I work for a civil engineering firm, and sometimes we have a lighting sales rep come in to talk to us about their fixtures and what not, for indoor and outdoor lighting, for us to spec on our plans.

Well, they came in today, and after the meeting I got to talking to one of the guys about a light bulb for my fixture, and he wants me to send him some information on what I have now, and what I would like to have for it

I have the 36" long coralife lunar aqualight, with 2x96watt bulbs, and 2 blue led moonlights. I currently have a 6700K bulb and a 10000K bulb, but I only use the one 6700K.

So my question is, what is the best possible bulb type if he was to get someone to make me a bulb? 34" long, what wattage? and what "K" rating, for plants?

Thanks very much
Eric

Hi Eric,
I think the plants will adapt to whatever light in that Kelvin range (or even lower) so the "best" will depend on what you like to look at. Only you can determine the length requirements since it has to fit inside your hood/fixture. The wattage will depend on what level of nutrient/CO2 dosing and growth you are prepared to execute.

I'm afraid I'll have to plead ignorance on all that lunar landing lighting stuff since I don't look at my tank at night. The daylight bulbs are typically rated near 7000K and this produces a nice clear image with the greens and any yellows of the plants really standing out. As you go lower towards 6000K and below the light is in the pink and purple which if used too much seem dim and eerie to me, but if used in sufficient quantity can help highlight the reds in the plants. Up towards the 10000K doesn't do have any redeeming quality for me but some may like it. In any case these are all just personal preferences and the plants will use whatever you give them. Withing this band one Kelvin rating doesn't seem to be any more advantageous than another.

If you want a high light, high maintenance tank then multiply you tanks volume in gallons by three or more and that the total number of watts you need. If you are new to growing plants, or if you want lower maintenance requirements, you may want to consider multiplying by 1.5 to 2 and call it good. So you see it depends on your goals and ambition with the tank, therefore "best" is subjective.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thanks very much ceg....that is a great response! I really appreciate it

I would like to go high light and grow these beautiful plants I see, and I tried....but this time around, I think Im going to start slow, and work up to high light, high maintenance

Im going to leave my bulbs alone for now. I should need new ones within the next few months, so I will look around again

I like sunpaq's 8800K bulb, and I like their 6700/10000 combo bulb

I will just tell this lighting rep, thanks but I think I will be ok, and move on

Thanks again!
Eric