Using 10,000K lights on a FW tank

[Grey Legion]

I bought a new light fixture for my 29Gal planted..it is 96W and comes with a 50/50 bulb

atantic (sp?) and 10,000K

my question is using this higher spectrum light will I have any ill effect in my tank ??, the tank look amazing in the new light everything is so bright and vibrant

I can get 6700K but kinda a waste of the bulb the light came with..

any help wouldbe great

 

[houndour]

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure, but I saw a post recently that said that 10,000k will prob promote alage growth.

I think the other type you are on abou is Actinic? I don't know anything about that. Sorry.

 

[squirrelrabbits]

The problem with the 10,000 k light (as I understand it) is that it's not going to help your plants much but it will cause algae problems. I have been been researching new lights and have been told over and over: for freshwater plants, you DON"T want 50/50, you want 6700 k. On the bright side, why don't you ebay the 50/50 bulb and use your catch to buy the new one?

 

[Lateral Line]

A 10000K 50/50 is more suitable for marine setups. Actinics have no real use in a planted tank, spectrum is to short wavelength. The portion that is not Actinic is also very blue end. Radiation up there will encourage algae, whilst not covering the red end of the spectrum where plants get a lot of their energy.

I've seen them sold as "ideal for marine and freshwater", in actual fact they are not ideal for either. They are a compromise meaning they don't do either job well.

Actinics are high blue end and simulate the absorption of lower frequencies by seawater, thus they appear to corals and inverts as open sky filtered by a depth of water.

Most plants come from rainforest creek type environments where the tree canopy has already filtered out a good deal of the short wavelengths.

For planted tanks a full spectrum 5000K - 6700K lamp is most suitable.

 

[Grey Legion]

Those were my thoughts to, I bought it on a whim and also it is the only one made in the 20" size...they just release a 6700K bulb and I'll look into it today and get pricing....

thanks for the help

 

[Grey Legion]

Just found a 6700K replacement bulb...I will be buying it ASAP but I will keep the other one if I ever use it on a nano marine tank...

more money spent...who ever said fish are cheap pets...