# Benefits of Red Lights



## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

The way that they help red plants is by accenting their color. They don't actually help them grow better or faster, but make them "pop" as some scapers say. Same result for green light on green plants.

Hope this helps!


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Assuming its not just a "accent" red light and actually outputs enough red light spectrum (, it triggers a release/production of a certain "hormone/chemical" (cant remember the name of it) that allows the plant to actually become more red. And I believe it actually helps all plants grow more (not just red). I think blue is the most utilized with red being a next runner up except that red has a hard time penetrating water. Plants only utilize a limited amount of green and actually reflect a lot of green, which is why they look green to us and green lighting can have them reflect more green (i think it "reflects" from the inside out, not just a green light is casted on them) making them look a more vibrant green.

I do recall hearing someone say that red is also limitedly utilized as well and more doesnt always mean more of that "hormone/chemical" is made beyond it's limit.

Someone with fresher and more knowledge on lighting will come along and clear things up I am sure.


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## essabee (Oct 7, 2006)

Lights with strong red spectrum will have the effect of giving your stem plants a bushy look as they tend to have a shorter internodal elongation. Intense light with strong red spectrum will also induce the production of anthocyanin in certain plants which can make them look red - and naturally red plants look more red.


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## Jamal96 (Jun 16, 2015)

I was thinking of replacing 2 out of the 4 with these pink ones. What do you guys think?


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## Mr2peak (Jul 15, 2015)

Go for it. I used to have 12 white, 12 blue. I switched it up to 14 white, 6 blue and 4 magenta. The tank is a lot more balanced and everything has better color.

Plants use red and blue light. White light gives a balance and makes everything look nice. Commercial farmers use only Magenta to cut down on energy usage. The magenta lights are spec'd to put out wavelengths specifically useful for photosynthesis with no waste. That said, everything looks very strange under only magenta lights, you need a balance for everything to look good.


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