# Red spectrum bulbs



## foster (Mar 7, 2013)

What are everyones feelings about the best red spectrum bulb. And where can they be purchased?
Any thoughts on Wavepoint bulbs?


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## mooncon (Oct 12, 2011)

Ive got wavepoints there fine but I think im going to try the ge starcoats next time


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Do you mean bulbs that only emit light in the red region of the visible spectrum?

-OR-

Bulbs that have the best red signature (output) within the bulb's spectral output?


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

Also what type of bulb are you talking about.
Standard Florescent T12, T8, T5's High output T-5's, Compact Florescent, Incandescent, Metal Hide, LED's?

Te best Red Color Source is the CREE Photo Red LED's with a peak spectrum of 650nm. But trying to find them is another thing.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

450nm is rather blue


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

Newt said:


> 450nm is rather blue


woops I meant 650nm. The 620 nm red LED's only have about 1/2 there spectrum usable by plants, with a lot wasted in the orange part of the spectrum, And the 680 nm reds have a considerable amount in the far red part of the spectrum. But the 650's are the closest to having 100% of there light usable by the plants.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Very few fluorescents have 650nm. Most are 625nm at best. The true red phosphor is very expensive. 

It been proven that infrared actually shuts down photosynthesis. It was published in the Journal of Plant Physiology quite a while ago.


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## foster (Mar 7, 2013)

The bulb in question is a 39 watt-5 HO bulb. I have one red/pink that I ordered with the fixture. The red plants under that bulb are redder than ones in the other tanks without the red spectrum. Looking for suggestions on red/pink/rosette bulbs. The only 3 I can seem to find are giesman aquaticlife, and wavepoint.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet-supplies-search#!aquarium-supplies/lighting/aquarium-bulbs-lamps&ea_a=Spectrum%3ARed


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## foster (Mar 7, 2013)

Newt said:


> http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet-sup...ghting/aquarium-bulbs-lamps&ea_a=Spectrum:Red


 Excellent. Thank you. That's the only place I didn't check. LOL


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

Newt said:


> Very few fluorescents have 650nm. Most are 625nm at best. The true red phosphor is very expensive.
> 
> It been proven that infrared actually shuts down photosynthesis. It was published in the Journal of Plant Physiology quite a while ago.


There had also been experiment on corals that showed excessive reds as shutting down the corals as they go into protective conditions since they think they are getting to much light. However the key they found was reds in the 680nm range. This is also why I recomend either the 650nm or 620 nm red LED's. With the 650's light in the 680 range is roughly 1/8 as intense as it is at 650 nm. With the 620 nm LED's it is even less intense. But light at 650nm from a 620 LED is only 1/8 as intense at 650 as it is at 620 nm. The range of the efficient photosynthesis on the red side of the spectrum ranges from about 620 nm to 660 nm.

Then there is the issue with Cyno Bacteria that have been proven to love light at 680nm. 
If all light at 680nm can be eliminated then Cyno bacteria has a very hard time surviving. But its complete elimination is almost impossible if there is any room lighting getting into the aquarium.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

foster said:


> The bulb in question is a 39 watt-5 HO bulb. I have one red/pink that I ordered with the fixture. The red plants under that bulb are redder than ones in the other tanks without the red spectrum. Looking for suggestions on red/pink/rosette bulbs. The only 3 I can seem to find are giesman aquaticlife, and wavepoint.


The aquaticclife sounds like a nice bulb for adding red with a peak at 650nm. On my 120 Gallon tank I'm running an ATI Purple Plus which is a combination of red and blue along with a GE 6,500 Daylight bulb. On the wattage scale my tank would be on low light range but I have great luck with some of the medium light requiring plants.

On a s,maller thank I'm using Gmans Tropical bulb with 6,500K and the tow bulbs together are way to powerful for that tank.

As far as the red spectrum on red plants it will not help there growth so much as the red light is reflected back at you more so than it is absorbed. So it does bring out there redish color more however is less effective as to there growth. The purple bulbs Gman or ATI would probably be your best bet since they boost both the red and blue end of the spectrum.


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## christappy (Jan 18, 2015)

I use a 15w led, e27 base, full spectrum (5 band, but advertised as full spectrum). I don't have a deep tank, so my reds aren't diminished by penetrating a foot of water. The led is about 2.5-3 feet away on a 30cm gooseneck lampholder.

led specs: 5 x 3watt leds = 15watts - actual power draw: 8watts
660nm deep red, 630nm red, 600nm light red, 450nm blue, 7000k white


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

christappy said:


> led specs: 5 x 3watt leds = 15watts - actual power draw: 8watts
> 660nm deep red, 630nm red, 600nm light red, 450nm blue, 7000k white


I like the combination of using multiple red LED's. But to the naked eye does all that red light make the tank look too red?

A lot of the balance depends upon what plants your using. I'm having the good luck with using a 50/50 split between neutral whites (4,500K) and cool whites (6,500K) and the tanks look a like a very neutral white not showing any tint.

With Salt water I used blue LED's and found that they shifted the color considerably. But I was using a ration of roughly 3 to 4 Blues for each neutral white. On a planted tank you do not to limit your red light as much as with salt water but I'm afraid of getting a pink tank if I add to much red. In your case 3 reds and 1 blue to one full spectrum I would expect a strong pinkish tint.

I'm hoping on doing my 120 in LED's now that most of other tanks are converted. My thoughts were using 36 LED's roughly 100 watts total. The balance I'm considering is 12 Neutral whites 4,300K, 12 Cool Whites 6,500K, and adding 6 royal blues 454 K. I want to add 6 reds and prefer using the photo Red (650nm) but I'm finding them hard to find so I might have to go with 3 of the red (630nm) and 3 deep red (660nm). I was hoping on eliminating light at or longer than wavelengths longer 680nm but unless I find the photo reds that might be impossible. If the combo does not work any better than my 75 gallon with only neutral whites and cool whites It is not hard to change LED's on a DIY system.

The good part is this will be a lot cheaper of a lighting fixture than I had on that tank when I ran it as a reef with ran just under 300 watts of LED's. 60 Watts of Neutral Whites on 20 LED's, 120 Watts of Blues split between 454 and 460 nm) on 60 LED's, and 20 Watts of near UV's (420nm) on 10 more LED's.


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## christappy (Jan 18, 2015)

Yeah, it does have a pink/purple hue to it...but I have 2 daughters, so they love the purple light with the plants. I also have a little greenhouse experience. The high pressure sodiums gave much better results than the metal halides as far as overall growth. Reason being the reds in the spectrum. I don't mind the purple, but I love seeing the green!

I know whites +k- are good and blues work awesome too. I have no experience with coral or saltwater aquariums in general. 
Your 300 watter sounds pretty serious. Have you ever thought of using induction lighting? It has dropped in price a lot in the last while. It's basically a cfl/pll on steroids. They come fuly assembled with hoods and everything. Great coverage, great penetration.

Are my pics viewable?...They're just showing up as broken images for me.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

christappy said:


> Yeah, it does have a pink/purple hue to it...but I have 2 daughters, so they love the purple light with the plants. I also have a little greenhouse experience. The high pressure sodiums gave much better results than the metal halides as far as overall growth. Reason being the reds in the spectrum. I don't mind the purple, but I love seeing the green!


That is why I'm realy hesitant on putting in to may red LED's. The thing to remember is a white LED might put out 300 units of light but it is divided up as 100 units of blue, 100 units of green and 100 red. All fairly equal. Now if a an equaly preforming red RED was putting out 300 units that would mean you have 300 units of red. With on of each the spectrum would be heavily balanced to the red. The same it true for Blue light.

Yes the plants might like a lighting spectrum of 400 parts blue, 100 parts green, and 400 parts red but will the human eye see it as natural with the strong purple tint?



christappy said:


> I know whites +k- are good and blues work awesome too. I have no experience with coral or saltwater aquariums in general.
> Your 300 watter sounds pretty serious. Have you ever thought of using induction lighting? It has dropped in price a lot in the last while. It's basically a cfl/pll on steroids. They come fuly assembled with hoods and everything. Great coverage, great penetration.


Yes 300 watts DIY of LED's on my 120 gallon Reef replaced 8 T-5 bulbs that were running at 432 Watts and the LEDS were much brighter, The T-5's replaced a combo of 500 Watts of Metal Hides and 220 Watts of Compacts for 720 Watts with the T-5's being brighter. I converted that reef tank to a planted fresh water tank and I'm temporarily running only 2 of the T-5 bulbs for 108 Watts in the old 8 bulb fixture temporarily. I'd like to get more light in there but running 4 T-5's is too bright. So I'm going with a rebuild of my LED's when I get the free time.



christappy said:


> Are my pics viewable?...They're just showing up as broken images for me.


Nope no pictures. Are you using photobucket and linking the pictures to it. That is what I have to do on most of the forums.


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## foster (Mar 7, 2013)

I see Wavepoint has a new bulb out now called ultra growth wave. It peaks at 656nm in the red spectrum. Would this be too much red for plant growth, or about right. I want to use one in combination with 6500K, and 10,000K.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Too much red with little blue will make the plants long, thin and gangly.
Blue light will help them with being bushy.
A good balance is always a good idea. If you want to optimize plant leaf development (blue light) and stem elongation and color (red light) you need light in both the blue and red spectra for photosynthesis. You need a mix of blue and red for your plants. Sunlight peaks in the blue spectrum at 475 nanometers (nm). This is a shorter wavelength than red light and is used by both plants and algae. As light passes through water the intensity decreases. The shorter wavelength blue light penetrates water better and more quickly than red, which is slower and absorbed more quickly. Chlorophyll, the photosynthetic pigment used by plants traps blue and red light but is more efficient with red light at 650 – 675nm. Blue is used at the same rate as red because it is more available for reasons mentioned above.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

foster said:


> I see Wavepoint has a new bulb out now called ultra growth wave. It peaks at 656nm in the red spectrum. Would this be too much red for plant growth, or about right. I want to use one in combination with 6500K, and 10,000K.


You need a balance between red and blue. Some plants do better with a little more red others do better with more blue light. But the difference in the balance is not extreme. Your 6,500K probably has a fair red blue balance slightly favoring blue. for starters, and the 10,000K Also has both red and blue but is much strong on the blue end than the red end. Adding a pure red bulb would cause a lot more red unless you balanced it with a blue bulb. If you really want to use a red bulb then I would keep the 6,500K bulb but replace the 10,000K bulb with a Blue bulb other than an Atinic bulb.


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