Ordering fluorescent bulbs

[mathchris]

This question is as much for asthetics as is functional. I have a 62 Gal aquarium I'm putting together. I'm building a hood with 4 x 36" fluorescent bulbs. That makes 120 watts altogether for my planted tank. Now I'm looking through the catalog at bulbs to order for it... 30 watt 36" t-12 bulbs.

I read Phillips F40D bulbs are full spectrum & $4.00!
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/kelly-intro.html

In the aquarium catalog the Coralife bulbs are pretty inexpensive. There's a 6000ºK, a color enhancing bulb & a Plant grow lamp.

My gut is to get the $4 bulbs. Is there a big benefit to aquarium brand bulbs? Is it something I'll just have to figure out on my own thru trial & error; trying to make my fish & plants look their best?

Also...I got a friend helping me do an LCD moonlight for the hood. I'm doing something similar to this guy's DIY:
http://www.kaotica.com/frag/diy/moonlight/
Mine will have 3 or 4 of these lights.
http://www.lc-led.com/View/itemNumber/64
I'll post a full DIY report of my project once done

 

[zkt]

Plants need light toward the blue end of the spectrum. I use 2 cool white , a plant gro lite, and a full spectrum sun . All 4 ft tubes from Lowes.

 

[beviking]

...Is there a big benefit to aquarium brand bulbs?

Yeah, a big benefit to the manufacturer...their bank acct!
Full spectrum bulbs will work. It will be your "trial & error" to figure what YOU like best. The different bulbs do make things look different, but your plants don't have eyes .

 

[mathchris]

Update:
I ended up getting 3 daylight, 1 Spectralight & 1 VERILUX from 1000bulbs.com (great site but has a minimum order). They all seem fine, the plants & Pleco look fantastic but my orange fish is less attractive now than when it was under a more red light. I may eventually search for a bulb with more red that may work in my tank. Since I have plants I'll have to search for that sweet spot.

note: 30" bulbs are a less popular size & therefore more expensive than 40" bulbs & were not in stock at the Home Depot & the light bulb store. (good to know if you're doing a DIY light-box)

Also, I found a 100-150 watt high pressure sodium lamp called "Sun System Grow Sun Fixture" for $100 (at 1000bulbs.com). It's ugly, but if I had found this deal earlier, I probably would not have gone the DIY rout.

Lighting

Too much light will wash out the color of your Parrots. So minimal lighting is best. Somewhere between .5 and 1 watt per gallon is acceptable as long as there is no plants in the tank that require more light. Bulbs on the red end of the color spectrum tend to display the fishes color better than blue. A blue spectrum tends to take away from the Parrot Cichlid's brilliant orange color.

Quote from: The Parrot Cichlid Page

 

[Slappy*McFish]

They all seem fine, the plants & Pleco look fantastic but my orange fish is less attractive now than when it was under a more red light. I may eventually search for a bulb with more red that may work in my tank. Since I have plants I'll have to search for that sweet spot.

Try adding a GE Aquarays FW/SW 9325K bulb to the mix. It's great for plants and will enhance the reds in your tank as well.

 

[mathchris]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look for it after I establish these plants in their new tank.