Lighting Question

[hohm44]

I have a coralife compact florescent fixture with 2 65 watt bulbs for my 55 gallon planted tank. What is the best balance to use in terms of color spectrum? I've just put in bulbs from Catalina that are 6700k/10000k combos. While this is sufficient for the plants' needs, it doesn't make the discus look that great, the colors of the turqs seem to wash out. What would be a good compromise between the plants and the esthetics of my fish. I would appreciate any opinions and advice you all may have. Cheers!

[BillyinNYC]

Since you have plants, you might want to replace these with 6700k bulbs. (The 10K spectrum is overkill in freshwater--unless you have lots of plants it may even contribute to algae.)
Coralife also makes a colormax bulb which is 50% 6700K and 50% colormax--which has a pink/violet hue that helps enhance colors and in my opinion make the light a little less yellow (depending on your preference of course.) On my 95 gallon planted/discus tank, I use one Colormax PC along with two 6700K bulbs and get a nice result.

If you don't want to replace both bulbs, you might consider replacing just one of your bulbs with a full 6700K and keep the extra 6700/1000K aside as a replacement for your remaining 6700/1000k. (That way the 10k level is reduced quite a bit.)

I think discus aren't generally as comfortable in lighting that is really bright (like powercompacts) regardless of the Kelvins and that may contribute to them paling a bit until they feel "more at home" over time. I'm not sure what your set-up is; how densely planted, how long you've had the discus w/without this lighting, etc., but you might also see a difference by adding some extra shade in the form of tall plants, driftwood, etc.

Hope this helps some..


I have a coralife compact florescent fixture with 2 65 watt bulbs for my 55 gallon planted tank. What is the best balance to use in terms of color spectrum? I've just put in bulbs from Catalina that are 6700k/10000k combos. While this is sufficient for the plants' needs, it doesn't make the discus look that great, the colors of the turqs seem to wash out. What would be a good compromise between the plants and the esthetics of my fish. I would appreciate any opinions and advice you all may have. Cheers!

[hohm44]

It's not that densely planted, so I'll watch for algae starting. Do plain 6700k's enhance the fish also? I understand that 6700k is ideal for the plants.

[nikond70s]

anywhere from 6-10k is ideal for plants. but most people usually dont use the 10k. i had the coralife 96watts and use the 6700k on my tank and it looks nice. i think the 10k gives it that kinda blueish look which doesnt make the tank/fish nice it looks better in reefs. so i say go with the 6700k.

[hohm44]

Right then, 67's it is!

[Darrell Ward]

6500K is a bit less blue than 6700K , and supposed to be the same as daylight. Looks very natural.

[Skip]

HIJACK>.

what is a good bulb for plants..!? 24" bulb.. they have those reef light, flora light.. etc?! idk which to get!? :(

[Orange Crush]

Anything that is 6500K or 6700K for plants. I personally do not like the look of the colormax. But that is only my opinion, everyone is different.

Personally I use one 6700K and one 18000K on my planted tanks which is great for plants and really makes the reds in fish stand out. That is prob too much for discus but if you use floating plants it would look great!

[Aquanero]

I agree I don't like the colormax as a primary light too red for my taste. 6700 & 10K is my favorite combination for both plants and enhancing the color of fish. 10K has a nice spike in the red spectrum and a good overall balance. 6700 is a nice bright white and is less yellow than the 6500 when viewed side by side. The combinations available with that type of fixture is limited, if you go to a T-5 set-up you have more options to mix bulb combinations.

As a side note, I changed the lighting over my 225 about six months ago. I run 3 24" double bright LED fixtures overlaped, one in the center towards the back and the left and right towards the front with one row of lights over the center section if you can picture what I'm saying. I also have one 24" T-5 Fixture over the center behind the LED. The T-5 a colormax/actinic combination and is set to turn on for 2 hours after the LEDs turn off. This gives a subdued light while still providing visability. The combination of red/blue brings out some nice colors and transitions the day night cycle.