wattage vs wavelength spectrum

[zoowks]

at my petsmart they didn't have the 24 watt 18" eclipse light i had, the only thing close was a 15 watt 18" "fluralight" lightbult made "specially for planted tanks" because it had the exact wavelength in the light spectrum that plants require, i needed a bulb so i picked it up else wise my plants in my 10 gal would be dead cuz it had already been 3 days with out light and they were looking droopy

so is that bs? or does it actually make a difference and makes up for only being 1.5 wpg isntead of the 2.4 my tanks used to

 

[livingword26]

Thats a pretty good wattage drop, what size is your tank. Also give all the information you can about both bulbs. What does the original one have written on it. And the same info on the new one as well. Can't find any info on a "fluralight" bulb.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

it wasnt a 24w bulb. it might clam it is but 2 foot t12 bulb is only 20 max. thats even less then that. i would just look for a day light bulb maybe at home depot. save your self some money.

 

[zoowks]

http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...ent&kw=fluorescent&parentPage=search&keepsr=1

my plants seem healthy now in any case, and are growing fine, only weird thing is my java fern isn't growing crazy fast like everyone else does? tho it looks healthy

 

[livingword26]

http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind...ent&kw=fluorescent&parentPage=search&keepsr=1

my plants seem healthy now in any case, and are growing fine, only weird thing is my java fern isn't growing crazy fast like everyone else does? tho it looks healthy

The "flora-glo" bulb is a 2800k bulb and probably not a good plant bulb. The "life-glow" is a 6700k bulb, and would be much better for plants. I agree that the 18" bulb should be 15 watts. I would like to know what is written on the old bulb.

 

[zoowks]

so i did some research on my old bulb turns out it is a 15 watt also, and i found if i want more wpg i need a new hood/light fixture

 

[Mgamer20o0]

true

 

[zoowks]

thx for the help

 

[gmh]

I hate these bulb manufacturers that claim to be 'plant lights' yet have much too low K rating to do the job. I see these bulbs at the local home depot and other outlets. They usuallly are around 3000K, about half want you should have and they are more expensive than run of the mill 'daylight' bulbs , which are normally in the 6700K area and much better suited to grow plants.

 

[Canuck]

K rating has nothing to do with growing plants. It only refers to the visible color of the light. The plant gro bulbs which have a very low k rating grow plants quite well because they produce high amounts of light in the spectrums plants use.