lighting question - 18W PL globe for boyu tank

Hey all,

The light in my little boyu MT40 nano suddenly stopped working a day or so ago, so my tank is sitting in the dark. Its a "PL-18W 220V/240V/6400K" and I got great growth with it (when it was new). Went to a lighting place today and asked if they could replace it. They very confidently told me they had one "just like it" and now when I get it home and google it, its a "Philips Master PL-L 4P 18W/840" which is apparently 4000k "cool white".

I have always read in the 6000K range is best for plants. Is this new thing going to work or must I take it back? I grow simple stuff like java fern and moss. Been wanting to replace the globe anyway as it was quite old and I've been experiencing algae issues and slow growth.

Thanks for any advice.

 

For java fern and moss the 840 will work fine, but you might not like the yellowness for viewing.

See Color temperature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for some kelvin theory.


If you look at your light colour for the pll MASTER PL-L 18W/840/4P 1CT MASTER PL-L 4 Pin - Philips Lighting compared against the 865 MASTER PL-L 18W/865/4P 1CT MASTER PL-L 4 Pin - Philips Lighting


Plants are more forgiving than your eyes ...

Later Ferdie