Very confused and a bit frustrated

[Jellymolly44]

The whole cfl is driving me nuts. It says a 28 watt bulb equals 120 watts. It is 5000K and is a flood light model. I'm soo confused because I'm thinking tubed flouresecent lights are the same way. Is 96 watts of flourescent light ( a normal long tube strip ) enough for 75 gallons of water for a nice variety of lush plants? Somebody please me, please.

[Dr. Awkward]

Don't pay any attention to the incandescent equivalent. You only need to worry about the actual wattage of the bulb. 5000K isn't the best for growing plants, you want to look for 65000K (daylight). A 5000K bulb will look kind of pink/yellow while a 6500K bulb will look white.

You can grow plenty of low light plants with a 96 watt bulb over a 75 gallon tank. Just do a search for low light aquatic plants and you'll get a good idea of what will work in your tank.