Fluorescent Bulbs need Replacing

pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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Debbi
I am about ready to replace my bulb on my 72G. It's low tech, low light plants that have been doing fine with the existing full spectrum GE Aqua Ray 9325K, 48" T-12, 40 watts. I don't want fast growth, algae or to buy new lighting. I would like to know if there's a bit of a better bulb than what I'm using while keeping the plants growing and the colors of the fish good (blues, reds, yellow and orange/white fish mostly). I don't want the tank to look yellowish. Tried a different bulb once it seemed to make the tank appear darker! There's a Philips Aqua Relle at 10000K natural light. And a18000K Aqua Glo. And an Aqua Sun, 10000K blend of tri-brand phosphors (?). Can anyone give me information and advice? I'd like to place the order tonight.

Debbi:)
 
I would look for the highest CRI bulb available in the 6-7k range.

A triphosphor, full sprectrum would be ideal.
 
TwoTank - Thanks, but.....I don't know anything about these bulbs, I don't know what CRI is :thud: . The only place I've ever gotten replacement bulbs is from DrsF&S...using their description, not my knowledge. Can I have some more newbie lightbulb help?

Debbi
 
CRI is for Color Rendering Index; from 0 to 100, how well does a test light reproduce colors of various objects in comparison to, in our case, a simulated daylight. What you're looking for on the bulb's packaging's diagram of the color distribution is fewer and lower dips between peaks.

This figure differs from color temperature; you'll see, among others, 5000K, 6500K, 10000K. These kelvin values correspond with colors in the spectrum. Red is low, violet is high. The 10000K bulbs are for the saltwater reef tanks. Planted aquariums will typically use 65-6700K as the bulbs give off the most useful range of light for the plants.

Now, the lower (color) temperature bulb will likely appear darker in contrast to the 18000K bulb much like a halogen car headlamp looks CRAZY brighter than a yellow, plain ol' headlamp. Sure, the halogen bulb is in fact outputting more light than the regular headlamp; also, our eye perceives the light as being brighter based on its color...or I could just be talking out my butt.

Hope this is helpful,
Sam
 
Thanks much all for the info and advice. I spent another hour or so googling CRI and triphosphor, etc. and found bulbs like TwoTankAmin suggested... I'll give them a try and see how things look and grow!

Debbi:)
 
Now, the lower (color) temperature bulb will likely appear darker in contrast to the 18000K bulb much like a halogen car headlamp looks CRAZY brighter than a yellow, plain ol' headlamp. Sure, the halogen bulb is in fact outputting more light than the regular headlamp; also, our eye perceives the light as being brighter based on its color...or I could just be talking out my butt.

A halogen headlight IS brighter. It comes with a power pack built into the lamp. It looks brighter because it is brighter. :topic:
 
The phillips daylight bulbs from HD are cheap enough to try...and save for a shop lite if you don't like it. Way cheaper than an aquarium bulb + shipping.


Have you thought about using an $8 shop light fixture? That would give you two ~34-40W'ers in there... I screwed one inside the wooden canopy for my 4' 75G.

Way better than the single tube fixture it came with...which was about dead anyway.
 
Haven't really thought about making any changes in the light fixture itself. I'm not unhappy with the tank or the way the plants are growing. I don't have an algae problem, do have diatom which is probably from silicates in my tap water. I change the bulb every year and just wondered if I could get a better bulb than what I had been getting, maybe show the fish's brilliant colors off even better. The tank is deep and with the bow it is wider so I know I don't want a dimmer light in there.


Debbi
 
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