Sierra Posted November 20, 2011 Report Share Posted November 20, 2011 Today I decided to replace the 18" fluorescent light on my planted 20G. Well I went out and got this new brand I hadn't seen before called Aqueon... The bulb is called Floramax; Plant Growth. It doesn't directly say the wavelength but has a chart and looks to be around 6700 (i think if im reading it right...) Well I got home and put it in... it barely lights up the tank! everything is red tinged and dark. I have serious doubts about this bulb growing my plants when it doesn't even light up the tank at all. Does anyone have any experience with this brand/bulb? I am thinking of returning it as I am very unhappy with how it looks. The only thing that looks good are the shrimp you can barely see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaykit Posted November 20, 2011 Report Share Posted November 20, 2011 The bulb is around 5000k (a redish color) which is a better range for plants and growth. It is usually meant to be coupled with a 6700k or 10000k bulb so that you have a broader range of the spectrum for your plants. However unless your are doing a high tech planted tank you are more than okay with a 6700k or a 10000k bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Green light is what looks bright to us. What you see doesn't mean much to the availability of light to the plants. If you look at a spectral graph for the sun every colour/ type of light is present and the curve is smooth. The curve for flourescent bulbs are very choppy. The idea is to fill it out the artificial curve as much as possible. The colour temp (Ie. 6000k) is not important. You can have two lights that are 6500k with different spectral graphs and one could be better than the other. Think of it like mixing colours. You could mix a dark red with a light yellow or a dark yellow with light red. You could use different ratios of the paints in each case and end up with the same shade of green. Mix bulbs to get a look you like and leave it at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 The bulb is around 5000k (a redish color) which is a better range for plants and growth. It is usually meant to be coupled with a 6700k or 10000k bulb so that you have a broader range of the spectrum for your plants. However unless your are doing a high tech planted tank you are more than okay with a 6700k or a 10000k bulb. Whether or not the tank is high tech doesn't matter to the spectrum either. What changes that requires a different colour temperature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted November 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 (edited) Thank you for your replies. I so know that what we see isn't the same to plants. I was more basing my judgement on that the corners look dark and completely unlit and everything is very shadowed. The "light" doesn't look like it makes it to the bottom however I have A TON of plants so maybe they're absorbing it...no idea. You say it's 5000? Hmm so would it be suitable to grow them or do I need to pair it with something? Pairing it seems rather silly as my last bulb grew the plants great alone so I would go back to that one. Ton of plants fertilize 2x week DIY CO2 , excel sometimes Edited November 21, 2011 by Sierra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgreenslade Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 How many watts is the new light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 How many watts is the new light? It's only 15, I was wondering if the spectrum would be adequate for growing alone. However I decided to add another bulb because the look just didn't cut it. Speaking of the other bulb I bought to try. It's a new product from Lee Valley, it's specifically for plants, T5, roof mount for $29 bucks. However it does warn against use in damp places like all non-aquarium lights. Positives: -you can connect as many with a coupling cord (price undetermined as of yet) -it is to me cheap for a ready to use fixture with bulb included -gives some ridiculously long life in hours (we'll see) Negatives: -doesn't come with power cord -roof mount -not made for aquarium moisture....but I think it'll be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Influence Posted November 27, 2011 Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 There is one by sunblaster . You can by it at all seasons just off whyte ave . I use them on my planted tank and I highly recommend them Blake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Yep that sounds familiar, pretty sure it's the same one. How much did you pay where you bought it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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