changing incandescent to fluor...?

Just letting you know my settup. I have 2 14 watt mini spiral bulbs screwed into the hood on my 10 gallon tank. I believe they are 3500 K in colour temp. I grow Amazon sword, java moss, and java fern and all grow very well. I pick some leaves out each week to keep things under control, get a bit of algae growing (nothign a glass scraper doesn't fix) and add nothing but water changes at the moment.

Colour temp is important only for you. The bulbs that most stores will carry are only slightly bluer than the incnadescents you already have but will be perfectly fine to grow many plants. Bulbs in the 5000-6500 K range will give a much whiter light which some people really enjoy.

Either way your fish won't notice.
 
If you have a double outlet incandescent hood I suggest using two of Galaxie's bulbs for a total of 30 watts/6400K.
If you have a single you can get the same affect by using the one I suggest for 28watts.
This wattage over a 10 can be used without CO2 if you plant somewhat heavily. And you can always dose a bit of Seachem's Excel for extra carbon if you want to.
2.8 - 3.0 wpg is not considered high light in your tank....more like a moderate-medium which will not over light your tank, IMO.
Galaxie notes the size of his bulb and the size of mine is printed on the site. Measure the inside of your hood for comparison.

Len
 
The 15watt CFL's have a lumen value comparable to a 55 watt incandescent. So I consider it more like 55 watt/6400K. My 20g is very deep so needs all the power it can get. Maybe its more appropriate to reference lumens instead of wattage. In this case, 15 watt CFL is approx. 800 lumens. 55 watt incandescent is approx. 800 lumens also. 6400K, for my eyes, is pure white with a bluish tint. A beautiful color for an aquarium.

(I'm considering changing my house lights to a similar color temp, because I am so impressed. But..... I already use only CFL's ...and these things run for years before wearing out. In 3 years, I've never actually had one die.)
 
When considering a fluorescent (NO or CF) tube/bulb we use the actual wattage for the tube rather than it's comparison to an incandescent bulb.

Len
 
Oops, thanks. I've always been slightly confused what people meant when referencing Watts per gallon recommendations. Since CFLs, tubes, and incandescent bulbs all produce widely varying lumen values for the same wattage. :idea:
 
smaller bulbs at home depot

I will probably order online for bulbs, but while I was at home depot I did find a mini spiral, 11 watts each. only there was nothing on the pkg to indicate kelvin rating. I also saw some not listed online, if it's not listed....then what?
also, is a 15w CF the same as a 15w NO? or does the Cf actually produce more light?
 
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If the color temperature is not listed, its probably low and will look yellowish/reddish compared to a light over approx. 3000K.

CFL's put out about 3 times the lumens of a NO of the same wattage. Ratings of my T15 18-inch 15watt NO tube is 325 lumens. CFL 15 watt= about 850 lumens. The mini-spirals don't spread the light out as much, but produce much more light.

(What does NO stand for anyhow? thx)
 
Just my $0.02

Canuck2005 said:
NO= normal output?
Click to expand...
Bingo!!! You are correct!!

I bought the same bulb Len suggested above. While it did NOT fit my hood because it was too wide - you can always modify the hood. IE, I moved the "reflector" to lay on the top instead of spaced. Cut out more plastic on top because even at 28W, it will get warm. Then you can expoxy (superglue) peices of plywood (you most likely can get scrap for local hw store for free) to raise up the hood to desired level as well.

If you get a "daylight" bulb - it will be closer to 6000K (not sure of actual Kelvin though). Nonetheless, it will still look decent on aquarium.

Good Luck

Aries
 
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