question about using cfls for med-high light plants

[GreenTerr0]

I was reading the DIY on using cfls for lighting my future planted tank, I have a 48" light strip so I'm gonna add as many as I can which I'm thinking around 8... So my question is,will the light that the cfls give off be good for a med to high light tank? And if so, when calculating watts per gallon would I count each cfl as that draw being 13 watts or so or its equvalent of apprx 40 watts? Thanks!

 

[jmhart]

You should calculate based on the actual wattage, not the equivalent.

CFLs work great for plants, but they have a considerable amount of restirke. A good estimate is to say that 86% of the wattage is making it out of the fixture.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

also make some good reflectors for them. in larger tanks they just not really that efficient. how many bulbs are you going to have to add to get the effect you want when you can just get a clean t5 ho set up?
http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-ligh.html

 

[DieselJunki]

Mgamer I see you always suggesting those lights and I like them but when I go to calculate the WPG over my 40g tank if I were to use the 3ft fixture it I'd only be getting 1.9 WPG. I mean I really only want to grow lowlight plants and perhaps some medium light ones. Couldn't I get more WPG with a shop light from Homedepot or something? Or are these T5 HO much much better then a shoplight therefore requiring less WPG?

Also if I were to get one of these fixtures what should I get for a K rating 67K or 100K or 140K?

The downside also is it doesn't fit my 29g tank which is 30"L.

 

[sCeRaXn]

Im curious about those lights as well. Would the 4' double light with two 54w bulbs be ok for a 55 gallon moderately planted tank? None of the plants i have need alot of light, so im assuming that 1.9-2wpg would be good enough?

Sorry for the thread jack GreenTerr0. As far as your question is concerned...im running 6 26w cfl's on my 4' tank and its barely enough to support a moderately planted tank with low to moderate light plants. Ive got more than enough wattage, but the light is focused in some places and dull in the others. Its hardly noticeable by eye, but after having multiple aquascapes with these lights you begin to figure out what parts of the tank are getting good light and which parts arent getting enough. Not only that, but they get HOT. So hot that my hood has deformed from the heat and the surface of the water stays a few degrees warmer than the bottom...and this is on a tank with ALOT of flow.

As youve probably noticed, im in the market for new lighting lol

 

[schaadrak]

Mgamer I see you always suggesting those lights and I like them but when I go to calculate the WPG over my 40g tank if I were to use the 3ft fixture it I'd only be getting 1.9 WPG. I mean I really only want to grow lowlight plants and perhaps some medium light ones. Couldn't I get more WPG with a shop light from Homedepot or something? Or are these T5 HO much much better then a shoplight therefore requiring less WPG?

Also if I were to get one of these fixtures what should I get for a K rating 67K or 100K or 140K?

The downside also is it doesn't fit my 29g tank which is 30"L.

HO T5 lighting will have more lumens per watt than the T12/T8 shop lights from the hardware store. But if price is a big factor and its for a low/med-light tank, then a shop light will work just fine.

Bulbs ideally will be in the 6700K range, but 10K works well enough.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

Mgamer I see you always suggesting those lights and I like them but when I go to calculate the WPG over my 40g tank if I were to use the 3ft fixture it I'd only be getting 1.9 WPG. I mean I really only want to grow lowlight plants and perhaps some medium light ones. Couldn't I get more WPG with a shop light from Homedepot or something? Or are these T5 HO much much better then a shoplight therefore requiring less WPG?

Also if I were to get one of these fixtures what should I get for a K rating 67K or 100K or 140K?

The downside also is it doesn't fit my 29g tank which is 30"L.

thats where the wpg is off. here is a good read. http://woo.gotdns.com/Aquarium/Lighting.htm....

also...

http://www.rexgrigg.com/light.html

People that use shop lights over tanks. Sure they are better than a standard strip light but they still suck. I once had a 55 gallon tank with 160 watts of shop lights over it. And it sure did look bright. But I had problems with a lot of my plants. I switched to a single 2x55 watt kit from AH Supply and actually got more usable light into the tank. Sure the shop lights gave better coverage in the tank and into the surrounding room but the AH Supply kit basically blows the light straight down into the tank where it belongs. A simple experiment will show you what I mean. If you have a room in your house that you can black out you can take the shop light and hang it in the middle of the room and turn it on. See how nice and bright the room is? See how much light there is spread around the room? That's because shop lights are made to (surprise!) light up shops. Now take a AH Supply 2x55 watt kit and hang it in the room. See how bright the light is under the light? See how dark the rest of the room is? That's because the AH Supply kit is made to light up aquariums. I realize that not everyone can afford or obtain AH Supply kits. But there are better options than shop lights.

as for the 29 gallon i would go with 24 fixture or just get a ahsupply 55w fixture thats what i have over mine.

Im curious about those lights as well. Would the 4' double light with two 54w bulbs be ok for a 55 gallon moderately planted tank? None of the plants i have need alot of light, so im assuming that 1.9-2wpg would be good enough?

Sorry for the thread jack GreenTerr0. As far as your question is concerned...im running 6 26w cfl's on my 4' tank and its barely enough to support a moderately planted tank with low to moderate light plants. Ive got more than enough wattage, but the light is focused in some places and dull in the others. Its hardly noticeable by eye, but after having multiple aquascapes with these lights you begin to figure out what parts of the tank are getting good light and which parts arent getting enough. Not only that, but they get HOT. So hot that my hood has deformed from the heat and the surface of the water stays a few degrees warmer than the bottom...and this is on a tank with ALOT of flow.

As youve probably noticed, im in the market for new lighting lol

yes it would.