Another Lighting Question

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TonyN

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Mar 31, 2004
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I have a Coralife Aqualight, which has a 50/50 65w compact bulb. When I bought this, I had no clue that there were different type bulbs for aquariums.
What I want to know is, is this the best type bulb for my freshwater tank. I dont know what 50/50 is supposed to be, but I know that there are other bulbs called 67000k for this fixture.
Can anybody explain this to me, and tell me which bulb is best for growing plants.

Thanks,
 
a 50/50 bulb has two type of phosphor in it, one that emits 6500k full spectrum light and one that emits actinic light. The 6500k light is ideal for plantlife while the actinic light provides light in the blue wavelength, which is important to coral and invertebrates in saltwater tanks.

The actinic light doesn't do much for plants but since the bulb also has full spectrum, it should be fine for growing plants.
 
Ok - but the total wattage is 65, so does that mean I'm only getting 32.5 watts of 6500k?

AFAIK, yes. Otherwise we could pack more phosphors into a tube and get double the light. 32 watts is full spectrum, and 32 is actinic(one-wavelength blue) not the best for plant growth. I have a 40w 50/50 on my 55 and my crypts are surviving, but not growing much. Granted, it's not even 1wpg but people have reported successfully keeping crypts in this much of the right light. This is just for another week or so until I can get my 110w CF hood.

For the best comprimize of looks and plant growth, I think the 6700k is best. that's what I decided to go with for my CF lighting fixture.
 
Thanks everybody.
Finaddictfred - there are two tubes. One white, one blue (when lit).
ChicoRaton - I get what you're saying. Now I'm not sure what I want to do. I really like the look the 50/50 gives me, and I dont know what the 6700k will look like.
 
TonyN, how big is your tank?

Although the actinic part of the bulb gives off more light in the blue wavelength, it doesn't mean its completely useless to plants (which was why I was unsure how much benefitial wattage you actually get).

the 65,000k bulbs are full spectrum daylight bulbs, meaning its the closest to sunlight during high noon. they're very white compared to soft white (which has a yellow tint) and actinic (which is bluish).
 
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