Low buck lighting question

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SteveD

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Apr 1, 2004
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I have pretty much expended my short term aquarium budget, but still need lighting. I would like to upgrade to a nice set up later on so I don't mind getting creative until then. I have a 55 FOWLR that is currently cycling with no fish.

My plan is to use a shop light suspended over the aquarium. I am going to paint it black with some textured paint. The fixture uses 2 40 watt T 12 bulbs and is 4 feet long. This way when I upgrade to a nice light I can just throw this one in my shop!

My question is should I just buy regular bulbs from home depot or go to my local fish store and ask for ???????
 
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Because it's not for corals or plants, it's really a matter of what you like to look at. Standard white fluorescents look pretty awful. Hardware stores generally have bulbs labeled for "plant" or "aquarium" that have a better look than cool white, for about 1/2 the price of those at the LFS.

Otherwise, you can spend the extra money and get one daylight and one actinic at the LFS, which gives a very nice look, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, until you get them installed, it's hard to know whether you like them.
 
Depends on the look you want.
5000-6000 K will be warmer looking.
6700 and above will be fairly intense white.
Actinic doesn't really have a color temp, it's just blue.

One thing I've had some luck with is to get a cheap "aquarium" bulb at home depot and combine it with an actinic bulb from the LFS.
 
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