View Full Version : lighting from home depot
Big Kid
12-08-2002, 4:07 AM
today I was looking at lighting at home depot. I saw the 18" t8's and I think they said 800 lummes. Would two of these be good enough for a planted 10 gallon or do i need more lummes? or maybe two of these is to much light for a 10 g tank?
djlen
12-08-2002, 12:33 PM
I'm not good with Lummens.....what is the wattage?
Len
Big Kid
12-08-2002, 2:47 PM
15 watts maybe im not really sure. but if they were would they be ok.
two 15's over a 10 would be ample. just make sure they're in the right spectrum.
Big Kid
12-08-2002, 5:35 PM
how can i find out what the right spectrum is?
I would advise you getting your bulbs from a pet store and not Home Depot. The bulbs they have that say they are for plants are just some ordinary bulb in a different package. I know this cause I worked there and isnt worth the money. If you are going to get a bulb from there get the day light one. Its c.r.i is 92 and is 8200 kelvin I believe. The tubes are T12's but they should have them in T8's. They have green aluminum ends on them.
Tempest
12-09-2002, 5:47 AM
Home Depot sells Chroma 50's too and they are the right kelvin rating. You can find this on most packaging but I doubt they would put it on packaging for ones they just bundle up themselves.
Yes, 30 watts would be just about perfect, and by the way, Home Depot sells "Daylight" tubes as well. Whether they have them in the size you need is another question. Check it out before you spend twice as much money as is necessary at a LFS.
Len
Shiftaltumlock
12-09-2002, 1:50 PM
HD sells several tubes that are suitable for growing. The Chroma's, the Daylights, The GrowLux tubes, just to name a few.
BTW: Grolux tube have a very low CRI, but they make plants and fish look wonderful. It is alway good to have a few of these guys in your hood.
Dont worry about lumens. They are base on how the human eye interprets light.
As Djen says; Check it out before you buy from LFS. HD sells what you need for alot less. Actually, I have never bought a tube from an LFS. I get all my lighting from Lowes or HD.
Big Kid
12-09-2002, 6:15 PM
thanx for all the responds this helps me out a lot. this was my bigest problem i was having. I've seen a lot of diy hoods but they don't really explain what bulbs to use or how to install them so now i know a little bit more about lighting. thanx