Not enough light?

Jag1980

Jag1980

Got Plants?
Aug 18, 2008
1,236
1
0
45
Marysville, Wa
I was using a 15 watt fluorescent tube light for my planted shrimp tank, but I wanted more watts and better color. So I bought some compact spiral florescent bulbs that are 9 or 10 watts each at 6500k. (I have 2)

after about 7 to 8 hours my plants look like this, they they are folding up for sleep.. They seem to open up with the sun that comes into the house, but after the sun goes down they fold up a few hours later..

More watts of spiral fluorescent light is not as good as 15 watts of fluorescent tube light?

CIMG6302.jpg
 
Generally, no. Since a lot of light is wasted in the centre of the spiral, and there is no way to reflect them out.
 
So if I wanted to get the actual full wattage of these type of lights, I would need to point them downward like the way bulbs are used in reptile dome lights correct?
 
Nope. Think of it this way. The light is emitted in straight lines. With a regular flourescent tube maybe 90 degrees of the surface of the tube emits light that immediately hits the bottom of your tank. Assuming a perfect reflector, the rest of the surface of the light hits the reflector and then is "bounced" into your tank. With a spiral bulb a fairly significant portion of the light "shines" on another part of the tube and is "absorbed" by that surface without reaching the tank. Look at your spiral bulb ffrom any angle, the light from the parts of the tube you can't see is lost or reduced. (The 90 degree reference is for illustration only, this would be largely dependent on the height of the bulb in relation to the tank. This is one of the reasons skinnier tubes are more efficient, and also why a good reflector can make such a big difference.
 
Jag1980 said:
More watts of spiral fluorescent light is not as good as 15 watts of fluorescent tube light?
Click to expand...

Depends on how you housed the spirals.
I use a double Edison socket inside an AGA Housing. I paint the inside of the housing gloss white. These setups grow plants way better than my 15Watt T8 strip light.
 
Canuck said:
Nope. Think of it this way. The light is emitted in straight lines. With a regular flourescent tube maybe 90 degrees of the surface of the tube emits light that immediately hits the bottom of your tank. Assuming a perfect reflector, the rest of the surface of the light hits the reflector and then is "bounced" into your tank. With a spiral bulb a fairly significant portion of the light "shines" on another part of the tube and is "absorbed" by that surface without reaching the tank. Look at your spiral bulb ffrom any angle, the light from the parts of the tube you can't see is lost or reduced. (The 90 degree reference is for illustration only, this would be largely dependent on the height of the bulb in relation to the tank. This is one of the reasons skinnier tubes are more efficient, and also why a good reflector can make such a big difference.
Click to expand...

I understand now, thanks :thm:
 
What is a AGA Housing?

I need to make my light strip better..

What type of place can I get reflective backing for my T8 tube light and is there a special name for the product I'm looking for?

Which bulb would be better:
Plant bulb they sell at the pet store
or
6500k GE bulb from Walmart

I want to use my light strip, but I need just a little bit more light..
 
Is this such a stupid question that no one wants to answer :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom