Aquaria Central

[Turbo]

I have a 55 gallon tank and am looking at getting a 110 watt compact flourescent kit. It comes with two 55watt 9250k bulbs. Is this good for plants. Im just asking because I bought the wrong bulbs before for standard flourescent and couldnt take them back. Also, does anyone know where I can get a chart to follow to make sure i keep my CO2 at the right levels? I thought it was between 20-25ppm. Is this correct?

[djlen]

People vary in their opinions on fluorescent lighting, as to what's the best light for plants.
I use 6700K "Daylight" bulbs. They are the closest to natural daylight. I started using them because, to me, that Kelvin Rating was the most frequently used among people I had spoked to at the time and I have not been disappointed. It still seems to be, in general the most popular.
I would get that rating or something close to it.

Optimum CO2 levels are between 25 and 30ppm.
Go to the below link and scroll down to 'measuring CO2 in the planted tank":
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm

Len

[Richer]

The preferred kelvin range for plant bulbs is about 5000k to 7000k. The lower the kelvin range, the more yellow the light looks. I use (and prefer) bulbs with a rating of about 6700k.
That said however, your bulbs will do just fine. I had a 15 gallon tank running on a 10 000k 36watt CF bulb, and the plants grew like crazy. The light just looks a lot more purple/blue. If you can, you might as well swap out those bulbs for ones with a lower kelvin rating.

As for a CO2 chart, I use this one

HTH
-Richer