• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Lets get the 6500k debate going again then

Danny

Danny

Member
Joined
29 Jul 2012
Messages
860
Right lol Since the last sort of debate on what kelvin colour is best I have seen nothing but people saying they are using 6500k, this goes from people new to planted tanks and more experienced guys basically everyone.

What I want to know is why do people choose 6500k? Why not 4000k or 8000k or anything else and why are the tmc tiles 6500k?
 
colour looks nice 🙂 ...
....not too white, not too blue, not too yellow and not too pink, quite good at picking out the colours of both plants and fish.
 
It just looks better 🙂 simple as 🙂

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Whoa massive debate looming.

Me personally 6500 -8000k is best it gives a nice white light and makes greens look vivid. Its what i class as a nice clean white light. Weakness, is the reds, but does this really matter, maybe if you have a shoal of red fish that you want to show the colours off.

4000k is very pink, great for showing reds etc but generally not that popular.

Others will give you a far more scientific answer, but for me visual impact is equally as important.

Example

With a 4-5k tube switched on, you can see the pinkness. was trying to show the red of the plants.
8323278560_c6ac4539d0_b.jpg
The Rotala Wallichii day 19 by andyh_2011, on Flickr

Same tank Running 6500k (2 tubes) only
8265476906_fb0748a7fa_b.jpg
White Backrgound by andyh_2011, on Flickr

3 tubes all 6500k
7798001618_d0107bffc3_b.jpg
Untitled by andyh_2011, on Flickr


hope this helps


Andyh
 
Danny said:
So combined with all of that does that kelvin also have the best growth results?
Click to expand...
My view is, light is light, kelvin is colour temperature. And within the range you are talking about there is no real difference in plant growth.
 
Wow! For that specific tank I'm inclined to say the 4-5K works better 🙂

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Wow now that is some difference in red with and without the 4-5k. I think the tank looks much better overall with the mix of 4-5k and 6500k

I am off work and bored as hell so thought this would help pass the time pmsl
 
Danny said:
So combined with all of that does that kelvin also have the best growth results?
Click to expand...
not sure, many say light is light, but reading a thread in our new sponsors sub forum, they hint at spectoral preference. From what i have read it really makes no difference. I think the 6500K is marketed as most like daylight, but i just pick the one i like the look of and go with that, time and many bulbs has ended up me using something around the 6500 mark, nice and warm and representative.
 
I would like to know what brings out more reds in plants and fish, as I'm planning on chilli rasbora and want their colours to be vibrant and strong. Maybe I'll opt for a lower range of Kelvins

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Danny said:
Wow now that is some difference in red with and without the 4-5k. I think the tank looks much better overall with the mix of 4-5k and 6500k

I am off work and bored as hell so thought this would help pass the time pmsl
Click to expand...
i think also the tank layout itself has an influence on what lighting looks good.
An open iwagumi may look too clinical without a hint of red/yellow to warm it up a touch, but jungle type scapes with lots of plants with dense mixed colour foliage and resultant shadows dont need warming up a lot.....of course depending on what your trying to achieve, then the exact opposite may apply.....its all down to personal taste 🙂
 
Here is simple pic which show the difference well. just took a pic of my t5 luminaire.

8471029662_40e012b87f_b.jpg
Kelvin rating by andyh_2011, on Flickr

As can be easily seen the pink tube is the one with a 4-5k rating the others are 6-8k. I like the versatility of the mutli tube setup as i mix them to give the desired effect.

Albeit i am tempted with a LED after seeing my brothers Marine LED setup and he could change each individual colour level with his IPAD. enhance pinks greens blues etc.

As its already been said different scapes call for different kelvin ratings. I can feel an expensive purchase coming on in the future but right now i can create pretty much all i need with a couple of t5 tubes.

AND just to ADD:
All tubes purchased from Home Page

Top down​
1. Osram skywhite 8000k​
2. Osram Skywhite 8000k​
3. Philips 6500k​
4. Grolux 5000k​
 
Kelvin is but a colour choice. Clive made an excellent post a couple of years back regarding kelvins. Ill find it later to save him from having to write it out again.

Remember people, marketing blurb is what you will read regarding spectrums and lumens. Don't believe the hype!
 
jack-rythm said:
I would like to know what brings out more reds in plants and fish, as I'm planning on chilli rasbora and want their colours to be vibrant and strong. Maybe I'll opt for a lower range of Kelvins
Click to expand...

Got a 6500K & a 4000K one of my tanks
The orange colouring on my T.Hengli is much better under the 4000K IMO
 
Nothing (?) to do with the original thread, but this might give something to think about Aqua-Web » Onko valon värillä väliä?. Mainly T8s but even they can give the idea what to look after. One must roll the page down to see pics. I found this very helpfull when learning what Kelvin-rates mean in practice: the spectrum must be seen before tubes or Kelvins are compared to each other and how does the spectrum effects on visual seeing of the light.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top