Lighting suggestions please

[Lucas]

I'm not too happy with the light output of my dual 24 inch fluros. They are the original tubes that come with the aquaone light housing and I've been told they're not great and wont last as long as good bulbs.

I want the tank to look like daylight, but not washed out or way too yellow. Theres plants galore, but not fantastic growth at the moment. moderately stocked with gouramis.

What two bulbs will give me good output and colour?

[HaNs]

Get some tubes around 6500k

[spoon]

yep if u arent buying prpoer aquarium tubes go 4 a cool white which is 6400k like hans said . a warm white is the yellow colour u want to avoid

[Dixon1990]

Cool whites ive seen are 5000k daylight is 6700

[Lucas]

Cool, what about the proper ones at the LFS? Are they just an expensive option?

[Ira]

Ones from the LFS are great if you like paying 5 times as much for a different packaging.

[spoon]

it also depends on what colour lite u like looking at and also ur needs like marine ppl sometimes use slightky blue tubes and other hues for different purposes are availible 4 instance i have a biolux branded tube(bout $25) it puts out light in the blue and red spectrum this helps with plant growth and makes the colours on the fish look brighter i also have 2 6400k tubes ($6) ea at bunnings these are perfectly fine for plant growth and ur fish still look gud underneath them

[Lucas]

I love bunnings

[Faran]

865 bulbs are decent and cheap but if you want the equivalent of pet shop bulbs for half the price get the 965 bulbs. That's the same bulb but different packaging. If your local hardware barn doesn't have them in stock check for local Lamp Specialists or similar company who will be able to help you out for very competitive prices.

[HaNs]

865 bulbs are decent and cheap but if you want the equivalent of pet shop bulbs for half the price get the 965 bulbs. That's the same bulb but different packaging. If your local hardware barn doesn't have them in stock check for local Lamp Specialists or similar company who will be able to help you out for very competitive prices.

Whats the 865 and 965 k ratings?

[alanmin4304]

It is all a matter of personal preference and what you want to achieve. I have used a combination of growlux type tubes and cool white with a tenth of the wattage in incandescent for many years with success. I tried the daylight tubes for a year but reverted to the old way. There are different brands of growlux type tubes and they will have slightly different colour output but I put them in the front because they make the fish look better. I would say to try different things and go with what works for you. That also includes the time the lights are on and what type of plants you are growing.

[Dixon1990]

Whats the 865 and 965 k ratings?

the 65 is for 6500k and the 8 and 9 is the bulb version or something, Thats what i read here anyway

[purplecatfish]

If you want it to look like daylight you need a lamp with a colour rendering index of 100. I'm guessing that the 865 and 965 ratings are CRI of 86.5 and 96.5

Take a look at:

http://www.aquabotanic.com/lightcompare.htm

Before you get bogged down in the technical stuff and give up, scroll down to the tables to see all the different ways that you can compare lamps.

There's lumens (the amount of light), efficiency, CRI, etc. But remember The light spectrum that you perceive is different to that of plants because we are hard wired to see green and plants want red and blue for photosynthesis. so when Alan says:

combination of growlux type tubes and cool white

he's onto a good combination for your tank. The growlux is ideal for plant growth and the cool white is ideal for your vision"

[Lucas]

Hmmm... I get the feeling that is what I already have in the current setup. Is it likely that they are not very grunty tubes or do I simply need more of them? :-?

[purplecatfish]

It could be the age of your tubes as they lose lumens over time. or you might need more lamps.

But lamps for plants often look dim to human eyes due to the lack of green in their spectrum. And conversely a bright light to human eyes can have low photosynthetic usuable light and therefore 'appear dim to plants'.

[Lucas]

I should just try new tubes then. The current ones are only about a month and a half old. My tank is 45cm high with about 5cm of gravel on the bottom. Could the depth be an issue?

[alanmin4304]

I have a 1200mm tank 450mm high with 2 x 4ft flouros going 17 hours/day as I described so your tank is equivalent almost exactly to half of mine. Mine grows plant well so yours should as well. The tubes are better quality now than they used to be and will last about a year so the age of yours will not be a problem. Many people swear by daylight (7500k), and I think cool white is about 4000k and growlux about 10000k. I try all sorts of combinations and end up with what I think works for me, and I suggest you do the same. Contrary to popular belief Mrs Google is not Gods Mother in Law and not everything you read is the absolute truth. I am presently growing a whole range of plants emersed under artificial light and experimenting with different lights. One thing is clear and that is that not all plants like the same conditions and there are therefore many compromises that must be made. The challenge is to figure those compromises that work best for you.