Which bulb would you recommend? These would be 40 watt bulbs in a dual light strip over a planted 52 gallon tank.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Penn Plax FL 40 vs. Power Glo
- Thread starter trevor30
- Start date
I don't know about those Penn Plax bulbs but I found powerglo's did ok in my planted tank. The lighting is quite purple but the fish colours seem to show up nicely.
From the aqua botanic lighting comparison, the PowerGlo bulbs scored a decent 1.08 on the PAR efficiency. The bulbs I use now, Daylight Deluxe, scored just slightly lower at 1.06. However, the Daylight Deluxe's can be bought in 2 packs at Home Depot for around $5. One powerglo will cost about 4x as much as two Daylight Deluxe.
http://www.aquabotanic.com/lightcompare.htm
By the way, make sure you stick with T8 light bulbs if you can. They're thinner than the ordinary T12s and a lot brighter.
From the aqua botanic lighting comparison, the PowerGlo bulbs scored a decent 1.08 on the PAR efficiency. The bulbs I use now, Daylight Deluxe, scored just slightly lower at 1.06. However, the Daylight Deluxe's can be bought in 2 packs at Home Depot for around $5. One powerglo will cost about 4x as much as two Daylight Deluxe.
http://www.aquabotanic.com/lightcompare.htm
By the way, make sure you stick with T8 light bulbs if you can. They're thinner than the ordinary T12s and a lot brighter.
So I went and found at Home Depot two 48" T-8 6500K bulbs and two 36" T-8 8000K bulbs. Only problem is now my total watts has dropped from 2.7 per gallon to 2.44. How much of a difference woill that make?
See that's the thing. Your wpg and total watt consumption has dropped. But wattage is just an indication of how much electricity the bulbs will use. If you have an extra T12, put it in the fixture and turn it on. Then put in a T8. You'll be amazed how much brighter the T8 is. I did it recently and I was very surprised.
I believe that they generally put out about the same amount of light, except that T8s are squeezing it into a smaller area. I see it like having a flashlight on wide spectrum and then focusing it into a narrow beam. It gets a lot brighter even though it's roughly the same amount of light. I'm no expert but this is my take on it. Bottom line, don't worry about your wpg and just watch your tank and plants.
I believe that they generally put out about the same amount of light, except that T8s are squeezing it into a smaller area. I see it like having a flashlight on wide spectrum and then focusing it into a narrow beam. It gets a lot brighter even though it's roughly the same amount of light. I'm no expert but this is my take on it. Bottom line, don't worry about your wpg and just watch your tank and plants.
So is there anything you think I should stay away from plant wise? I am really looking for some new background plants when I move some things around this weekend. Also, I want to make sure that I won't be doing more harm than good if I add CO2. Right now I am basically using some Hygro and Anacharis for my background plants.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Keep in mind a t-8 on average will be brighter than a t-12, but not always. Right now I'm using a pair of 6500k 4 foot bulbs from walmart that are rated at some 3000 or so lumens. They are definatly brighter than the t-12 philips bulbs I was getting at home depot and the t-8 6500k philips bulb home depot had was rated at about 2950 lumens. Trevor that being said I don't think you'll see any difference in the lighting except for the price you paid at home depot vs what you would have paid at the lfs. Also I used to use one philips 5500k bulb (blueish tint) and one philips plant and aquarium bulb (pinkish tint). Plants grew fine and the fish looked good, but with my fixture some of the light hits the back wall and the pink halo around the aquarium was a bit funky.
Hound said:
If you know of any T12 bulbs that are brighter than an equivalent T8, please let me know. I can only use T12 in my 24" shoplight fixture that has a magnetic ballast. To be honest, I don't believe it.
Trevor, for background plants there isn't too much I'd stay away from. To start though, stick with fairly easy ones like Hygrophila polysperma, Ludwigia repens, Rotala rotundifolia, Hydrocotyle leucocephala, Limnophila sessiliflora and Vallisneria. If you want a large specimen background plant, things like an Aponogeton, swords (Echinodorus), Lotus or Cryptocoryne balansae would work.
Once you get the hang of nutrients and CO2, then I'd suggest moving to the more difficult plants if you want. Finer leaved or red stem plants are often more sensitive and difficult, such as Limnophila aquatica, Rotala wallichii, and Ludwigia inclinata.
So what do you think of the range of the four bulbs I got. The 6500K are in the back and the 8000K are in the front. I think it looks nice but as far as being beneficial for the plants what would you think?
Now I read about this 9325K bulb that everyone is bragging about. Any suggestions on what I have or have you had any luck with this 9325K?
Don't worry, just stick with the bulbs you have right now. The K ratings don't really tell you anything about how well they'll grow plants. It's mostly to give you an idea of the colour they will appear. The 9325K bulbs are very pink and will make your plants look more red. I have two 9325K power compact bulbs mixed with my 6500K fluorescents.
I'm interested in the 8000K bulbs you found. Were they at Home Depot too? What brand and name?
I'm interested in the 8000K bulbs you found. Were they at Home Depot too? What brand and name?