Bulb question...

[jwejroch]

Has anyone ever used the All-Glass compact bulbs? Here is a link to what I am talking about.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=23441;category_id=1845;pcid 1=1843;pcid2=

I have a 10gal that I would like to plant, not sure with what yet. I guess that will depend on how good these bulbs are. My hood will hood will hold two incandesent bulbs upto 25w each. Will 2 of these give me decent light to plant this tank with no problems?

[redilyn]

i would recommend you get the 20watt version of that bulb (same site different link) giving you 40watts total and you should be able to grow some decent plants.

actually, strangly enough i dont see the 20watt 6700k bulbs anymore only 20watt 50/50 or colormax.

In this case I would say go to a lighting store and see if you can find any pc bulbs in the right k range. should be alot cheaper then ordering them anyways.

Someone outta be able to tell you what stores would carry the bulbs your looking for. I think blinky might know

[jwejroch]

Ohhh... I think I must have looked over that one.

Thanks

[jwejroch]

Well, I was able to get some 10 watt Compact flour bulbs at the LFS, but, the larger diameter bulbs will not fit in my fixture. Only the tubular incandesant bulbs will fit. Any one have any ideas? I saw some retrofit kits at Big Al's, but I'm not sure what I need. I'm new to this whole lighting thing, never had a planted tank. Can someone point me in the right direction? Anybody know a good place to get a hood that already has compact flour lighting installed?

Thanks

[Kasakato]

Lets see. What did you have before? There any many different types of ligthing. Each one needing its own specail ballest, and bulb clips.

[jwejroch]

The hood fixture has two 25w screw-in tube bulbs (incandescent). But I read that incandescent lighting is no good for plants, so it was recommended to use compact flourescent. But the screw-in compact flour bulbs are too big for my fixture.

[Kasakato]

Ok. That makes sence. Are you willing to upgrade the whole fixture? OR do you want to retro fit?

[jwejroch]

I am willing to replace. My light fixture is cheesy anyway. My luck, the retro fit would turn into an expensive disaster.

[Kasakato]

Look for them here:
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/category.xml?pcid1=1843;category_id=1853
Thats the Canadian site, so the prices are a LOT higher.

[jwejroch]

I was looking at compact flour for plants. I foud this one...

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29595;category_id=1875;pcid 1=1843;pcid2=

Do you think this will work for a planted tank? Will that fit on my existing hood?

[Kasakato]

You will need to change the bulb in that thing. I belive that those things have clips and are haning a few inches above your tank. I dont think that it should be directly on the hood due to heat.
Clips: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/category.xml?pcid1=1843;category_id=2923
IME a glass top is the best thing for a planted tank. This way you can change eveything very eiasly. And glass is cheep too.

[jwejroch]

Great, thanks for the info. Is the bulb that it comes with no good?

[booyaki]

I've tried those coralife and the all-glass brand of the screw-in compact fluor. Both are pretty good, but expensive!

I'm now using some bulbs made by phillips, you can get a pack of 2 for about $10 from HD. I'm pretty sure they are 6700k, or near that. I have 2 20W running over a 10 gal, and my riccia ground cover is nice and bubbly.

http://usera.imagecave.com/booyaki/aquarium/lightbulb.jpg

hope that helps

[jwejroch]

booyaki.

Thanks for the info. I tried the spiral PC bulbs, but they wouldn't fit. My POS fixture only takes tube bulbs. However, at a local hardware store, I found a 20" PC light strip with a 46watt 6350K bulb. Is that too much light?

[booyaki]

46 watts would be fine for pretty much all types of plants. For those shady plants, i'm sure some creative aquascaping would solve any problems. Same with any low-light fish that you might have, just plant nice and dense, with all sort of nooks and crannys for them to play in, and everything should be fine.