wolfman21

I was wondering if anyone knew what the best temperature (degrees Kelvin) would be for growing aquarium plants (medium light ones)? I am looking at getting a compact fluorescent light and have some temperature options and want to know if anyone has any recommendations. Thanks.

jsalemi

6000-8000k degrees is roughly daylight. So you'd be fine with anything in that range (anything 10000k or below, actually). The light is more warm (pinkish/redish) at the lower end, and more yellowish at the upper end, so it depends on what kind of tint you want.

Isabella

I'd agree with Joe. I grow all of my plants under 6,700K and they do very well under this K temperature. I also love the light color of this spectrum. Looks very natural and makes the plants look great. Though you can mix lightbulbs too, for example 6,700K + 10,000K, et cetera.

neverendingninja

To get more complicated, its not actually the kelvin temperature that matters. That only tells us what the light looks like to us, and plants don't care about that at all. What they care about is the true color spectrum, which is measured in nanometers. Plants like a spectrum that is high in primarily red, and secondly blue light. All others after that don't really matter. Don't let this fool you into thinking they like blue actinic light, however, as there is no research showing it is beneficial for plants. An example of a good spectrum is Hagen's AquaGlo bulb.

I would refer to your thread on plantgeek, also. They seem to have given some excellent answers.

However, remember, that you're putting these plants in for your own enjoyment, so don't go buy a GE 9325º just because it has a good spectrum, even though you don't like the color your eyes perceive. Go with something in the middle of the road, that you find aesthetically pleasing.

wolfman21

Sweet thanks for your help!!