What should my K rating be?

[DAVIDFBT]

I bought 2 24-inch flourescent light fixtures from walmart today for 7 dollars each. I thought that this would be cheaper than buying a full hood for about 30 dollars. So I checked out the watts and they are 17 watts each, for a total of 34 Watts and 1.7 wpg. And the K rating is 4200Ks. So I was wondering, Is the K rating good? If not, should I just switch out the bulbs for ones that were designed for aquarium use?

Also, do you think I have enough light to grow medium light plants?

 

[Ozymandias]

usually you want a K rating in between 5500K to 10000K.

 

[kj5kb]

Those should be fine for most lo-light plants, tho!

 

[Ozymandias]

true, that it is not really all that strict i have a 12000K light on my tank and the plants do just fine

 

[FireDancer7905]

I like the clean look of 6700K. If you're looking to upgrade your lights, I suggest AH Supply. I ordered the new light for my 20g long this morning! It was much cheaper than at the lfs, and the kits work great (I have one on my 40g).

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Would 18,000K be overkill? I saw a really cheap one at Petsmart called Aqua-Glo, its made by Hagen, so it has to be good.

 

[Fishy_Fun]

That sounds like a lot.I just use a shop light over all my tanks

 

[Star_Rider]

it really isn't so much about k rating..but light spectrum. if these are full spectrum you should be ok (aka daylight)

 

[Notophthalmus]

The 18000 K bulb is probably for corals; they have symbiotic algae that use bluer light compared to what plants use.

Like star_rider said, full spectrum bulbs are good, but if you can't find one, something in the 6000-10000 K range provides the most usable light to the plants.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Darn it, Looks like I have to either order on-line or price match a LFS that has 6700K bulbs. Except I don't like to price match at LFSs because they are usually family owned bussinesses.