New Light Arriving

Up to this point I have been using Seachem products along with CO2 injection on my 30 gallon planted tank. . My light is a 50 / 50 6 500 trichromatic daylight phosphor & antic 420 phosphor. I chose this because it said it showed off the fish & was good for the plants.

My plants are nice & green, but they are stunted. They don''t seem to be growing @ all.

I have, arriving today, a Flora Sun ( 8 500 K ) plant light with peak emmissions in the blue & red regions.

Should I see an improvement ?

How many hours a day would you run this light.

Thanks.

 

I'd run the light 12 hours. Probably a 9am-9pm cycle. This should be a good photo period for a light like that. It also depends on what sort of plants you have. After you start the new light I'd keep close eye on everything to make sure they're not getting baked and have time to adjust, especially low light plants.

 

Correction. My light will not arrive for another week & it is a 10 000 K.

 

I would use something like a 6500 or 6700 k bulb for the plants. Then you will see the most growth.

 

Agreed. 6700k is almost natural color temp, If you want to see your plants grow i would definatly go with 5500-6700k. 10000k may be fine but not optimal.

"Most aquatic gardeners prefer those with a rating in the vicinity of 5000 to 6500 K. This is a color that closely mimics natural midday sunlight"