Does height matter?

[Zorba]

Well I have settled on a 3" tank. It is 450mm or 18" in height. My question is will a 6500k led light penetrate this height suitably for plants that want medium light. If the tank was 12" high I know it would but the higher the tank I thought the less effective the light at 6500k would be

Would going with a 10,000k light be better?

 

Cheers

[petfish]

it's not so much the K rating, 5700-6500K is best for plant growth, in 18" tank you could grow low to medium light plants with 1 light, if you go 10K you will more than likely have prob's with algae.

[jayc]

6500K and 10000K are the colour temperatures of light.

 

Both are white light, but 6500K has a bit more red light, while 10000K has more blue light.

 

This will have no bearing on how deep the light will reach.

 

Generally, the brighter the light, the further down it will reach.

Look for lumens or similar light intesity readings to determine how much light is being produced.

 

<beaten by petfish>

Edited March 23, 2015 by jayc

[Zorba]

So does that mean you would use 2 led lights at 6500k if you want high light plants? just asking

[Zorba]

Would the Up Aqua U series for plants be ok for medium light plants in a 18" deep tank? or what would be better?

[petfish]