Screw-in Type of Compact Flourescent. Your thoughts?

[dchisenh]

Yep, light intensity is the key when it comes to plant growth, and of course, the limiting agent in most aquariums for plant growth is a carbon source, i.e. CO2. I definately agree with Scott on that one. ;D With enough lumens going into a system, it's that energy that the plant is using to power photosynthesis. I've even read that you can grow corals under regular old incadescent bulbs, if they are a high enough wattage. I do think higher Kelvin bulbs look better, but I have yet to see what a 50,000K bulb looks like. I think 20,000K is too blue, but I haven't done much research on them since they're so new. I personally like the look of a 6500K, since that's the main bulb over my saltwater tank and it makes all my other bulbs look yellowish in comparison. ;D Just my two cents.

-Dan

[ronrca]

All this talk about higher kelvins made me buy 2 lamps yesterday. The lamps I have right now are at 4200K (cool white). One of the ones I bought is 5500K, the other supposedly 18000K.Your absolutely correct about the looks! What a difference! I have 6 lamps so I changed two out. I do not like the 18000K lamp. Very magneta looking and seems not to light much however the 5500K lamp looks very nice indeed. I''ll have to get more and maybe even try some 6500K.

Btw, how long should lights be on during the day? 8 hours, 10 hours or 12 hours? Right now I have them on at 12 hours and am fighting algae. Do you think it will make a difference changing the duration to 10hours a day?

[dchisenh]

18000K? I haven't heard of them before What brand and model are they? I think the 6500K are the brightest white I've found that still make colors good and crisp. That magenta-colored lamp is pretty wild. I might end up trying one on my saltwater tank. If you try the 6500K, I don't think you'll be disappointed. And as far as hours go, I'm not sure what the current theory is, last I heard 12/12 was good, but that was some time ago. I'm sure someone else on here would know the best schedule to set your lamps to. ;D

-Dan

[ronrca]

The 18000K lamp is called Aqua Glo by Hagen. It stated the K right on the package in big letters. However, the store employee stated that he did not believe it was 18000K, more like 7500K but again how does he know! Im not even sure if he knew what kelvin is.

[thebaglady]

hey ronrca, I just bought this bulb too, but I haven't put it in a hood yet. It's a T-8 with good spikes in the blu and red range. We'll see what it looks like. It was on sale at Petco.

I have my lights on about 10 hrs. a day. Except for little fry tanks which are on 24 hrs. continuous. Sometimes even after a pair has just spawned, I leave the lights on for two, three days.

I have used some compact fluor. screw-in tubes for aquarium purposes and found that they worked out quite well. Some hoods for 10 gal. tanks that could only use 15 wt. inc. bulbs I've now replaced with 15 wt.screw-in fluor. ones available at Home Depot etc... I didn't know they came in such a small wattage until recently. You could use the bulb with a narrow or wide based fixture.

[thebaglady]

I put the Aqua glo 18000 in a strip light today. It looks a bit "yellowish" for my tastes, but it's a nice strong light.

[ronrca]

Is it the same lamp then? My lamp looks purple/magenta! Not sure about its effect on the tank because its mixed in with 4100k and 5100k lamps but the lamp itself looks magneta!

[thebaglady]

Hey, I was ripped off! It's a "Sun Glo" bulb out of an "Aqua Glo" box. No wonder it was in the clearance pile!!!

I have no idea what K it is??

[ronrca]

LOL!
If I can remember correctly, probably around 4100K!

[ChloroPhil]

I wouldn't bother with the expensive specialty lights you get at LPSs, regular tubes are just as good. The differences are in cost and spectrum filtering. White light contains the same amounts of red and blue light that the 30.00 Aqua-Glo's do but for a tiny fraction of the cost.

Intensity (Lumens) is the important part.

[thebaglady]

Ha Ha ROTFLMAO...this bulb was like $4.54! It's 24" 20wt. bulb and i have many tanks so it's already found a home, but when I bought it, besides the price, I was curious about 18000K on the Aqua Glo package. I have no idea what this Sun Glo one is. Could be 4100K???

They really should've put an "Ooppps" label on it, but maybe the workers didn't knwo.

We have a group purchasing power with our Aq. Society and every Dec. we have a plant extravaganza and bulb purchase. The bulbs are like you say, no name brand, but long lasting. They're supposedly similar to Tritons. I don't know the lumens. Our plant guru chooses.

We have done some of our own fixtures too. I made one last year for a fraction of the cost of a twin tube strip. It looks big and I had to learn about wiring because it cane without a cord, is that called direct wire? But, it wasn't too hard and I haven't had to change the bulbs yet. One thing I remember is our plant guy said these bulbs would loose very little of their intensity, retaining like 99% of their original output one year later. They still seem very bright. Also, they're not too blue or yellow.

Phil (and all) What about the reflectors? That makes a big difference too, doesn't it... ???

So many questions, so much to learn. On the learning curve of discus, I'm right at the starting block. With fish in general, I'm somewhere (happily) in the middle.

:-* Jen

[95jeepxj]

I was over at the home depot today and ran accross their outdoor lighting.
There is a fixture from lights of america that is about a foot long 4-6 inches deep waterproof, etc. It puts out more than 6500 lumens at 6500k. The fixture includes the bulb for $30. Replacement bulbs are only $10.

[thebaglady]

What would we do without the Home Depot??? I get very inspired every time i go there and usually it's like the prices are so good, why not take a chance and try it ?

Did the packaging say anything about lumens or color spectrum of the light?

[ronrca]

I have heard of those lights before however the Home Depots in my area do not carry them! Yet! I know of someone using them in a planted tank with great success. I would love to get my hands on them!

[thebaglady]

Dear Ronrca, they might be able to do a special order for you and get the fixture shipped from another H.D. to yours?

The price is good and didn't Dan say that 6500K was the brightest white light he's ever seen? That's cool.

Now if only I could rid myself of every peskey little piece of duckweed and let my plants SEE their lights!!!!!