# intresting facts lighting



## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

ok ive bin having lighting issues i went and bought a ge plant and aquarium light it says wide spectrum but is only 3100k but it has 90 percent color rendering witch i will call of course (cr )

i just went on the ge website and found some intresting stuff all the daylight bulbs you all are using only have a 75 cr they have all types of different k

i would tend to belive that the cr is very important especially for plants right

i also found out that those new energy saver spiral looking bulbs in daylight only use 20 watts have a 82 cr and are 6500k and also have internal balast ( wich meens you could wire them your self cheaply for the cost of lights $9.00 for 3 and some wire )

? is the color rendering (cr) important if so 82 cr would be better than 75 cr right 
? what role does k have in the planted aquarium 
? is it better to have a bunch of these spiral bulb because of the 82 cr as aposed to the 75 cr of the regular daylight flouresent long bulbs


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

I use 4X40 watt T12 GE plant/aquarium flourescent lights, green box. I got all this at walmart for $40 including the shop light housing. My plants grow like mad so I highly recomend them. I am curious as to what those daylight Ge bulbs look like though. CRI is basically put this way. The higher the number the more true color you get from the object being lit. Its on a scale from 0-100. 0 is monochrome 100 is full color so basically get the highest number you can. Mine have a CRI value of 90 and the colors really do pop. Not a light expert but I play around with them at my job. K value is the light color output. The lower number is a more redish color and the higher numbers are more blue. Not sure about those spiral bulbs either. I have some in my home but I would go with flourescent lights not bulbs. Bulbs seem to give off a more direct light. Id use long flourescent lights. Hope this clarified more than confused lol.

Link to the lights I use.

http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/...er=FT0021lant


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

yeah i have one of those and 2 36inch eclipse daylight bulbs but i dont think the tank is bright enought for my plants

heres a question does the k effect plant grow as those ge plant and aquarium you refer to have only 3100 k as opposed to the daylight bulbs that have 5000k or so as you can get them with may different k is it just the brightness i see and not needed or what


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

I thought one end of the "Ks" penitrated water better but not sure which way, or if that was just hearsay.

I'm curious though, because I want to make my sons snail/guppy tank planted, and I have compaks at both ends of the spectrum. Some look insainly blue(to the point of being anoying), and some are just as orange.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

All the Kelvin (K) value does is determine the lights color. Like I stated before light with a K value below 5k will be orange/redish above that its more blue to white. Lumens is the lights intensity. Higher the value, brighter the light. Example: car headlights, standard halogen lights have a lower K value thats why they look orange yellow. Those high intensity replacement bulbs are higher on the Kelvin scale and produce a blue/white light. If your tank seems dark as in brightness get a bulb that has a higher lumens rating or simply more wattage bulb. My friends tank is way darker than mine. Only difference in lights is his are 20 watt mine are 40. More wattage = more lumens. Hope Im not confusing anyone lighting can get real complex. Persoanlly I like the looks of light below 5k seems more natural to me but thats me.


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

well the Ks have an effect on growing plants, and I "heard" that one end of the spectrum penetrates water better(I think it was the blue end).

From what I understand, it has to do with what parts of the spectrum are being emited. And some are better for certain things than others. For dart frog vivariums we go in the middle(daylight bulbs), for reptiles you need to get the uba and uvb parts of the spectrum so a Full spectrum works best. For fish I heard one end gets through water better.

The colors will look different like you said, but its not just the color of light, its the part of the light spectrum, and different parts are good for different things.


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

well ijust got back from home depot and petsmart from home depot i got a shoplight that holds 2 t12 40 watt bulbs 4 foot long oh and then i got 2 bulbs they are phillips t12 2200 lumens 40 watt cri is an astounding 92 and 5000k they should be perfect

from petsmart i got lobelia cardinalis also giant hair grass java fern and this other stuff

oh and flourish fertilizer so that adds to the already crazy amount of plants already in my 210 tommorow i will build a hood for the lights or something atleast to hold them up


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## barbianj (Aug 3, 2003)

John, do THIS.

You have more of a problem because your 210 is fairly tall and you need overal brighter lights for more penetration. Overdriving is very easy to do. The bulb on my 125 is overdriven. You saw the pictures, that is only ONE T-8 bulb so far. I need to get more.


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

barbianj said:


> John, do THIS.
> 
> You have more of a problem because your 210 is fairly tall and you need overal brighter lights for more penetration. Overdriving is very easy to do. The bulb on my 125 is overdriven. You saw the pictures, that is only ONE T-8 bulb so far. I need to get more.


i cant i have the magnetic ballest so it wont work for me

i just dont get it do i want more k and less cri or more cri and less k it seems to be one or the other at home depot

like the bulbs i just got are cri 92 and k5000 but it still doent seem that bright i also could not find 6 foot shoplights so i will have to add 2 2foot shop lights to the end of the light rack i just built to get the corners better i think then it will be much brighter over all cause the middle were the 2 shoplights overlap is bright like a fire but the ends are well not real bright i cant win i still have 160 watts in a 210 so i should be fine im just gonna get those2 2 footer and the same bulbs and see what happens


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