Lighting for planted tank

[Rgtx]

So Im currently using an Hygger 978 led light but I'm not really liking seeing all the colors(blue, reds/green) when I'm walking around my living room. Gives me Xmas tree light vibes. I think the green light bothers me the most. I've seen some YouTuber that do aquascaping and they just use a regular white light for their planted tanks. Is full spectrum really needed to have plants thrive? Also I prefer the white light I always see at my local petco/PetSmart have as well. It brings the fishes colors out better imo. Thanks for any tips or recommendations.

 

[Fishstery]

Yes, full spectrum is best for live plants. Lights with all white diodes can still be considered full spectrum. Not all full spectrum lights are created equal however. RGB and WRGB will vary in the width of the color spectrum from light to light. In more advanced areas of planted tanks the width of the color spectrum matters greatly, so some of us opt with different brands for wider color spectrums.

However, I'm unsure of what you mean about the lights looking like a Christmas tree? I looked up the light and it's flat on legs, so how do you see the diodes walking around the room? Is the tank a lot taller than you or something?

A lot of higher end RGB lights have a diffuser shade built in like twinstars for example. It's like a frosted panel. With the diffuser you can't really tell the diodes apart by color when looking at the light when it's on. Some of the scapers you mentioned on YouTube might actually still have a RGB with a diffuser, allowing you to mistake it for straight white.

Whether or not the look of a RGB light bothers you enough to replace it depends on if you are more concerned with the plants in the tank or your visual asthetic of the room. If your concern lies with having healthy, happy plants then I would not get a light with white diodes only.

 

[Rgtx]

As you can see from the pic I'm standing up around my living kitchen area I can see all the lights. Think total height of tank is like 48 inches. I'm considering going with a light without the green led, just white, red and blue. Md fish tanks a YouTube channel and he has nice planted tanks and just uses regular white light I believe.

 

[Fishstery]

I see, it's because of the glass reflecting back. It's your tank so do what pleases you with it! It doesn't seem like you have a lot if plants, and not any that are super demanding. They would be happier with what you have but there's no sense in having a tank if you don't like to look at it. That's a really cool piece of driftwood btw, I'd love to see a scape with the trunk standing up!

 

[CindiL]

As you can see from the pic I'm standing up around my living kitchen area I can see all the lights. Think total height of tank is like 48 inches. I'm considering going with a light without the green led, just white, red and blue. Md fish tanks a YouTube channel and he has nice planted tanks and just uses regular white light I believe.

Does your light allow your to customize what level (0-100) you are seeing of each color, WRGB? I just bought a Nicrew SkyLED RGB+W 24/7 light and I can customize each time frame, dawn, day, dusk and moonlight. In looking at the default settings, at least for this fixture, green is never more then 40-50% except during daylight settings and then it’s 100 for all of them.