[IUnknown]

Just installed the 9325K's a couple of weeks ago and I am finally getting some incredible red's,

 

[ShaneSmith]

The light alone caused the red of the plants. or do you think it could be from something else. I have gotten reds like that using 10000k sometimes. But it might just be the tendency of the plants. My Cuba stays mostly yellow green with some orange.

 

[IUnknown]

I think the light plays a big part, but there are other factors. The tank is finally getting balanced out. I am dosing the same amount of No3 and Po4 that I was when I was using 5000K bulbs. Maybe the improved growth is stressing the plants from higher No3 uptake. I don't know.

 

[Rolo]

When it comes strictly down to lighting though, red plants will look redder under the 9325k bulb then your other white ones (6700k, 10k). I've gradually replaced all my 6700k with these and there is a difference. Sometimes I use a mix.

The idea isn't that this bulb actually makes plants turn red. It brings out red colors to their fullest.

 

[Raul-7]

Personally I don't like this bulb, it makes the tank seem un-natural and "overdoes" the colors of the plants.

 

[tsunami]

It's an exchange. Do you want red plants but wash out the colors of your green plants? Then, this bulb is for you.

I prefer a mix whenever possible. However, these bulbs by themselves are just too much for me. I remember my cardinal tetras looked horrendous under these bulbs (the blue neon stripe was washed out). However, I think red fish should really stand out under these bulbs...

They don't actually turn the plants red so much as they make them /look/ redder by emitting more light in the red range than other bulbs.

Carlos

 

[IUnknown]

Carlos,
so you don't think it has anything to do with the bulb? If I ran this tank with just 6500K bulbs I could achieve the same redness? I understand what you mean with the red tint, but I'm talking about the actual plants color. So the color of the plant is solely a function of the lights intensity and low nitrate, and has nothing to do with the spectrum of the light that reaches the plant. I thought the color of the plant reacted to different peaks in the light wavelength, and that these bulbs were so successful because they peaked high in the red wavelength.

 

[magicmagni]

9325K's are great for highlighting reds. I've been using them myself for a few months now. I have to agree that they are quite red by themselves, although it seems that the intensity fades somewhat with time (at least that's been my experience). I currently use two of these with two 10,000K corralife bulbs and find the result to be very pleasing to the eye.

As far as making the red plants physically grow redder, I don't think that this is the case with these bulbs. They only give the appearance of redder reds if that makes sense. For example I can take a very red looking HYGROPHILA POLYSPERMA 'SUNSET' that is just in your face red under those bulbs and put it under a 6700K bulb and see a reduction in the appearance of red on that plant instantly.

 

[gpodio]

I don't know that I agree with that. I have mixed lighting on one of my tanks, the right side has the 9325K bulbs and the left has 6700K bulbs, you can see the difference in color on the same plant even out of the water under the same lighting. I think it's a mixture of both, that is the 9325K does bring out the colors "visually" but it also effects in some way the actual color of the plants. In all I like to use a mixture of 9325K and 5500-10000K bulbs. The greens tend to look dull under the 9325K alone but you also get used to it as one tank has only these and it's no longer an eye sore for me

There was a webpage not too long ago showing the difference in plant color (out of the water) when grown in the same tank but with different bulbs, I can't find the link anymore.

Giancarlo Podio

 

[IUnknown]

I remember reading about this in the past. I might have gotten spectrum helping growth compared to color confused? Amano uses 8000K and gets very deep reds out of his plants, one reason I was interested in the MH bulbs that should be imported eventually.

Doing research,
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200309/msg00687.html

Phil Edwards said: "My hypothesis is this: Since a plant produces red
pigments to capture blue
light, then a plant grown under a higher K rating bulb (more blue light)
should be more red than if it were grown under a lower K bulb."

I am sure that you will find this to be true.

The red pigment I believe also absorbs the blueer wavelenghts: violet and
ultraviolet. That explains why many land plants here in sunny Malta turn red
/reddish/brownish at the approach of summer, to protect themselves from
harmful UV rays, much like tourists turn from white to brown. Their melanin
absorbs the harmful UV rays. (Some of the tourists do turn reddish (g), but
that's because their melanin production wasn't activated quickly enough)
...
Regards

Stephan

 

[aquaverde]

This is a photo of my 10g lit with 9325K NO tubes. Actually, the greens don't seem too bad under these lights.

A mix with 6000-10000K is better though, because the reds are really too intense.