# Does this ADA tank look good to you?



## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

Most of the ADA tanks have this high K light with bluish/green tint. I have come to associate this with low CRI 6500K leds.

Is this a look that time has passed by, or is this kind of light still relevant? While I don't dispute the amazing plant growth or aquascaping, its almost as if the light makes everything look more homogenized, as if the goal is to boost green lighting so that the plants look more healthy. (for instance, reds will show any brown or yellowish pigments in the leaves.)

Did this look evolve prior to LEDS, or did this look take hold at the advent of LEDs (poor quality) and never evolve?


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

I think for a simple iwagumi scape with only one or two species, higher K lighting doesn't look bad. But that's just my opinion. It's all subjective. I say use whatever looks good to your eyes.

One thing I can say is this style of scaping that you used as an example doesn't seem to be winning any aquascaping contests these days. Even the "minimalist" scapes (few plant species) are not so simple anymore. It's seems to be more about creating unique nature scenes that have great depth and detail. The bar has been raised and you are starting to see more diversity in both light choice and plant species.


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## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

madcrafted said:


> I think for a simple iwagumi scape with only one or two species, higher K lighting doesn't look bad. But that's just my opinion. It's all subjective. I say use whatever looks good to your eyes.
> 
> One thing I can say is this style of scaping that you used as an example doesn't seem to be winning any aquascaping contests these days. Even the "minimalist" scapes (few plant species) are not so simple anymore. It's seems to be more about creating unique nature scenes that have great depth and detail. The bar has been raised and you are starting to see more diversity in both light choice and plant species.


I'm not up on the aquascaping scene, but when I look at this tank, to me it looks like someone had access to some nice stone, organized them in a formulaic way, and knew how to grow carpeting plants.

Dutch style scapes have more focus on plants, more colors, more diversity. Natural style tanks seem more geared towards creating realistic habitats for the animals. Iwagumi.. meh. You've seen one, you've seen them all.

But I was talking about the light.


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

I wasn't quite sure what you were asking. The title suggests you were asking for opinions on how the higher temp lights look on an iwagumi scape. Your point about the use of green LEDs making the plants look more healthy may have some validity there. I don't think they do much for actual health of plants, no. 

I think a majority of folks just buy what they can afford that provides enough PAR, PUR, whatever, to grow the plants of their choice without much regard to actual spectrum or the specs. I tend to lean towards a little warmer LEDs with some red diodes mixed in there that are cheap. Scientific, I know. I don't plan to show my tanks in contests either.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

ChrisX said:


> Iwagumi.. meh. You've seen one, you've seen them all.


To each their own, but you clearly don't get it with a comment like that. I suggest you read up on Iwagumi type setups. They are harder to pull off because the static stone is the attraction so there's no hiding the scape with growing/pruning plants.

Oh look an in-tank diffuser on a large tank. :laugh2:


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Those scapes are a pain in the butt to keep, but are they fun to watch for more than a week? Sure, to each their own, but for my money I would take a picture and hang it on the wall. I get my personal zen from watching things grow and move around.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

ChrisX said:


> Most of the ADA tanks have this high K light with bluish/green tint. I have come to associate this with low CRI 6500K leds.
> 
> Is this a look that time has passed by, or is this kind of light still relevant? While I don't dispute the amazing plant growth or aquascaping, its almost as if the light makes everything look more homogenized, as if the goal is to boost green lighting so that the plants look more healthy. (for instance, reds will show any brown or yellowish pigments in the leaves.)
> 
> Did this look evolve prior to LEDS, or did this look take hold at the advent of LEDs (poor quality) and never evolve?


Prior to LEDs.. Mostly metal halides..
Prior to that, something in the Asian cultures..

https://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/blog/the-power-ada-history-takashi-amano-ada/


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

jeffkrol said:


> Prior to LEDs.. Mostly metal halides..
> Prior to that, something in the Asian cultures..
> 
> https://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/blog/the-power-ada-history-takashi-amano-ada/


Yes, actually those lights where combination MH 10k and 6500k CF if I remember correctly. Got to get the technical details correct :grin2:

And look at that diffuser. Not even all the way down and behind the mouth of the lily pipe.


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## madcrafted (Dec 23, 2017)

jeffkrol said:


> Prior to LEDs.. Mostly metal halides..
> Prior to that, something in the Asian cultures..
> 
> https://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/blog/the-power-ada-history-takashi-amano-ada/


I would guess prior to MH lamps would have been flourescents like the T12??


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Nothing says the photo isn't tweaked, either.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

vanish said:


> nothing says the photo isn't tweaked, either.


rotfl

It's from the ADA Nature Aquarium Gallery in Japan. Let me know if this video is doctored.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

houseofcards said:


> Yes, actually those lights where combination MH 10k and 6500k CF if I remember correctly. Got to get the technical details correct :grin2:
> 
> And look at that diffuser. Not even all the way down and beyond the mouth of the lily pipe.


There is the practical aspect in choosing the type of lighting..
Imagine trying to take sharp photos using dull incandescent..................or even tubes..


Blasting 500W MH's makes that a lot easier.........


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

And some say high light promotes algae.

What they don't show is how many guys are constantly working on those tanks.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Come on now, are we really going to go there again. It's not only the gallery it's plenty of hobbyist that do this including myself. Think of all the people that go full ADA. They would have the same setup at home. The MH is only run for a short time. The CF bulbs for the full cycle. You need the MH to grow the carpet on that tank at that time. By keeping the MH on a short leash it controls algae pretty well. 

Most professional pictures are taking with additional lighting BTW. They don't just use tank lighting.


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

houseofcards said:


> rotfl
> 
> It's from the ADA Nature Aquarium Gallery in Japan. Let me know if this video is doctored.


Well, compared to the video, the photo looks doctored to me. The green saturation is higher in the photo than what I see in the video.

Attaching a screencap of the video for comparison, so please take your attitude and check it.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

vanish said:


> Well, compared to the video, the photo looks doctored to me. The green saturation is higher in the photo than what I see in the video.
> 
> Attaching a screencap of the video for comparison, so please take your attitude and check it.


Of course the color will be different between a video and a picture. Your not even comparing the same tank nor the same plant. I'm not even sure what you point is about saying the photo is tweaked? I really don't think ADA has to prove to anyone that they know how to run a heatlhy planted tank. The gallery is open to the public anyone could see what they look like. 

So all the photos of planted tanks that look great using the ADA system are doctored? I truly don't understand your argument. There's a ridiculous amount of evidence both by ADA and hobbyist to make your point completely mute. Do you have anything to show that comes even close?


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Depends on the AGA bulb, if used. 
There is a "normal" and green enhanced version:
8000K 250W









https://tw.bid.yahoo.com/item/PY。。。青島水族。。。108-0641日本ADA-HQI複金屬鹵-100031614855


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

ChrisX said:


> I'm not up on the aquascaping scene, but when I look at this tank, to me it looks like someone had access to some nice stone, organized them in a formulaic way, and knew how to grow carpeting plants.
> 
> Dutch style scapes have more focus on plants, more colors, more diversity. Natural style tanks seem more geared towards creating realistic habitats for the animals. Iwagumi.. meh. You've seen one, you've seen them all.
> 
> But I was talking about the light.


i like iwagumi more than dutch because it brings a sense of calm


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

houseofcards said:


> Of course the color will be different between a video and a picture. Your not even comparing the same tank nor the same plant. I'm not even sure what you point is about saying the photo is tweaked? I really don't think ADA has to prove to anyone that they know how to run a heatlhy planted tank. The gallery is open to the public anyone could see what they look like.
> 
> So all the photos of planted tanks that look great using the ADA system are doctored? I truly don't understand your argument. There's a ridiculous amount of evidence both by ADA and hobbyist to make your point completely mute. Do you have anything to show that comes even close?


Did you even read the thread? 

The topic is about the lighting / color of the tank and how it looks in the photo.

Nothing to do with how well the plants are grown...

Edit: And by the way, you can see the tank in my snapshot _right behind_ the main tank in the photo, and it has the same glowing green color, so your point about it not being the same tank is irrelevant.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

ADA boosts the green on their lights to make greens pop. Nothing wrong with that. It's in the same vein as Dutch aquascapes that boost the reds instead.

I love the look of their enhanced MH bulb. Just wish it wasn't a DE bulb though. Their halide stuff isn't as high light as people think. They mostly use 150w bulbs.

Sent from my LGUS997 using Tapatalk


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

houseofcards said:


> Come on now, are we really going to go there again. It's not only the gallery it's plenty of hobbyist that do this including myself. Think of all the people that go full ADA. They would have the same setup at home. The MH is only run for a short time. The CF bulbs for the full cycle. You need the MH to grow the carpet on that tank at that time. By keeping the MH on a short leash it controls algae pretty well.
> 
> Most professional pictures are taking with additional lighting BTW. They don't just use tank lighting.


As we've seen for years, most threads that are ADA related turn into bashing. I love their scapes and I would like to accomplish something just somewhere close one day. Their tanks are what got me into the hobby and where I still go for motivation. 

Of course they do their best in the gallery to have the cleanest, best looking tanks. To do less would be like going into a car gallery and finding cars that had been taken on numerous test drives and never washed.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

gus6464 said:


> ADA boosts the green on their lights to make greens pop. Nothing wrong with that. It's in the same vein as Dutch aquascapes that boost the reds instead.
> 
> I love the look of their enhanced MH bulb. Just wish it wasn't a DE bulb though. Their halide stuff isn't as high light as people think. They mostly use 150w bulbs.
> 
> Sent from my LGUS997 using Tapatalk


Yep as mentioned by @jeffkrol as well that particular fixture was available with two different versions of the MH. Whether it was the 150MH or 250MH they both had a green bulb option.

Bump:


Jeff5614 said:


> As we've seen for years, most threads that are ADA related turn into bashing. I love their scapes and I would like to accomplish something just somewhere close one day. Their tanks are what got me into the hobby and where I still go for motivation.
> 
> Of course they do their best in the gallery to have the cleanest, best looking tanks. To less would be like going into a car gallery and finding cars that had been taken on numerous test drives and never washed.


Pretty much same for me. and yes the car analogy is a good example. You don't need to go to the gallery, you could see the same result by an advanced hobbyist who knows what they're doing and see the same thing.


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

jeffkrol said:


> Depends on the AGA bulb, if used.
> There is a "normal" and green enhanced version:
> 8000K 250W
> 
> ...


Yep, the enhanced version is called NAG Green. No different than using bulbs that enhance the reds in plants.


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## Sweded (Aug 26, 2016)

He is an even better example of this ADA Green bulb making green plants totally pop.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Jeff5614 said:


> Yep, the enhanced version is called NAG Green. No different than using bulbs that enhance the reds in plants.


For fun.. SPECTRA plot w/ data set image.
90CRI..7690K.. Oddly actually a blue tone..
Link:
http://www.qualiteitems.com/image/ada8000kgreen250.JPG

sorry, thing is addictive..


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

It seems like ADA has been doing the high cri thing from the beginning. The Gen 1 aquasky also plots at 90cri. Not so overpriced after all since it took everyone else years to hit 90.

Sent from my LGUS997 using Tapatalk


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## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

Sweded said:


> He is an even better example of this ADA Green bulb making green plants totally pop.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj0FdkcSvu8


I bought a UV sterilizer so my tank didn't have that look!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> It seems like ADA has been doing the high cri thing from the beginning. The Gen 1 aquasky also plots at 90cri. Not so overpriced after all since it took everyone else years to hit 90.
> 
> Sent from my LGUS997 using Tapatalk


thought most mh's were higher CRI..











> Illustrated (above) is a table of common low to medium output street light lamps to help compare the various types and their performance.


http://www.kbrhorse.net/streetlights/preserving_street_lights02.html


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Only the Iwasaki 6500K is something like 99CRI. The rest not so much.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> Only the Iwasaki 6500K is something like 99CRI. The rest not so much.


true. but the point was they could have picked almost any Mh........to begin with..









Well now you may understand why I "push" high CRI led's.. 
Or, at least .. color management..
Orig. white led's were as [email protected] as orig flourecents..


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffkrol said:


> true. but the point was they could have picked almost any Mh........to begin with..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well their Aquasky's are not bad considering they were pushing 90cri when everyone else was in the 70's.

Also I was advocating for high CRI leds years ago when the first gen Vero 18 Decor 5600K came out 

The spectrum of the Iwasaki 6500K is a beaut though.








More cyan than all you cyan lovers will know what to do with.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> The spectrum of the Iwasaki 6500K is a beaut though.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sadly an in-between tech..
any one using iwasaki 6500k for sps tank? - Reef Central Online Community
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-do-people-run-6500k-bulbs.341803/page-9#post-4547891

Reefers (some understand it) 


> As far as "yellow" Iwasaki...if your water looks yellow at 90+ CRI, it IS yellow. Iwasaki 6500K has good correlation to real sunlight and renders true colors.


normally find it too yellow..... and really too strong for fw and to be honest.. most consider it "high maintenance".. though it's not as bad as many think..

http://www.lamptech.co.uk/Spec Sheets/D MHQ Iwasaki M70P36.htm


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

jeffkrol said:


> Sadly an in-between tech..
> any one using iwasaki 6500k for sps tank? - Reef Central Online Community
> https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/why-do-people-run-6500k-bulbs.341803/page-9#post-4547891
> 
> Reefers (some understand it) normally find it too yellow..... and really too strong for fw and to be honest.. most consider it "high maintenance".. though it's not as bad as many think..


You can dim the bulb with a 250w electronic ballast.


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## varanidguy (Sep 8, 2017)

I'm no pro aquascaper, in fact I probably suck at aquascaping. But, from the picture, it looks kind of washed out except the plants. Personally I don't like that look...I want everything to be as beautiful and vibrant as possible, not just the plants. Fish, stones, wood, etc. Anything in the tank should look good...

Just my untalented 2 cents lol


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