# lighting question



## don (Nov 29, 2011)

I have a dual t5h0 hood on my 38 one bulb is a 6700k the other actinic, I dose with excel, I have florite and dose with florish, heavivly planted recently, I was wondering if I should replace the actinic with another 6700k? As for plants I have a wide variety that were all florishing but I recently added microswords, baby tears, glosso I want to make sure they have enough light


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

yes, do so if you can afford it. The actinic light does next to nothing for plants.


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Ditch the actinic and get yourself another 6700k or 10000k bulb. Actinics are only used in saltwater/reef setups.


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## don (Nov 29, 2011)

Which bulb would benefit me best? 10k or 6700? Also along with the florish I've been using and my florite substrate is there another fert I should get? Like the trace?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

don said:


> Which bulb would benefit me best? 10k or 6700? Also along with the florish I've been using and my florite substrate is there another fert I should get? Like the trace?


6700K is best.

If you have the fluorite substrate, then you don't need to add trace ferts.

I use a gravel/fluorite mix, and my plants grow well without any fertilization. The key is still light + CO2.


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## ubr0ke (Jul 12, 2011)

solarz said:


> yes, do so if you can afford it. The actinic light does next to nothing for plants.


not true...actinic lights will grow plants fine as long as there in the 430-460 nanometer range...color temp does not affect plant growth...par is what is used to measure useable light for plants and a 10000k bulb puts out the exact same par as a 6700k bulb..same goes for an actinic bulb in the 430-460 nanometer range...

Im not a fan of the blueish color they produce but they will work...

as for flourite...besides iron..what other trace/micro does it contain?..
flourite is inert but has a high cec...its not nutrient rich...but it does get better with time.


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## ubr0ke (Jul 12, 2011)

don said:


> Which bulb would benefit me best? 10k or 6700? Also along with the florish I've been using and my florite substrate is there another fert I should get? Like the trace?


flourish comp is good..As long as you are not adding co2 that should be enough.

you have to much light for non co2 tho..remove a bulb..


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## don (Nov 29, 2011)

I keep hearing mixed reviews, too much light or not? Currently have dual t5h0 6700k and 12k actinic with blue tint. Lights been running for 3weeks with no problems, also this past week I've started to dose with florish excel and comp no problems either, plants seem healthy, one type of my plant does have a little brown algae on it but that was even before my t5h0 hood, I don't know what to do about that.. All other plants are algae free


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## don (Nov 29, 2011)

heres the new plants and the one specie of plant that had the algae, also im noticing that the sword had that yellow brown mark on a couple of its leaves, any ideas?


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## ubr0ke (Jul 12, 2011)

light may not be an issue until your plant mass increases or organics start to increase..phosphates increase..there are so many variables...

the more light you use the chances of running into problems increase...

think of planted tanks like this...

light drives co2 demand...co2 drives nutrients demand...

if you keep light low ..co2 and nutrient demand are easily filled...

my suggestion is remove one bulb...keep it simple...


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## don (Nov 29, 2011)

thanks, can someone tell me the reason for the plants that have that brown, and yellow marks? i attatched the photos above


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Ubroke is right, plants will still grow under actinic lighting, but they will just barely. You would be in effect wasting electricity running actinic lights over a planted tank, just my opinion/experience. Take out your actinic bulb, and swap it for a 6700k. I had a Coralife 50/50 actinic 6700k dual bulb t5HO over my 75 gal and plant growth was extremely slow. Now with a 4 bulb t5ho 6700k, constant co2 and weekly fert dosing, the plants are noticebly healthier, grow faster, and some are even blooming flowers. As for the amazon sword, how long have you had it for, and do you know if it was grown emmersed or not? With my amazon, I bought it as the emmersed growth from PJ's, and for about a month the leaves developed holes, became yellow and at which point I cut them off. Eventually new subsmersed leaves took their place. If I were you, I'd either wait for some new growth, or pop in a couple flourish tabs right next to its roots.


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

6700K is the best for plants.
Also i think u should try yeast diy co2. Much cheaper than excel.
I notice that u have some hairgrasses, they need co2 to do well
For the browning its probably time to add some fert.
And for the florite substrate, i add root tabs after using it for few months. I recommend using the flourish root tab, it works great.


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