roadmaster
Member
8000K makes my cardinal Tetra's color's pop against the green plant's black substrate.
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Lets get the 6500k debate going again then
- Thread starter Danny
- Start date
8000K makes my cardinal Tetra's color's pop against the green plant's black substrate.
sanj
Member
I think concensus of opinion is not always based on all those opinions having first hand experiance. Most people I would hazard to guess dont actually know.
What a lot of us do know is that plants will grow under many different light Kelvin and the difference in performance is negligible for most of us to notice. So generally speaking you choose what you like the look of.
On my big tank I am currently using a combination of Arcadia bulbs, mostly because I really like the look of their Arcadia Freshwater Pro, which really does give a crisp light where the greens pop. I use these in combination with pinker Original tropical pro and Plant pro which is a combination of the first two. Not the cheapest option. Best go to Lampspecs for that.
What a lot of us do know is that plants will grow under many different light Kelvin and the difference in performance is negligible for most of us to notice. So generally speaking you choose what you like the look of.
On my big tank I am currently using a combination of Arcadia bulbs, mostly because I really like the look of their Arcadia Freshwater Pro, which really does give a crisp light where the greens pop. I use these in combination with pinker Original tropical pro and Plant pro which is a combination of the first two. Not the cheapest option. Best go to Lampspecs for that.
sciencefiction
Member
- Joined
- 26 Feb 2013
- Messages
- 3,406
I think when it comes to plants, we should distinguish how we see the light colours and how plants and other animals perceive the light.
Not the best source but here are a few extracts from wikipedia below. Once we understand how we humans see the light, we maybe able to understand what the plants or fish need on another hand which could be something we don't see at all, hence we can't reproduce properly artificially.
Color or colour (see spelling differences) is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, blue, yellow, green and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra.
Because perception of color stems from the varying spectral sensitivity of different types of cone cells in the retina to different parts of the spectrum, colors may be defined and quantified by the degree to which they stimulate these cells. These physical or physiological quantifications of color, however, do not fully explain the psychophysical perception of color appearance.
Electromagnetic radiation is characterized by its wavelength (or frequency) and its intensity. When the wavelength is within the visible spectrum (the range of wavelengths humans can perceive, approximately from 390 nm to 700 nm), it is known as "visible light".
Most light sources emit light at many different wavelengths; a source's spectrum is a distribution giving its intensity at each wavelength. Although the spectrum of light arriving at the eye from a given direction determines the color sensation in that direction, there are many more possible spectral combinations than color sensations. In fact, one may formally define a color as a class of spectra that give rise to the same color sensation, although such classes would vary widely among different species, and to a lesser extent among individuals within the same species. In each such class the members are called metamers of the color in question.
The ability of the human eye to distinguish colors is based upon the varying sensitivity of different cells in the retina to light of different wavelengths. Humans being trichromatic, the retina contains three types of color receptor cells, or cones. One type, relatively distinct from the other two, is most responsive to light that we perceive as blue or blue-violet, with wavelengths around 450 nm; cones of this type are sometimes called short-wavelength cones, S cones, or blue cones. The other two types are closely related genetically and chemically: middle-wavelength cones, M cones, or green cones are most sensitive to light perceived as green, with wavelengths around 540 nm, while the long-wavelength cones, L cones, or red cones, are most sensitive to light we perceive as greenish yellow, with wavelengths around 570 nm.
Light, no matter how complex its composition of wavelengths, is reduced to three color components by the eye.
While most humans are trichromatic (having three types of color receptors), many animals, known as tetrachromats, have four types. These include some species of spiders, most marsupials, birds, reptiles, and many species of fish.
Most light sources are mixtures of various wavelengths of light. Many such sources can still effectively produce a spectral color, as the eye cannot distinguish them from single-wavelength sources. For example, most computer displays reproduce the spectral color orange as a combination of red and green light; it appears orange because the red and green are mixed in the right proportions to allow the eye's cones to respond the way they do to the spectral color orange.
A useful concept in understanding the perceived color of a non-monochromatic light source is the dominant wavelength, which identifies the single wavelength of light that produces a sensation most similar to the light source. Dominant wavelength is roughly akin to hue.
There are many color perceptions that by definition cannot be pure spectral colors due to desaturation or because they are purples (mixtures of red and violet light, from opposite ends of the spectrum). Some examples of necessarily non-spectral colors are the achromatic colors (black, gray, and white) and colors such as pink, tan, and magenta.
Two different light spectra that have the same effect on the three color receptors in the human eye will be perceived as the same color. They are metamers of that color. This is exemplified by the white light emitted by fluorescent lamps, which typically has a spectrum of a few narrow bands, while daylight has a continuous spectrum. The human eye cannot tell the difference between such light spectra just by looking into the light source, although reflected colors from objects can look different. (This is often exploited; for example, to make fruit or tomatoes look more intensely red.
Not the best source but here are a few extracts from wikipedia below. Once we understand how we humans see the light, we maybe able to understand what the plants or fish need on another hand which could be something we don't see at all, hence we can't reproduce properly artificially.
Color or colour (see spelling differences) is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, blue, yellow, green and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra.
Because perception of color stems from the varying spectral sensitivity of different types of cone cells in the retina to different parts of the spectrum, colors may be defined and quantified by the degree to which they stimulate these cells. These physical or physiological quantifications of color, however, do not fully explain the psychophysical perception of color appearance.
Electromagnetic radiation is characterized by its wavelength (or frequency) and its intensity. When the wavelength is within the visible spectrum (the range of wavelengths humans can perceive, approximately from 390 nm to 700 nm), it is known as "visible light".
Most light sources emit light at many different wavelengths; a source's spectrum is a distribution giving its intensity at each wavelength. Although the spectrum of light arriving at the eye from a given direction determines the color sensation in that direction, there are many more possible spectral combinations than color sensations. In fact, one may formally define a color as a class of spectra that give rise to the same color sensation, although such classes would vary widely among different species, and to a lesser extent among individuals within the same species. In each such class the members are called metamers of the color in question.
The ability of the human eye to distinguish colors is based upon the varying sensitivity of different cells in the retina to light of different wavelengths. Humans being trichromatic, the retina contains three types of color receptor cells, or cones. One type, relatively distinct from the other two, is most responsive to light that we perceive as blue or blue-violet, with wavelengths around 450 nm; cones of this type are sometimes called short-wavelength cones, S cones, or blue cones. The other two types are closely related genetically and chemically: middle-wavelength cones, M cones, or green cones are most sensitive to light perceived as green, with wavelengths around 540 nm, while the long-wavelength cones, L cones, or red cones, are most sensitive to light we perceive as greenish yellow, with wavelengths around 570 nm.
Light, no matter how complex its composition of wavelengths, is reduced to three color components by the eye.
While most humans are trichromatic (having three types of color receptors), many animals, known as tetrachromats, have four types. These include some species of spiders, most marsupials, birds, reptiles, and many species of fish.
Most light sources are mixtures of various wavelengths of light. Many such sources can still effectively produce a spectral color, as the eye cannot distinguish them from single-wavelength sources. For example, most computer displays reproduce the spectral color orange as a combination of red and green light; it appears orange because the red and green are mixed in the right proportions to allow the eye's cones to respond the way they do to the spectral color orange.
A useful concept in understanding the perceived color of a non-monochromatic light source is the dominant wavelength, which identifies the single wavelength of light that produces a sensation most similar to the light source. Dominant wavelength is roughly akin to hue.
There are many color perceptions that by definition cannot be pure spectral colors due to desaturation or because they are purples (mixtures of red and violet light, from opposite ends of the spectrum). Some examples of necessarily non-spectral colors are the achromatic colors (black, gray, and white) and colors such as pink, tan, and magenta.
Two different light spectra that have the same effect on the three color receptors in the human eye will be perceived as the same color. They are metamers of that color. This is exemplified by the white light emitted by fluorescent lamps, which typically has a spectrum of a few narrow bands, while daylight has a continuous spectrum. The human eye cannot tell the difference between such light spectra just by looking into the light source, although reflected colors from objects can look different. (This is often exploited; for example, to make fruit or tomatoes look more intensely red.
You know what also makes a difference ? The positioning of the tubes. If the light isnt hitting the viewing side of the fish, it is going to look dull. On my first tank there was just a single 18W 6500k tube in the back half. I had guppies at the time and when they would swim to the front to beg for food they looked horribly dull but when they swam to the back they looked great
HI had to jump in i use 6500k only because i don't like the tank looking to yellow as can happen in the lower k. The water just looks crisper under whiter light but thats just me. My plants are not bothered what light they get as long as it is enough🙂
