No problem. Take good care of the water temperature. Try to get the lighting which close to 8000K.

Hi All
I have a few questin about lighting.

1) Is it true that blue light will make plant become shorter and denser. As for the red plant it will become more red?

2) If this is correct where to purchase blue light? I notice that Nirox PL tube have 1 white and 1 blue. Does this light really make plant grow shorter, denser and red?

3) How long can a PL light last? I was told that PL light need to be change every 3-4months. Is this true?

Thanks.

Hi anakcili,

1) Is it true that blue light will make plant become shorter and denser. As for the red plant it will become more red?
False and the opposite for red plants. looks more dull. The CRI[colour rendition index] of blue light makes red plants look blue/purple.

2) If this is correct where to purchase blue light? I notice that Nirox PL tube have 1 white and 1 blue. Does this light really make plant grow shorter, denser and red?
The PL you are talking about are supplemental bulbs for marine tanks that have MH lighting. Meaning a luminaire that includes MH and PL.

3) How long can a PL light last? I was told that PL light need to be change every 3-4months. Is this true?
False.you can use 6 to 18 months. I have what really matters is are you giving the bare minimum at start of your tank.
If you are, then when the efficiency of the bulb drops then your plants cannot grow.
Other reason to change is when colour temp of lighting changes as it ages or getting a bad bulb.

HTH


Regards

Stan

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Hi Stan
Thanks for the info. This clear my doubt a lot as I only have 3 mths experience in this hobby. Before that I only do research.
By the way in order to make red plant become more red and plant become shorter and denser what is your recommendation? Hope you can share your experience.

Stan,

I dont really get you. what did you mean by "giving the bare minimum at start of your tank" ? care to explain/elaborate more? I last time went to malay school ler... thanks.

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Hi Yuhas,

Excuse me for the fat finger typo. The offending line should read.

If you are giving the bare minimum amount of light for the plants to grow when you start up your planted tank, when the bulb ages and diminishes in brightness over time then your plants will stop growing.

So if you are already giving ample light, some drop in the bulb brightness will still be ok.

Hope that clarifies matters.

Sorry for the manglish!

Regards

Stan

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From experience brighter lighting does both.

Some people say starving red plants can make it very red. The routine is to keep the plant living on precariously low levels of no3.


Stan

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how many here could afford MH?
i guess there aint gonna be too many of us here could? Mh does give the aquarist the advantage but it doesnt guarantee sucess...or elevate the user to Sifu.
the point is lets look at the majority, the common planters , folks who had just started out ...will they buy a MH?...well, i dont think so ...even if they could afford it.
the whole point of picking up aquatic plants as a hobby is to wreck our brains to see how to DIY stuff and keep the cost to the bare minimum...cut cost at all cost.
i have tried Mh and flo tubes...of course MH is the prefered choice but then flo tubes is a not too distant second...and much more easy on our wallet.

so what or which flo tubes to buy? what brand? how many to get? where to buy? at what price? is diy better or a complete set?
these are the most frequently asked question by beginners....so do we point them at the right direction or just aswer their question without knowing what we are actually talking about ourselves!!!

Here is my advice...if u are not ready to invest a few bucks in lighting..u might as well forget about giving aquatic plants a try...unless u have an outdoor tank.
Forget about the Flo tubes meant for home use ....they are near to useless and they will never work.if anyone tells u otherwise...then that person is a fool and u a bigger fool to believe him.
dont even dream of using that special house flo tube , take my word for it ...u will end up paying more money in the end...whats more its really a shame to see one's spirit snap due to dying plants.
be prepare to spend somewhere around rm150 to rm200 for a 4 footer tank.
either u come up with that money or dont get your hair wet! theres no cheap subsitute for lightings...u could come with all sort of rabbits from the hat for any other equipments...but never ever mess around with the lighting...GO FOR THE REAL STUFF...if u wannna stay in aquatic plant turf.
BE SMARTand START off at the right direction.

suppose u are ready to spend, the next question is how wisely do u spend that money?
i would say....the only thing u ever buy from the FS is the flo tube, the rest u could get at the fleas market, cheap electronic shops. ask around and try to get some help if u not good with the wirings....hey its DIY

so which flo tube to get....well thats a matter of taste...if u have a deep pocket then go for the expensive german tubes...they are expensive for a reason...they work 100%.
but then i would suggest the average priced ones...NEC and Hagen would be my choice(rm 25 to 30) , skip the cheaper Taiwan or PROC tubes (rm15 to 20)....they are sightly better than house flo tubes...so whats an extra ten bucks?
Planters nowdays are lucky in a way...when i started planting back in late 80s, theres only one tube avaiable for sale...a tube call sunglow,it looks like cork screw, with no indication of Ks or Lux or whatever...and the darn thing cost rm90...big money back then.

Next ...what type of tube to get?
many would recommand 6000K to 8000K tubes....but what are these numbers actually meant?
they will say its the closest to the colour of sunlight!....Yes , thats true!...but then the colour of sunlight at what time of the day?
its a known fact the colour sunlight is different at dawn , noon and sunset.

this is my formula which i worked out a few years back.....buy a 4 sets of tubes with different Ks. invest a little in Timers (the rm15 ones will do fine)...they would work wonders for u...and give your setup a touch of a professional.

2800K to 4500K...is the colour of sunlight at dawn
6000K to 10000k...noon and early afternoons...the brighest part of the day.(get 2 tubes at this range, this is the part of the day when plants are really on the move)
15000K to 18000K....is the colour of dust...its kinda reddish in colour, best for night viewing

set your timers for the lower K range to work at dawn and turn off at dusk, the mid range K to start up at noon and turn off at dusk, while the higher K works its way from noon to lights off .

next to look at the tube is the LUX....so what is lux??
LUX(lx)..is the international system for measurement of intensity or brightness of light....Candela(=im/sr)
the brightness of one candle light is 1.29LUX
Flo tubes with Lux of 85 to 135 will be good enough for planted tanks.
always check the side of tube box ...the lux will be written there.

and if u compare the lux of a home flo tube ...will know why they wont work , not only are Ks wrong , the lux are at the extrem low end

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Hi Ari...

WOw....nice lengthy explaination on the lighting...it is indeed a good refreshing reminder about the lighting part........Thanks for the contribution...beneficial to many beginners......i am one of them..haha

Regards,
Gary

I would have to disagree with this statement. Some of the fluorescent tubes meant for home use these days are suitable for growing aquatic plants. While tubes designed specifically for growing aquatic plants may provide better growth rates and may make the plants look better, the newer range of normal fluorescent tubes such as the Philips Super 80 Cool Daylight 865 (6500 Kelvin) provides a good spectrum and has decent lumen output.

My 4 foot tank uses the Philips exclusively and I can assure you the plants are far from dying... please refer to the following thread:

http://www.myfishforum.com/thread3845.html