# 6700k vs 10000k - WOW!!



## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

I cannot believe the difference in color!! My corner tank has three retrofit kits setup in a triangle shape. I had:

Two sides - 6700k 1-36w,1-55w
One front - 10000k 36w

It was too yellow for my taste - the overall color, I mean. So I ordered 2 new bulbs to replace the 6700's - I ordered one 55w 10000k and one 50/50 combo bulb.

The combo bulb broke when I went to plug it in (AH Supply is replacing it), so I only got to try out the one 55w 10000k bulb, and holy crap!! It is so much clearer colored now. I'm VERY happy with the new look.

If you are unhappy with the yellowish color of 5500 or 6700, DO NOT HESITATE to try 10000!!!!

I will post pics as soon as the combo bulb gets here. I decided on the combo bulb because my last tank was lit with half the bulbs being 50/50 and half being regular (not sure what the temp was), and I liked the color.


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## YSS (Mar 5, 2005)

But I thought lower spectrum bulbs are better for plant growth and that's why people were using them.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

That's why I picked the 6700s to begin with, but I can't stand the yellowish color. Maybe a better quality 6700 than the ones AH Supply has would be better?? I don't know. But I do know I had excellent growth in my old tank with 50/50 and whatever else, and the tank was bright white.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

forddna said:


> I will post pics as soon as the combo bulb gets here.


Pics of before and after? Or just after?


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

I can post both. My before pics have always been really crappy between the yellowish, somewhat dim looking light and the bow of the glass..

I have a build thread. I'll dig it up and post. It has pics, including the bulb configuration.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/photo-album/55913-54g-corner-journal.html


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Here's two photos. First one is before, second is after. Same camera setting (auto).


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

It's kind of hard to see in photos. And, again, that's only changing ONE bulb.


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## mavisky (Jun 18, 2008)

6700 will always be yellow, it's the nature of the bulb. Same way an 18,000k will always look purple. No "better" bulb will fix it. I run 2 5,000's, a 10,000, and a 12,000 in my 55 to get a good lighting effect but still help the plants grow, I'll probably change out my 12k for an 8k just to help them grow that much better in the future.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I like 10k too, but if you look at the reds in your pics, the 6700k actually puts out more red light (that is then reflected back off your red plants)- so I like a combo. :thumbsup: 

Out of curiousity, which 50/50 bulbs are you getting? (I haven't looked to see which ones AHSupply carries...)


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## prototyp3 (Dec 5, 2007)

I like 10000k but only when mixed 50/50 with 6700k.
10000k brought out a blue tint to anything grey, which in my case was the substrate and rocks. They weren't the best quality bulbs though, maybe that was it?


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

lauralee, that's actually just becuase those swords aren't red right now.


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## thefishmanlives (May 20, 2008)

10000k and 6700 both grow plants of the same quality, one is no better for growth. Only difference is purely of aesthetic quality. And do you mean a 50/50 actinitic bulb? This is not good for plant growth, you should not use one of these if your looking for maximum light from your 3 bulbs for plant growth.  you should consider a GE 9325 to replace the 55 watt. Gives you best of both worlds. Nice "clear" light and brings out red like no other. And yes, your 10000k is washing out the color in your tank more then the 6700, especially the red sword, you can see it in your pictures but this is typical of 10000k bulbs.



forddna said:


> That's why I picked the 6700s to begin with, but I can't stand the yellowish color. Maybe a better quality 6700 than the ones AH Supply has would be better?? I don't know. But I do know I had excellent growth in my old tank with 50/50 and whatever else, and the tank was bright white.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Yes, 50/50 with actinic, and I had good growth with them before. I don't care about huge, lush, fast growth, just as long as my plants are healthy. I'd prefer slower growth, to be honest. Besides, that bulb will be covering an area with minimal plants.

Here's a pic of my old tank.


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## scherzo (Jul 22, 2007)

If you can turn auto white balance off on your camera you'll get a better idea of the difference.

Try and set the camera to a sunlight setting for the white balance and take the picture with both bulbs. This should show a drastic difference.


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## thefishmanlives (May 20, 2008)

to each his own :thumbsup: Some people do use them in the same way you do and to bring out color in fish. If at some piont u feel you need more light, you can always switch it out.



forddna said:


> Yes, 50/50 with actinic, and I had good growth with them before. I don't care about huge, lush, fast growth, just as long as my plants are healthy. I'd prefer slower growth, to be honest. Besides, that bulb will be covering an area with minimal plants.
> 
> Here's a pic of my old tank.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Yeah, I agree with the overall "look" of the 6700k bulbs as being more yellowish. You'll see that the lower in the spectrum you go (to a point) and the higher you go, the more bluish the light becomes.

I have 2 - 10,000k bulbs and 4 - 6700k bulbs on my tank and when only the 10,000k bulbs are on....WOW! They're a pure white with a touch of blue and it really brings out the colors in the plants and fish....the green on the plants and the blue & red on the cardinal tetras I used to have looked real nice.

It's all a matter of preference and everyone sees the color temps a little differently. But, we're still within the ideal range for light temperature for plants, which most people claim is 5500k - 10,000k or so.

-Ryan


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## Myka (Jan 22, 2008)

50/50 bulbs are for saltwater. Why would you bother wasting eletricity on a spectrum that isn't efficient for plants? Just esthetics...? I would think an 18000K bulb would be more efficient for the plants, and still pull the yellow of the 6700K more white.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

i've used 50/50 before when my light was overkill and I wanted to bring out the colors of the fish. I don't mess with 6700k by itself anymore... way too yellow. The only way one of my tanks sees a 6700k bulb is if it's half of a 10,000k.


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## Dave B (Jun 27, 2007)

Myka said:


> 50/50 bulbs are for saltwater. Why would you bother wasting eletricity on a spectrum that isn't efficient for plants? Just esthetics...? I would think an 18000K bulb would be more efficient for the plants, and still pull the yellow of the 6700K more white.


I think a lot of people might be like me, having gotten the actinic as part of a coralife unit.

I think it looks great to look at, as I too think the 6700 is too yellow, but I only run it for a couple hours in the evening for fish viewing, they have nothing to do with the plants.



thefishmanlives said:


> you should consider a GE 9325 to replace the 55 watt. Gives you best of both worlds. Nice "clear" light and brings out red like no other.


THANK YOU for mentioning this bulb by name. I have a 2x20 4' strip that came with one of my tanks and it really makes some of my red fish pop. The bulb labels are faded though so I could never tell what they were, other than the faint remnants of a GE logo on it. It has to be that bulb. I've been dying to get more of them, because I'd love to have one or two of those over the planted tank too, as the oranges of the fish are just not all that visible. I did some experimenting with 4000k and 5500 and 6700 over the planted tank and the oranges of the fish looked nicer but the overall light didn't make me happy at all.

If I can find a buyer I'm going to sell the Coralife unit and build my own setup over the planted tank with a blend of all these different ones though, experimenting till I find a nice blend of everything.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

We're talking about one bulb that is approximately 28% of my overall lighting. I seriously doubt it's any big hit. And really, it's only 14% since it's 50/50 daylight and actinic. 

BTW, I took some pics today to show how you can still really see the reds in the swords. The leaves just aren't real red at the moment, but there are some there that were blocked in the pictures. I got good pics of them! VERY red.

The majority of my plants are very green, and these bulbs make the green look FANTASTIC.

I wouldn't mind trying the 9325's, but..I only paid $40 SHIPPED for these 2 bulbs...it was a cost thing, or I would have gotten the 9325s. Next time around..


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

scherzo said:


> If you can turn auto white balance off on your camera you'll get a better idea of the difference.
> 
> Try and set the camera to a sunlight setting for the white balance and take the picture with both bulbs. This should show a drastic difference.


I gave away the bulbs, so no go. Plus I have no idea how to do any manual adjustments to my camera. I lost the book. :icon_cry:


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

Taking the pictures when the room is dark and the lights for the tank are on would probably show the difference better as well.


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## ingg (Jan 18, 2007)

Wow, tons of misinformation. 

Two 6000k bulbs are not always the same. Want to say all 6-7000k bulbs will be yellow? Go buy some Geisemann MidDays, plug them in, and come back and say it. You'll be lying, and they are 6k bulbs. No yellow tint to them whatsoever.

10k bulbs - and some 6-7k bulbs - are not all equal. Plants want a focus of two very specific bands for photosynthesis. Look it up, do believe there is a huge sticky showing the graphs. 

Some bulbs hit those wavelengths in force, some dont. 6-7k bulbs tend to be focused in their wavelength outputs in those bands more frequently than 10k bulbs, hence they are the most commonly sought. By the way - some actinics, Current has some for example, also hit one of those wavelengths (the blue side obviously) quite well, and are very suitable for plant growth in a bulb _mix_. 

In the end, will most bulbs work out? Sure they will. Sort of like, in the end, you can throw some shop lights over a tank and make plants grow. In the end, are some bulbs (by virtue of their spectrum) better than others? Just like a TEK fixture is better than those shop lights, of course some bulbs are better than others. 

A good mix, of which Actinics can potentially be a part, works great, and it is important to have it look decent to the eye, after all.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

I really like the 9325's but to me... they are not stand alone bulbs. In the same way the 6700k's are yellow... the 9325k's are pink. I personally could stand the 6700k's by themselves... but the ink 9325's wouldn't cut it. I think a perfect set up would be 1 part 9325, 1 part 6700, and 2 parts 10,000.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

ingg, I'm glad you said that about the yellowish of the 6700k's. I remember someone noting that the AH bulbs were particularly yellow. They're very cheap, so one would assume they are lower quality. 

Here's one of the pics I took earlier. See the really red leaf now?


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Take pics without the flash. It'll show the color better.


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

MedRed said:


> I really like the 9325's but to me... they are not stand alone bulbs. In the same way the 6700k's are yellow... the 9325k's are pink. I personally could stand the 6700k's by themselves... but the ink 9325's wouldn't cut it. I think a perfect set up would be 1 part 9325, 1 part 6700, and 2 parts 10,000.


X2 with the 9325K bulbs.

They're hard to beat for *$14.20*.


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## thefishmanlives (May 20, 2008)

no problem man. I know what its like to be on the hunt for something and not know a name or number for it. I may sound like a real pusher of 9325s but I simply love these bulbs. I love them even more that I cant run them  I changed to a 150x1 HQI for my 29 and miss my GEs. I recommend them to everyone because I believe they are just a great product, that lasted forever for me, and looked great, hands down. 



Dave B said:


> I think a lot of people might be like me, having gotten the actinic as part of a coralife unit.
> 
> I think it looks great to look at, as I too think the 6700 is too yellow, but I only run it for a couple hours in the evening for fish viewing, they have nothing to do with the plants.
> 
> ...


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## thefishmanlives (May 20, 2008)

your right, I looked at your journal and those 10ks look hella clear. I think people, myself included, get hung up on K ratings, thinking every 10000k or 6700k bulb looks the same and this is simply not the case. Appearance varies bulb to bulb. btw you can get the 9325s for $15ish. like I said tho, everyone has different tastes. that being said, i think the 9325 gives the crispness of the 10k with a nice amount of red it in to warm up the whiteness. love em. 



forddna said:


> We're talking about one bulb that is approximately 28% of my overall lighting. I seriously doubt it's any big hit. And really, it's only 14% since it's 50/50 daylight and actinic.
> 
> BTW, I took some pics today to show how you can still really see the reds in the swords. The leaves just aren't real red at the moment, but there are some there that were blocked in the pictures. I got good pics of them! VERY red.
> 
> ...


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## thefishmanlives (May 20, 2008)

This forum really needs a nice sticky with a more complete bulb color comparison index. I think people should really start doing this with each brand too. No reason why there cant be a thread on here that shows comparisons of 30 or 40 different brands/colors of bulbs. I cant find any color comparisons of HQI bulbs. Soon as I get my new 5500 (hi red) HQI bulb and new camera Im going to post 3 different photo comparisons of 6700, 8000, and 5500k (with high red rating) MH bulbs.


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

Left C said:


> X2 with the 9325K bulbs.
> 
> They're hard to beat for *$14.20*.


yeah... i'm currently running 1 part 9325k and 1 part $22ish Current 6700k/1000k bulbs. After I typed my post i went back and played with my bulbs. The 9325k's are just too pink to use by themselves. The 6700k's are tolerable but I really don't like them by themselves. I can use the 10,000k's alone. They have a crisp, bright look to them. They really make the blue's pop in my cardinal tetras. They didn't do too much for my darker greens... those leaves were ...eh. The 6700k/1000k brought out the greens without too much yellow. The problem with those was the reds. My ember tetras look blah without the 9,325k's. I bought the 9,325k's because of the hype on the forum. They are more than worth the money and do an excellent job... but I can't see them used by themselves.


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## thefishmanlives (May 20, 2008)

They are not at all too pink to use by themselves. Some people mix them but Ive seen many photocomparisons and have first hand experience. They are not like the Coralife pink bulbs which are real pink, those you cant use by themselves. The 9325s are used by many many people by themselves. Get some good reds going and you will see that all 9325 is the way to go. In fact Tony Gomez won the ADA Aquascaping contest for medium tanks about 2 years ago with only 2 9325's over his 29, and his tank looked nothing short of spectacular. I find your statement a little too definitive and may give people who havent used them the wrong idea. The colarlife colormax pink bulbs are meant to by mixed with another bulb, those really cant be used alone. The 9325s can and are used solely and very successfully actually. 



MedRed said:


> yeah... i'm currently running 1 part 9325k and 1 part $22ish Current 6700k/1000k bulbs. After I typed my post i went back and played with my bulbs. The 9325k's are just too pink to use by themselves. The 6700k's are tolerable but I really don't like them by themselves. I can use the 10,000k's alone. They have a crisp, bright look to them. They really make the blue's pop in my cardinal tetras. They didn't do too much for my darker greens... those leaves were ...eh. The 6700k/1000k brought out the greens without too much yellow. The problem with those was the reds. My ember tetras look blah without the 9,325k's. I bought the 9,325k's because of the hype on the forum. They are more than worth the money and do an excellent job... but I can't see them used by themselves.


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

Guys, where do you buy the GE bulbs for $15??


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## forddna (Sep 12, 2007)

One of them was with flash and one was without. I think this is the one without.


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## Andrewtfw (Dec 30, 2006)

The bulb is the GE Aqua Ray Fresh/Saltwater bulb. AGA used to include it in their flourescent and PC fixtures before they decided to put out their own bulbs. The AGA 8000K PC is a pretty decent bulb for plants as well. It does a nice job with the reds, though I am more partial to the GE bulb.


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## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

ingg said:


> Wow, tons of misinformation.
> 
> Two 6000k bulbs are not always the same. Want to say all 6-7000k bulbs will be yellow? Go buy some Geisemann MidDays, plug them in, and come back and say it. You'll be lying, and they are 6k bulbs. No yellow tint to them whatsoever.
> 
> ...


Good call about all bulbs not being created equal - people getting hung up on the whole K rating thing is about as useful as people getting hung up on the old WPG guidelines...Kelvin ratings do not dictate what a bulbs color temp is going to be, what it's going to look like...I'll include a link below that has photo comparisons of common bulbs with different K ratings...

Although the author of this post did a great job comparing different bulbs, user experiences with other bulbs with similar K ratings may be completely different. 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/59868-t5ho-54w-48-k-comparisons.html


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## ingg (Jan 18, 2007)

^^ Awesome link, he gets it. 

Now, if it started to compare different brands... then you'd see it even more. "Daylight" from one manufacturer can be totally different from "Daylight" of another. It has to do with what they use for... I don't know the real word for it, I call it the filler spectrums.... after they hit the primary bands. The look of bulbs can be completely different and have the same K rating.


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