sun-glo 4200K 15wt better for plants than stock flourescant 15wt

[wigglejaggles]

Hey Now,

someone gave me a hagen sun-glow flourescant bulb because they didnt lik ehow it looked.
Is this better for plants than the stock flourescant tube that came with the all glass hood?

If so I will put it on. Its basicaly brand new they said...by the way they dont know much about aquariums or else I wouldn;t have to ask this question...haha

or should I just go out and buy a flora-glow bulb? will it make much difference?
ok thanks!

take care,
Jared

[Leopardess]

well 4200K is a pretty low k rating. Generally (there are exceptions) you want between 5500-6700k for optimum plant growth.

I wouldn't spend the money on getting a flora gro bulb. Any bulb at a home improvement store will work and will cost less than half. Just look at the k ratings...GE's daylight bulb is often recommended, I believe.

The higher the k rating, the more "stark white" you get, until you get into the blue/whites. 6500K is the kelvin rating of the sun in the tropics at noon.

[Slappy*McFish]

If I'm not mistaken, I think All-glass uses the GE Aquarays Freshwater/Saltwater bulbs as standard in their light fuxtures. This is actually a very good plant light.