# 10K bulbs?



## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

I was down in Los Angels area today and i went to a pet store and was talking to who i think was the owner of the pet store. He had a very nice planted tank and he said that he used 10,000K bulbs. I always thought those bulbs were for salt water tank. They were white color and looked the same as the 6,700k bulbs that he had. He had a mixture of the 2 bulbs. He said that the 10,000k bulbs help for deep tanks because they were able to "penetrate" to the bottom of the tank since it was a pretty deep tank. Has anyone heard the same thing? I have a 37 gallon tank and its deep as well and he recommended me getting some too but he didn't have any in stock. I have 2X55watt PC light from AH supply the bulbs prolly need to be replaced and i wanted more advice before i ordered some.

I live 3 hours away from this pet store so i would have to order online if anyone has some recommendations for online suppliers it would help.
Thanks again.
Clay


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## discusonly (Mar 28, 2010)

Are you sure they are 10K or 9325K? If it's the 9325K, then it's GE Aquaray and you can order them online.


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

Yes definently 10,000k he had it written on the side of the tank i told em i had half 9325K and 6,500k and he said thats those were not the right ones.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

10k bulbs usually are bluer/whiter then 6500k/6700k bulbs. My favorite color combo is the 6700k/10000k combo. 

As far as the 10000k bulbs penetrating deeper I don't think that is true. Actually the lower the k rating the more "power" they have to grow plants. He may have thought that because marine tanks use higher k bulbs but that is because it helps with the colors and coral reproduction.


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

I was looken online and i noticed 65watt PC lighting are the same length as 55watt could i put 65 watt bulbs in? I have the 2X55 watt setup from AH supply, or would the ballast not support them?

From this description it sounds like these are for salt water?
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10914/product.web

Here a link showing they are the same length 21inch
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...life65watt10000kpowercompactlampstraightpin21


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

You would be fine. 55w/65w PC bulbs are the same thing.


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

What do you mean the same thing? Like wouldn't see an improvement? in wattage or the same like they can be used interchangably


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

latchdan said:


> I was down in Los Angels area today and i went to a pet store and was talking to who i think was the owner of the pet store. He had a very nice planted tank and he said that he used 10,000K bulbs. I always thought those bulbs were for salt water tank. They were white color and looked the same as the 6,700k bulbs that he had. He had a mixture of the 2 bulbs. He said that the 10,000k bulbs help for deep tanks because they were able to "penetrate" to the bottom of the tank since it was a pretty deep tank. Has anyone heard the same thing? I have a 37 gallon tank and its deep as well and he recommended me getting some too but he didn't have any in stock. I have 2X55watt PC light from AH supply the bulbs prolly need to be replaced and i wanted more advice before i ordered some.
> 
> I live 3 hours away from this pet store so i would have to order online if anyone has some recommendations for online suppliers it would help.
> Thanks again.
> Clay


It's interesting you mentioned this. I have a 29-gallon tank with (1) 6700K bulb in the back and (1) 10000K bulb in the front. The plants under the 10000K bulb seem to be doing better than the plants below the 6700K, especially my HC. I thought it was my imagination, but maybe not.

BTW, my tank is 19.25" deep, which is fairly deep. Both bulbs are 36 watts.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

kcrossley said:


> It's interesting you mentioned this. I have a 29-gallon tank with (1) 6700K bulb in the back and (1) 10000K bulb in the front. The plants under the 10000K bulb seem to be doing better than the plants below the 6700K, especially my HC. I thought it was my imagination, but maybe not.
> 
> BTW, my tank is 19.25" deep, which is fairly deep. Both bulbs are 36 watts.


I suspect that's got more to do with the way light is being distributed in your tank rather than the bulb spectrum.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

They are interchangeable. Some bulbs are even labled as 55w65w bulbs. Ultimately it will be the ballast that determines the bulbs wattage.


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## Yield9 (Mar 30, 2010)

The fish store guy was technically correct... The 10k bulbs do penetrate deeper into the water column because that wavelength of light is the last to attenuate with depth. The red/yellow end of the light spectrum is the first to disappear, usually at very shallow depth. 

This is unfortunate for planted tanks, since the 6k-7k wavelength is what stimulates photosynthesis.:icon_cry: 

Summary: Yes, the 10k light will reach the tank bottom with more strength than the 6,700 'plant bulbs', but it won't do much for the plants when it gets there!


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

Well just for S & Gs i picked some 10,000k bulbs up at the LFG store since i think i needed some new ones anyhow, ill let everyone know if i get better then my normal results with new bulbs or not.


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## fuzzyfred101 (Apr 7, 2010)

Yield9 thats not exactly right either. reefers use 10k bulbs(closer to the blue spectrum) cause the blues reach deeper in the ocean so the corals are more adapted to that color temp. we use 6700-6000(closer to the yellow or red) cause that is what our plants are more adapted to. 
Now there are a couple of holes in this idea. 1.) the depths of our tanks are not going to filter out much of any side of the spectrum (this happens in the ocean cause of how deep it is) 2) in our flouresent lighting the 6700k's put out more lumens per what (my 10k on my reef puts out a par reading of 200, and my 6700k puts out a par reading of 340) so the brighter the light the deeper it penetrates.


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

So for plant growth what combinations of light are best?


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## fuzzyfred101 (Apr 7, 2010)

also remember that chlorophyll absorbs 2 major lighting spectrums 420nm and 660nm







which is why a lot of people use 10k and a Rosetta bulb around 670nm because they lean more toward the desired colors, i use a combo of all 3 (and for single bulb fixture 6700 uses the best combo of the two)


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

FW plants aren't that picky. Most bulbs in the 5000-10000k range will support growth just fine (plus some outside that range- the PowerGlo 18,000k also has peaks in the right ranges), and I've yet to see any scientific study that's proven that any k value is better or worse than any other for any given species of aquatic plant...

People stress too much over this IMO. Pick bulbs that you like the looks of. 

I personally don't like the lower kelvins, I think they look too yellow.


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## Leester (Apr 5, 2010)

Doesn't the sun radiate the same level, lumens & spectrum over the ocean and the the swamps?!?!?
Tannens do lessen the clarity, but it's fresh water not dense salt water. still confused newbie :>


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## Leester (Apr 5, 2010)

FuzzyFred, Right On! these are what I'm preaching from a soap box on, the sun and it's output. I'm still waiting to see proof that only 6500k bulbs are for plants?!?!?! To me it doesn't add up I'm sorry everybody, but Spectrum makes absolute sense to me, anyway. I'm a newbie here, but I've had saltwater systems for over 25 years and would love to see the facts. Lighting without CO2 causes algae, I've seen this but, I'm not convinced that this is an absolute. There must be a bioload that allows Flora and Fauna to flourish properly, ascertaining this is the fun of our hobby. Respiration should balance within a biotope. More fish more Co2, more CO2 more O2,,,, eventually.


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## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

I personally like the 10K and 6700K bulbs...at least for freshwaters. you can even do both 6700 if you don't mind the more pinkish tint to your tank.

Plants can still use the 10K but it's a MUCH lower usage rate. 1 6700 and 1 10,000K bulb is the way to go fro what i can see


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## stewardwildcat (Feb 24, 2010)

Keep in mind that the Kelvin rating it what your eye sees. I can make a high kelvin bulb by having a very strong narrow emission line in the blue end of the spectrum and very little red and nothing else. The Sun is 6000k but it is pretty much a continuous spectrum (it can be thought of as a 6000K incandescent light bulb). A Kelvin rating on a bulb doesn't speak to that bulbs spectrum. A growbulb has a very low Kelvin rating (as they appear red/pink) but it has all of the light a terrestrial plant will need. Look at the spectra of the bulbs you are looking at (most are available online) and compare that to the action spectrum of chlorophyll. You want blue light and red light for the leaves and you want colors in between because the reason we all do this is for US TO SEE THE LIFE INSIDE. Use the advice on here about which bulbs work well but don't take only a Kelvin rating as gospel truth for making your plants grow perfectly.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

fuzzyfred101 said:


> also remember that chlorophyll absorbs 2 major lighting spectrums 420nm and 660nm
> 
> 
> 
> ...


+1 Its's the spectrum in the graph above that matters to the plants. Our eyes see the green spectrum the best. So, pick a 10,000 K, 5000K, 6,000K or whatever. Just verify that the spectrum resembles what you see in the graph above. PAR (Photosynthetically active radiation) is more important than lumens. Lumens is a rating of brightness for our eyes. PAR unfortunately is usually not listed by the bulb manufacturers. Below is a link that might illustrate PAR levels of various bulbs.

http://216.187.96.54/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=44531


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## fuzzyfred101 (Apr 7, 2010)

lauraleellbp said:


> FW plants aren't that picky. Most bulbs in the 5000-10000k range will support growth just fine (plus some outside that range- the PowerGlo 18,000k also has peaks in the right ranges), and I've yet to see any scientific study that's proven that any k value is better or worse than any other for any given species of aquatic plant...
> 
> People stress too much over this IMO. Pick bulbs that you like the looks of.
> 
> I personally don't like the lower kelvins, I think they look too yellow.



I agree with you on this too. I have even used actinics on mine to try and get the color the way i want it. But as others said too the kelvin rating is the color that you see, not the nm that it emits.


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## Beeya (Mar 29, 2010)

I don't think you'd see a whole lot of difference between the 10K bulb you're looking at and the ones you already have apart from visible colour, which is more a matter of personal preference.

Bulbs in the lower kelvin ranges typically produce more PAR than higher rated bulbs. This can vary somewhat depending on bulb/ballast combinations (especially with MH lighting) but most of the tests/comparisons I have seen peak with the 6500 - 6700K bulbs and drop off from there. 

Reefers tend to use bulbs with higher K ratings because corals look different, and in some cases actually change colour completely, based on the wavelengths and intensity of light they're receiving. Coral farm setups usually rely on bulbs in the lower K ranges to get optimum growth, because these bulbs produce more usable energy per watt. The downside is that some corals tend to wash out under these bulbs and look unattractive, even though they're growing like crazy. If corals looked the same under every kind of bulb you'd see a lot more reefers using 6500K.

Depth of penetration has less to do with bulb type (although blue wavelengths do penetrate further) and more to do with lighting system type and intensity. Generally depth of light penetration goes -

NO fluorescent < PC < HO < MH (higher wattage MH = more depth penetration per bulb) 

Anything around 18-20" or less and I'd bet just about any PC or HO bulb would be just fine.


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## fuzzyfred101 (Apr 7, 2010)

Beeya said:


> Bulbs in the lower kelvin ranges typically produce more PAR than higher rated bulbs. This can vary somewhat depending on bulb/ballast combinations (especially with MH lighting) but most of the tests/comparisons I have seen peak with the 6500 - 6700K bulbs and drop off from there.


exactly, i have see the same (i pay more attention to t-5s though, ha just like them better but that has nothing to do with this ha)



Beeya said:


> Reefers tend to use bulbs with higher K ratings because corals look different, and in some cases actually change colour completely, based on the wavelengths and intensity of light they're receiving. Coral farm setups usually rely on bulbs in the lower K ranges to get optimum growth, because these bulbs produce more usable energy per watt. The downside is that some corals tend to wash out under these bulbs and look unattractive, even though they're growing like crazy. If corals looked the same under every kind of bulb you'd see a lot more reefers using 6500K.


 yes and i have seen tons of reefers using 67's to pick up par because it is harder to get a high par reading (particular with t-5s were actinics have such a low par) 



Beeya said:


> Depth of penetration has less to do with bulb type (although blue wavelengths do penetrate further) and more to do with lighting system type and intensity. Generally depth of light penetration goes -
> 
> NO fluorescent < PC < HO < MH (higher wattage MH = more depth penetration per bulb)
> 
> Anything around 18-20" or less and I'd bet just about any PC or HO bulb would be just fine.


Ha i would like to add the ongoing debate of MH and t-5 ho, t-5s are much more efficient per watt then MH and with proper reflectors can me used on deep tanks.


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## Jace (Feb 20, 2008)

Let me answer your original question: This is the best resource for 8800k bulbs.

http://www.marinedepot.com/65W_Powe...ct-PowerCompact-PC1651-FILTBUPCSQSWDL-vi.html

These are a happy medium between the two colors. BUT measure your fixture, make sure these will fit in your setup.


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## milesm (Apr 4, 2006)

think PAR not K


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

bsmith said:


> They are interchangeable. Some bulbs are even labled as 55w65w bulbs. Ultimately it will be the ballast that determines the bulbs wattage.


WARNING: I used 55s for a long time and noticed the same thing. I put in the 65s and burned up my ballast within 6 months. I found the guts to a 65w ( Hamilton tech) ballast online and havent had any problems since. I think the 65s on my 55w ballast was too much for it.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

......and get idea on the 8800k. If I used a 6500k and a 10,000k then one side of my tank would appear brighter than the other. Ive heard alot of debate on this and this is great info! i too am getting ready to replace bulbs and have recently been torn between the 65 and 10 ks with all the debate. Does one produce better reds in plants or is that strictly fe? I have good ferts and fe but my rotala varieties that were red go green after time. thats what made me think to change my bulbs in the first place is I want redder reds. which ones better?


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## stewardwildcat (Feb 24, 2010)

I take it you are using 2 power compact Fluorescent bulbs? If you have a dual fixture (t5) sure there will be a "little" color differentiation but it should even out by the time it hits the water even.



chad320 said:


> ......and get idea on the 8800k. If I used a 6500k and a 10,000k then one side of my tank would appear brighter than the other. Ive heard alot of debate on this and this is great info! i too am getting ready to replace bulbs and have recently been torn between the 65 and 10 ks with all the debate. Does one produce better reds in plants or is that strictly fe? I have good ferts and fe but my rotala varieties that were red go green after time. thats what made me think to change my bulbs in the first place is I want redder reds. which ones better?


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

bsmith said:


> They are interchangeable. Some bulbs are even labled as 55w65w bulbs. Ultimately it will be the ballast that determines the bulbs wattage.


Which also means that if you put a 65w bulb in a fixture with a 55w ballast the bulb will only put out 55w. A 65w ballast will drive a 55w bulb to output 65w.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

That's what interchangeable means.


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