Color temperature and plant growth

AlphaHydrox

Which temperature will maximize the growth rate of my plants? I've seen bulbs that are in the 2,000k and all the way up to the 10,000k. I'm planning to get a couple of those compact fluorescent bulbs with the screw in type and there are a lot to choose from. Some are marked as full spectrum and 5,100k. Are these good for my plants? Or would I need something near the 10,000k?

jsm11482

Seems like most people use the 10k bulbs as they provide the highest amount of light.

dasmall1

The spectrum provided by bulbs around 6700K is what plants can use most easily. 10000K is very high for a planted aquarium but is used succesfully sometimes when you are careful about algea growth. Algea is often a problem when higher color temperature bulbs are used. I'm not to read up on my color temperatures, but it has to do with the color of the spectrum.