Whereas Kelvin can be defined as the color temperature of light source.
In essence the poll is about what Kelvin people prefer, not which spectrum.
I for one, would like to see someone that has the knowledge and just as importantly, the equipment, step up and plot the spectrum of the bulbs commonly used. Much like Dr Sanjay Yoshi has accomplished in the reef community.
I like a mix: Philips PL-L 950 PC, 5000K, 91 CRI; a Sylvania grolux and a C75.
Spectrum refers to the visible light spectrum that a bulb emits and is measured in nanometers from 400 nm to 700 nm. I think you are refering to kelvin temp (color temp of a bulb). Two very different things.
I use 10,000 k Dual Daylight. I'll admit that I don't know much about lighting, or color spectrum so I'm going to be watching this post with interest. When I was outfitting my aquarium with a lighting upgrade I asked for recommendations from different suppliers and this was recommended for my needs more often than any others. When I got the aquarium there was a horrible purple light in it.
I'm curious about actinic lighting. I keep coming across it but I'm not seeing any advantage for my aquarium. It says the blue actinic lights reach farther into a deep aquarium. As long as the smaller plants are getting enough light to grow and thrive is there a need for blue lights? Don't the daylight bulbs provide blue spectrum?
All of the light emitted from an actinic bulb is in the blue region, typically 430 to 450 nanometers. It is more of a marine bulb but can be effective in a planted tank if mixed with other lights that emit in the green and red areas of the spectrum. Different types of bulbs emit in different areas of the spectrum and at different intensities. An incandescent emits heavily in the red region and fluorecents are all different emitting all thru the visible spectrum and also have an inherent spike in the green area that does nothing for plants but is what humans percieve as brightness. I am away at the inlaws and do not have access to my jpgs on spectral graph outputs for various bulbs. I have a post in the lighting section with some attachments that may help understand this better.
I found your post and read it. Thank you for sharing that information. In your other post you said that blue is the best light for red colored plants, so if I have red in my aquarium the actinic lighting would be beneficial?
Also, I'm slightly confused by the number values. Would the 10,000 k daylight lamps provide more of the same, or is it pretty useless? Is the "k" beside the number an indication of the spectrum? I kept my packaging to order replacement bulbs and looking it over all it says is that it provides "Optimum spectrum for photosynthesis in chlorophyll A & C" and that it's 96 watt dual daylight 10,000 k. Umm....now I feel silly, it also says 6700k. I have no idea what I have. Wow, that's embarrassing. How does it have both?
I've been looking at prices and I think I know why they recommended the bulb that I have now. In the 96 watt range the dual daylight 10,000 k 6700k combination is about $50 per bulb. The straight 6700 k bulbs are less expensive. Are there any advantages to having the 10,000k or did I fall for a smooth-talking sales pitch? I don't mind the extra costs if it's a good choice. If it's worthless then I won't buy that when I need replacements.
The K is for kelvin, a temp scale. This is based on a black body being heated and turning color(s) as it gets hotter and hotter. Like iron being heated up you get to red, then yellow, then white and then blue, etc. It is the color the bulbs look like and has nothing to do with the colors in the visible spectrum being emitted. The culmination of the spectral output and the intensities of each color determine what the overall color of the bulb. Yet you can have two bulbs with the same K value and have two different spectral outputs (graph).
The 10,000K will have a lot of blue being emitted and would be redundant to an actinic bulb. All of the 6700K bulbs that I have seen the spectral graphs for have a huge spike in the green and will give your tank a green hue. Also, green will make your plants look more green but offer nothing in the way of photosynthesis.
Your red plants will benefit from any blue light.
The dual PC bulbs have one half actinic and the other is 6700K. They just put different phospour powder in the tubes.
This Bubba bought a 36 inch plant bulb for my office cubicle that made my desk look purple. Blech!!!!!!
I put up with it for ages.
Then the store finally said that I could exchange it.
6700 K BRIGHT WHITE. THANK GOODNESS!!!!
I looks so much better.
Thank you for the clarification, even if I had to reread it 2-4 times.
This hobby makes it as difficult to purchase the correct bulb as possible.
I do the same thing, I save the box the bulb came in, so that when I need to get a replacement it is easier to do.
I love my dual daylight bulb in my Orbit Current light fixture. 10,000k and 6,700K and the tank looks great.
Mine doesn't have the actinic part right now, but I just took at look at my lights. I'm half blind now, but with it on, one half does look slightly blue compared to the other half, which looks softer white. Now that didn't tell me a hell of a lot about what colors are being emitted from my particular bulb and other than making me half blind I don't believe I really accomplished much.
Actually what I think you're saying is that the duel daylight combination of 10,00k 6700k works to feed the plants and makes the colors of everything look better by providing the extra green bands of light? If I got that right then I'll stick with the dual daylight bulbs because it looks like a good compromise.
I love my dual daylight bulb in my Orbit Current light fixture. 10,000k and 6,700K and the tank looks great.
Mine is a SunPaq retrofit kit too. As soon as I installed it and got rid of that horrible purple light that came with I liked the difference. I could see the details of my substrate and even pick out snails wandering across the bottom from across the room.
One of these days I want to get an aquarium with 4-5 watts per galon. The lights really add to the enjoyment for me.
Just so that nobody that reads this gets confused.......
Actinic lighting exists for only one reason. Symbiotic organisms that live in corals require this type of light to survive. Therefore, the only practical application for actinic lighting is for reef systems.
It probably won't hurt anything in a freshwater planted setup, but it will be a big waste of electricity.
Actually, I believe actinic means to stimulate photosynthesis or some such similar phrase. Its practical use is for marine setups but can be used in the planted aquaria..............................the property of radiant energy especially in the visible and ultraviolet spectral regions by which chemical changes are produced.
Here is an example of how two bulbs of the same kelvin rating can have different spectral outputs: Philips C50 and C75 compared to GE Chroma 50 and Chroma 75 (these are for linear fluorescent bulbs).
I'd agree that actinics (and almost any other bulb) can produce light energy in wavelengths useable by freshwater plants. Enough of just about any kind of light seems to be able to overpower an imperfect kelvin rating. In practical usage, most people have found that lighting in the 5,000-10,000K provides for effective photosynthesis while having a nice appearance. Most people prefer the 6,500-9,325K range. Actinic light is quite blue and apart from being less than optimal for photosynthesis, most people don't like how plants look under it.
At the moment I use a mixture of 6500k and 12000k.
I know 12000k is too high for planted tanks (and produces an awful purple colour), but its an experiment. I am going on the teory that the lower the kelvin the taller and lankier the plants grow. So a kelvin of 12000 should? produce compact dense growth.
I have that light over various stem plants. Its too early to tell for sure, but the leaf nodes do look like they are growing closer together.
Is it true that the best spectrum for photosynthesis and plant all round colouring is 8000k? Amano uses and sells this spectrum for planted tanks, and he claims they are the best. Does anyone have any experience with his tubes? Are they really as good as is claimed?
Cheers
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