will my new lighting work - just bought it

LMOUTHBASS

LMOUTHBASS

My hypocrisy goes only so far
Jun 17, 2003
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Boston , MA
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Mark
ok just ordered this how well will it work on my 55 gal tank
power compact smart lite 24" 65 watt
i ordered two one for each hood on my tank - goes on to say -
state of the art energy efficient electronic ballasts provide optimal light output the moisture resistant end caps protect lamps from harsh aquarium elements each include a custom sea life smart lamp
half 10000 K ultra daylight and half ultra actinic
will that type of light grow plants
i think it's VHO lighting
thanks
if someone coul explain the tyoe of bulbs inclueded and if they are ok - woul be great
 
The lights are Power Compacts not VHO. The bulb is not that great for plants. It is a saltwater tank bulb. The 10000K would be alright for plants but the actinic would do little for plants and will cause algae growth. I believe that smart lite has a freshwater plant bulb (around 6700K) that would be much better.
 
I'm no lighting-guru, but I think emoore is correct. I just bought a compact light strip yesterday too. At first I was considering the Corlife strip which had the same bulb as yours, 50/50 daylight/actinic combo bulb. But it's more for marine use. The actinic bulb is very very blue bulb. Probably won't hurt your FW plants/fish per say, but you'll just be wasting your wattage & electricity. Get bulbs around 6,500K-10,000K for FW. The strip I just got has a GE bulb, 9,xxxK(?) rating, don't quite remember off hand.
 
yeah i've been looking into to bulbs but all the bulbs i've been able to fins are only like 40w max by coralife - i don't get it? they say they are for plants but the wattage is so low - i want 2 watts per gallon so i need at least a 65w bulb any suggestions
 
You won't find much over 40w in standard fluorescent tubes. The PC bulbs you should be able to find in 55 and 65W though.

For that many wpg you'd have to look at a double shop light setup if you wanted to stick with standard fluorescents.

Tom
 
this is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
complicated!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
i have been trying to figure this out for weeks now!'
finally i gave up and the easiest solution seemed to be to just order a strip light put together already - so i did- i got 2 24" fixtures that can hold 65 w bulbs - but your saying i can't get bulbs with that much wattage?
how the heck do all these plant people talk about getting all this high *** lighting?????
i just want 2 65w bulbs for this thing?
is that possible?
thanks
 
You are looking at two different types of bulbs. The 40w bulbs are normal flourescent (NO) bulbs. The 65w bulbs are power compacts (PC). The fixture you are looking at holds PC bulbs so you need to look for PC bulbs not NO bulbs.
 
Sorry, man. Your head must be ready to explode by now :D

As emoore said, you're getting a fixture that uses power compact fluorescent lights. The bulb looks like two skinny tubes parallel to each other and connected by a little glass tub at one end. The other end has a pin connector that you insert into the socket or endcap. Generally you get them in 36, 55, 65, and 96 watts although there are other flavors. They are more powerful than a standard fluorescent tube (like office lights) of the same wattage.

Standard fluorescent tubes you won't find over 40watts. Generally speaking, their wattage falls in line with their length although they can vary a bit. 48"=40w, 24"=20, etc.

The lights you ordered will work fine. Because they're 50/50 lights with half being 10,000k and the other half actinic it probably won't be quite as beneficial to your plants as a 6700k daylight bulb but it shouldn't be harmful.

Tom
 
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