what bulb is brighter and better color

[grannylvsfish]

There are so many lighting bulbs out there, I would love to change the lights in my strips but the cost for one, and not knowing which ones to buy.
So here is my tank specs...... its 55 gallons. has a hood like the tank below and the lighting is yeppwish. my other tank is so bright but I can not read what kind of bulb it has. I would love my 55 to be brighter to . what lighting do you recoment and can I still keep the same hood or what? please let me know what you think my tank tope needs to be brighter. I keeps seeing so many bulbs, but not sure what ones to buy. thanks ......
what my tank top looks like
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v629/hakunamakarla/fishtank.jpg

[gatotsu77]

I personally use the Coralife 130 watt compact fluorescent fixture. (2x65 watt bulbs) It works great for me, and is growing lots of healthy plants. Has nice aesthetics at 6700k too.

[grannylvsfish]

I personally use the Coralife 130 watt compact fluorescent fixture. (2x65 watt bulbs) It works great for me, and is growing lots of healthy plants. Has nice aesthetics at 6700k too.
do you happen to have a pic or a location to buy?

[grannylvsfish]

if I used a light like this, what do I use as a top so the fish do not jump out? http://i21.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/cc/ed/27ce_1.JPG

[gatotsu77]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+9654+9871&pcatid=9871

In the 48" variety

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3790&Nty=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&N=2004&Ntt=versa%2Dtop&Np=1

In the 24" variety X2

[Mgamer20o0]

you dont even need that. get day light shop lights.... 6500k. turn the lights off and look on the bulb. see what you have.

[gatotsu77]

Shop lights are a MUCH more cost-effective way to go... but to be honest, my father is too paranoid to allow me to use such a thing above water, regardless of the glass between the fixture and the water. He insists that its going to rust, and somehow catch fire and burn the house down. I've no qualms with the Coralife... granted, it was $130 or so, but it was well worth it. I love it.

[elementkid65]

Shop lights are a MUCH more cost-effective way to go... but to be honest, my father is too paranoid to allow me to use such a thing above water, regardless of the glass between the fixture and the water. He insists that its going to rust, and somehow catch fire and burn the house down. I've no qualms with the Coralife... granted, it was $130 or so, but it was well worth it. I love it.

tugs on neck of shirt.
none of my lights are like that... nah.. no way

haha one of my 2ft lights is rusty and is above water and has no cover.. although i turn it off when i go... usually

[pinkertd]

If you just want to change the bulbs and not change the light fixture, I would definitely go with the GE Aqua Rays for Salt & Freshwater, 9325K. I've tried several bulbs in my stock hoods and these are exactly what I was looking for for showing fish colors and low light plant growth. Not yellow at all! I use them in my hoods on my low tech planted tanks and the fish colors show beautifully, including the discus tank. Plants grown very nicely and no algae problems even with the lights on 15-16 hours/day. Your hoods will take the 18" bulbs, on sale now at Drs. F&S for under $7.00 a bulb.

[loaches r cool]

if I used a light like this, what do I use as a top so the fish do not jump out? http://i21.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/cc/ed/27ce_1.JPG

IMHO avoid odyssea like the plague...

But to attempt to answer your question we should get some basic info... is this a fish only tank or will you be attempting to grow any live plants? Can you DIY electrical stuff? Can you build or would you want to get a hood? if you just want to swap out the bulbs and want it as bright and white as possible then look for bulbs in the 6500-12,000K range, just as a rule of thumb, not every bulb/manufacturer is going to be the same.

[grannylvsfish]

If you just want to change the bulbs and not change the light fixture, I would definitely go with the GE Aqua Rays for Salt & Freshwater, 9325K. I've tried several bulbs in my stock hoods and these are exactly what I was looking for for showing fish colors and low light plant growth. Not yellow at all! I use them in my hoods on my low tech planted tanks and the fish colors show beautifully, including the discus tank. Plants grown very nicely and no algae problems even with the lights on 15-16 hours/day. Your hoods will take the 18" bulbs, on sale now at Drs. F&S for under $7.00 a bulb.
thank you, I will go look today :) I appreciate the help


IMHO avoid odyssea like the plague...

But to attempt to answer your question we should get some basic info... is this a fish only tank or will you be attempting to grow any live plants? Can you DIY electrical stuff? Can you build or would you want to get a hood? if you just want to swap out the bulbs and want it as bright and white as possible then look for bulbs in the 6500-12,000K range, just as a rule of thumb, not every bulb/manufacturer is going to be the same.

I would love to have some floating plants, but with my lighting it won't work, nothing major just a few nice low light plants.
I am not electrical minded, nor do I know anyone who is. ( I am single and old LOL! ) I just want to enjoy the colors of my fish, and some plants.
yes I want it bright, and as the pic above I have that hood already. I take it, the hood uses 18 inch bulbs ? I tend to get confused so I need things simple.
oh and not expensive. I raise my grand children, so nice light with out a high price ! :) thanks.

[sardesign]

in regards to previous comments about shop lights [or any DIY lighting over a tank]... just make sure you plug into a GFCI [or make a GFCI whip that plugs into the wall] to protect from shortages. fish [especially large ones] can easily splash water upwards so it's better to be safe than sorry. making a GFCI out of a weather resistant box is very easy.

as for type of lights... do yourself a favor and stay away from Corallife... they are overly expensive and do the same thing as lights from Current. Current uses Philips filaments and they are top notch.

[pinkertd]

Yes, that hood will take the 18" bulbs, I have the same hood on my 55G. I just ordered 2 of those GE bulbs from Drs. Foster & Smith to replace the "yellow" daylight bulbs that came with the hood. You won't be disappointed, and they are inexpensive! I am growing many varieties of crypts, hygro, water wisteria, anubias, java fern and a few others I can't think of the names of offhand.

[Mgamer20o0]

Shop lights are a MUCH more cost-effective way to go... but to be honest, my father is too paranoid to allow me to use such a thing above water, regardless of the glass between the fixture and the water. He insists that its going to rust, and somehow catch fire and burn the house down. I've no qualms with the Coralife... granted, it was $130 or so, but it was well worth it. I love it.

had shop lights over a open tank for 3+ years. never had a problem.

was it the odyssea that were catching fire? i forgot.

[grannylvsfish]

Yes, that hood will take the 18" bulbs, I have the same hood on my 55G. I just ordered 2 of those GE bulbs from Drs. Foster & Smith to replace the "yellow" daylight bulbs that came with the hood. You won't be disappointed, and they are inexpensive! I am growing many varieties of crypts, hygro, water wisteria, anubias, java fern and a few others I can't think of the names of offhand.
I just purchased them !! thank you I am excited to see a better looking tank, not a yellow one ! I appreciate your help, and others here :)

[grannylvsfish]

Yes, that hood will take the 18" bulbs, I have the same hood on my 55G. I just ordered 2 of those GE bulbs from Drs. Foster & Smith to replace the "yellow" daylight bulbs that came with the hood. You won't be disappointed, and they are inexpensive! I am growing many varieties of crypts, hygro, water wisteria, anubias, java fern and a few others I can't think of the names of offhand.
I also have a 29 gallon tank,(tall , not long ) with a strip light. do you happen to know what size to get the bulb for this one? might as well get one for this tank to :)
thanks

[pinkertd]

Let me know what you think when you get them on the tank!

[pinkertd]

I'll go look....I have the exact same 29T I just emptied and put in my basement!

[grannylvsfish]

I'll go look....I have the exact same 29T I just emptied and put in my basement!
thank you !!
I have a fire mouth in mine, and an angel, both are always hiding and I never see them. the angel is always on the side of the tank, and the fire mouth under his cave. so I am re doing the tank, putting the fire mouth in the big tank, and giving the angel away. going to do yellow and electric blues if I can find them :) maybe a few other compatable fish. ( I am still researching to see if these guys will do ok in my 29 :) )

[pinkertd]

It's the 20W, T-12 24" bulb for $8.29. That light bulb over that tank grew my crypts very very lush, my anubia bloomed and my hygro kept growing to the top of the tank!

[grannylvsfish]

It's the 20W, T-12 24" bulb for $8.29. That light bulb over that tank grew my crypts very very lush, my anubia bloomed and my hygro kept growing to the top of the tank!

awsome!! I want plants now, any plants LOL! I am sick of plastic. thank you so much, it was wonderful getting your help :)

[grannylvsfish]

Let me know what you think when you get them on the tank!
I recieved them today and was shocked to see there light was different color but no brighter :(
on my 29 gallon the original bulb was 17 watts, the new one was 20 watts and it was not as bright! why was that? the bulb was bigger around, and I thought wow this is going to make my tank pop. when I put it in it was a giant let down. so I went and got the other light I had over my 20 gallon and added it to the other strip so the 29 has 2 strips now. its much much better. the disapointment was my 55 gallon tank, the bulbs did not brighten the tank any brighter, it just changed the color , its still dim .
Soooo I am going to take all your advice here, order a strip that has more bulbs in it. I want my tank to be lighted well, not dim.
Soooo back to the drawing board :wall:

[pinkertd]

I would love to change the lights in my strips but the cost for one, and not knowing which ones to buy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v629/hakunamakarla/fishtank.jpg

Guess I misunderstood you, thought you wanted a brighter bulb for those tanks, and nothing yellow, without purchasing all new fixtures. For those light strips, you can't get a higher watt bulb , or a brighter bulb without the yellow. The GE are twice as bright as the natural daylight lights, I'm running one GE on one side of my 55 and one Philips natural daylight lights on the other side since that is what came with that light and the two sides of the tank are very different. On the Philips side my bluebackground doesn't look bright blue at all, it makes that half of the tank almost cloudy looking and even the gravel doesn't show the right color. I tried the full spectrum bulbs people suggested and they still were not as bright in the tanks as the GE 9325. I didn't think you wanted to invest in all new lights with more bulbs which can be expensive. :(

[grannylvsfish]

thats ok, I am ok with them. I will order all new double light strips soon :) you were kind enough to help thank you hon :)

[loaches r cool]

I recieved them today and was shocked to see there light was different color but no brighter :(
on my 29 gallon the original bulb was 17 watts, the new one was 20 watts and it was not as bright! why was that? the bulb was bigger around, and I thought wow this is going to make my tank pop. when I put it in it was a giant let down.

OK, first dont expect a huge difference from one bulb to another. Next, you went to a larger diameter bulb meaning you bought a T12 to replace what, a T10 or T8? Your taking a step back in efficiency there. And thats also why the T12 has a higher wattage rating (new bulb 20, old 17), since the larger bulb takes more power to produce the same amount of light. Since your original was 17W that is what your fixture is designed to power. Your actually underdriving the 20W bulb since it takes more power to light up the bigger T12. So yeah, you actually might be putting less light in your tank since your probably not driving the bulb at full. Also the larger T12 suffer from more restrike and let less reflected light by them since they are much fatter. A good rule of thumb is the skinnier the light the more efficient. I'd be looking for a T8 or even a T6 for a replacement for you current fixture if it were me. I've never used the GE bulb you speak of so I can't really comment there but if they have it in T8 might be better.

Here are the common bulb sizes:
http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/bulbsizes.JPG
From L to R; T12, T10, T8, T6
Generally, all things being equal, efficiency will be greater the smaller the bulb diameter. All these bulbs are 'usually' interchangeable on most fixtures provided the fixture doesnt employ snug fitting waterproof endcaps designed for a particular diamter bulb. I also now use T5 bulbs which are smaller yet, but those require different fixtures, and I didnt have one at the time of the pic.

[grannylvsfish]

OK, first dont expect a huge difference from one bulb to another. Next, you went to a larger diameter bulb meaning you bought a T12 to replace what, a T10 or T8? Your taking a step back in efficiency there. And thats also why the T12 has a higher wattage rating (new bulb 20, old 17), since the larger bulb takes more power to produce the same amount of light. Since your original was 17W that is what your fixture is designed to power. Your actually underdriving the 20W bulb since it takes more power to light up the bigger T12. So yeah, you actually might be putting less light in your tank since your probably not driving the bulb at full. Also the larger T12 suffer from more restrike and let less reflected light by them since they are much fatter. A good rule of thumb is the skinnier the light the more efficient. I'd be looking for a T8 or even a T6 for a replacement for you current fixture if it were me. I've never used the GE bulb you speak of so I can't really comment there but if they have it in T8 might be better.

Here are the common bulb sizes:
http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/bulbsizes.JPG
From L to R; T12, T10, T8, T6
Generally, all things being equal, efficiency will be greater the smaller the bulb diameter. All these bulbs are 'usually' interchangeable on most fixtures provided the fixture doesnt employ snug fitting waterproof endcaps designed for a particular diamter bulb. I also now use T5 bulbs which are smaller yet, but those require different fixtures, and I didnt have one at the time of the pic.

this was awsome info!!!:headbang2::headbang2::headbang2::headbang2 ::headbang2:

thank you so much ! I get it, the bigger the bulb does not mean more light.
here is a new question please..
if I buy this is it going to be better lighting ( brighter )

48” 216W (54Wx4) T6 Fluorescent Lighting Fixture + BlueMoon LED



This is an all-in-one light suitable for many types of environments like freshwater, reef, marine, and planted aquarium. This is the most bang for the buck and in performance. Include 4 LED Blue Moon lights for an awesome nocturnal viewing so you can see what’s going on in the dark. It also includes 3 power cords and 3 power switches. Ready to use with timer.



Nearly IDENTICAL to T5 Fluorescent lamps, but a fraction of the cost!!!



You are buying 1 lighting fixture with 4 free bulbs and 1 pair flip mounting legs.



This fixture is tested before shipping.



Item Features:



· Dimension: 47.50”x7.25”x2.75”

· 216W total power

· 3 power cords

· 3 power switches

· Black – fixture color

· Reflector is top quality

· T6 Fluorescent Lamps (2 prong double end)

· 4 Bluemoon LED



Bonus / Free Features:

FREE – (2) 54W 12000K day-light lamp

FREE – (2) 54W actinic blue lamp

FREE – (1) Pair Flip Mounting Legs

[grannylvsfish]

one more question please........ anyone got pics of how these lights look ?


Actinic Blue, Plant Pink

[loaches r cool]

grannylvsfish - that is a light combination I havent heard of... the T6 bulbs I have used (Quantum Lightning Rod) are labeled like the T12 standard, 10W per foot, for example 2' = 20W, 3' = 30W, 4' = 40W. The fixture you mention says 54W which is a T5HO standard for a 4' bulb. I'd be curious to see a link to the manufacturer/product since these ratings are atypical. it could be a standard fixture outfitted with a T5HO ballast perhaps, IDK.

In any case, 4 54W bulbs, especially with reflectors, will probably blow that tank away for anything but a high end marine tank that needs super duper lighting, and even then maybe it would work, I know little about marines. But for FW you will most likely only want to run 2 at the most, even with plants, unless you have co2, a good fertilizer routine, wc schedule, etc, or else your asking for an algae war.

[edit] just remember that light fixture you posted earlier... Odyssea brand... I am guessing thats what your asking about again 4 x 54W. I am not entirely sure how they get that wattage figure, it may even be a bit deceptive I suspect. Odyssea is the one brand I would recommend staying away from (this I already said earlier). At the very least their fans are typically very annoying. At the worst several of there lighting fixtures has caught fire before. And I dont know if its true recently if they have improved or not, but also there stuff in the past was not even UL listed.

The cheapest solution possible is the previously mentioned shoplight. but without a canopy to mount them inside the only other way to do it without some DIY skills is to have a glass top and simply lay them across. This isnt very visually appealing though. But 1 twin fixture ~$10 and two bulbs for ~$7 is the best bang for the buck. I'm sorry I cant really offer any suggestions for fairly inexpensive fixtures designed for the aquarium, I've done the shoplight thing for a while, and pretty much jumped to a high end T5HO setup.

[loaches r cool]

one more question please........ anyone got pics of how these lights look ?


Actinic Blue, Plant Pink

Well I dont have in-tank comparisons but I have several pictures of lights just so you can see what they look like:

http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/5050_vs_colormax.JPG
This is a dual 65W compact fluorescent fixture, and they are avaiable in combo bulbs, so by using combos for both I am able to get 4 different colors using a twin bulb fixture. Top bulb is half actinic half 10,000K. Bottom bulb is half 6700K half Colormax.

http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/67vs12k_2.JPG
The top bulb is 6500K the bottom is 12,000K (although to the eye they both appear identical, it takes a high shutter speed on the camera to tell the difference).

http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/forum/lights.JPG
L to R: T10 Flora-Glo, T12 GE Plant & Aquarium (yes its actually on, its just so much dimmer than the other bulbs it looks like crap in comparison), T8 Phillips Daylight Deluxe 6500K (definitely the brightest of the pack, and only $3.50 I might add), and lastly T10 Power-Glo 18,000K. I like to mix and match.

http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/240g/lights3_400.JPG
And lastly, some T5HO bulbs, L to R: GE Starcoat 6500K, UVL Aquasun 10,000K, Giesemann 6000K Midday, Giesemann 11,000K AquaBlue Plus.

Well thats almost every bulb I've ever owned except the T6 Aqua Flora plus which I currently dont have a pic of, but like its color for plant growth, just not as bright to human eyes (no plant grow bulb usually is).

[grannylvsfish]

you are awsome!!!! here is the link I was talking about.

ok, so I just need a 2 bulb strip to achieve a brighter tank with out co2 and all the fuss? if so please point me in the right direction to what you think would be ok, and not expensive since I am broke raising grand kids LOL! I am so grateful to you!! your help has been amazing to understand for this old gal !!!

[loaches r cool]

Dont forget its not all about the number of bulbs. Yes for something around ~55W per bulb, a twin bulb should be plenty. But if its 13W bulb a twin bulb isnt going to do squat. You might even do with a single bulb fixture if its a 96W compact fluorescent bulb, those are intense, and if centered should cover most of your tank (they are like 36" long, a foot shorter than your tank). One advantage of the multiple bulb fixtures is that many of them let you turn on just half of the bulbs, so you could get a 4 bulb fixture and just run two bulbs, for example.

I hope some others will chime in, because like I said I've never bought an actual aquarium fixture... I build them all myself, from my gutted and overdriven DIY shoplights to the T5HO setup. I hear Nova and Coralife come up frequently... and dont forget the length (48") of your tank when picking the lights.

[grannylvsfish]

ok..... here is one that says 108 watts. looks like way more lighting then I have now what do you think?
http://cgi.ebay.com/CL-48-Aquarium-T-6-Dual-Strip-H-O-Light-108W-Free-Shp_W0QQitemZ370013278777QQihZ024QQcategoryZ46314Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://i9.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/84/49/500b_1.JPG

I am not looking to grow anything but a few low light plants, and no co2 . just want a nice lighted tank.

I have 15 watt bulbs on it right now ( one on each side )

[grannylvsfish]

it says ........
You have your choice of bulb configuration; 12000K or Blue Actinic
which is better ?