# fluorescent lighting



## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

just picked up a fluorescent hood for my 10 gal, and boy what a difference! so much more light, and the light is of a better spectrum too (heard the incandescent lights give off too much red which promotes algae, but my plants should enjoy the new lighting, as it's probably what they've been craving! later


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

lighting sure does make a difference as to how things look. I use household flurescent bulbs and prefer the daylight variety. They are hard to find to be sure and I sometimes have to use the 'soft white' --nasty color everything is pinkish-- until i can find the daylight which are "pure as the noon sun"


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## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

why just not use an aquarium bulb? or are you not set up for it?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I like 'daylight' bulbs better also. Some of the plant/aquarium bulbs are so purple they distort colors. I won't pay more for aquarium-specific bulbs, my low-light plants and basic fixtures don't need them.


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## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

im using the fluorescent that came with the marineland setup that i got. nice!


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

I have some sort of incandescent plant grow light over my SW refugium. It's strong enough to grow coraline algae on the plastic lid. Does anyone know why this particular incandescent is so strong in comparison to another? Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'm just really curious and it's SORT OF related... Right?


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## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

the lights that you have may be for actual plants, and not aquatic plants. is there a difference? idk. check


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## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

incandescent, bulbs give off red spectrum light, which is beneficial to algae.


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## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

fluorescent


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## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

if you wish to grow your combobulations , then an incadescent, may be for you


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

household flourescents are 1/4 the price of aquarium specific bulbs. Also When I rebuild the light fixtures for the household flourescent bulbs because they screw in I can get a higher wattage for the plants. Generally the long bulbs that come with the light fixture are not sufficient for higher light plants.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

light spectra used to be largely determined by type. Now, both incandescent and fluorescent bulbs (and also LED) come in a variety of output spectra. I think they do it with special coatings on the glass. Go to manufacturers sites. Many are proud of their selection and will help you tell the difference between different bubls.

I've also put the little torpedo compact florescent bulbs in "incandescent" fixtures. You get more light per watt and less heat. Once you've melted a few lids and light fixtures, you realize that is important.


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

so after reading this post it got me wanting to change my lighting, so i went to home depot today and was trying to find a higher powered 18" bulbs but i only could find them in 15 watt but i did see the daylight bulbs like you said and they where cheaper then the aquatic bulbs, but still only gives me 30 watts for my 55g, so I was woundering if it would be bad if I just bought the stuff to make my own dual bulb 48" ballest or just buy a cheap shop ballest and make it to fit, and another thing is black light bad for a fish tank?


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## baileysup (Nov 25, 2009)

don't quote me on this, but i've heard that the "black light" is good for fish that enjoy "low light" conditions. i heard that the blue spectrum is not as harsh and some fish such as catfish do well in low light conditions. not sure about it though. other fish do better with full spectrum


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

home depot, lowe's or even walmart sell GE Daylignt and Sunshine bulbs. Daylight bulbs are 6700k and sunshine bulbs are 5000k. Both are full spectrum and in the dolor range for freshwater plants. Plus they are way cheaper than the "aquarium" bulbs. That's all I use personally.


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## chronoboy (Jan 17, 2011)

ya was going to buy them but i want more then 30 watts out of my two hoods and with the 18" bulbs i cant seem to get anymore then 15 watt ones, do they make higher powered 18" bulbs?


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

My nocturnal Marine Betta, though it does come out during the day, LOVES my pair of 6,000ºK lights that I use as sunrise/set lights.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I have one tank with a 'moonlight' blue bulb and my Moori seem to prefer it to 'daylight'. Deep water has pretty low light and it looks blue because only the highest energy waves, the blue end of the visible spectrum, penetrate very far in water.

Lots of people make their own lights with parts from the hardware store. I saw ballasts, ends, starters, switches, everything you'd need. Take care with ventilation, a lot of bulbs can get pretty hot. Don't overload, use 18W with an 18W bulb, for example. I think the only hard to do well yourself is the reflector. Some of 'aquarium' lights have really nice parametric, silver reflectors that about double the light that reaches the tank. 

But DIY should easily be able to match or beat the typical 'stock' lighting. I am learning to make fluorescent fixtures piecemeal as I try to get my old crap working by replacing pieces.

If I were really going to try DIY, I go for T5 bulbs. The light is brighter per watt and the bulbs are nice and thin. Of course, the T5 parts are still expensive and hard to find, while the T8 is everywhere and T12 stuff is on clearance as are old style 'non-electronic' ballasts.


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## serpa_man (Mar 7, 2011)

i also just got a new hood for my 10g tank. and it even came with the 8,000k daylight bulb. before i got the new light i had no light on my tank i was just using what came naturally from the daytime and leaving my bedroom light on on top of that, i had my four prinstilla tetras being nipped at by my four serpae tetras. Now that i got the new light they freaked out for about two minutes then calmed down instantly and no more nipping. i would go with the 8,000k daylight bulb. it looks great in my tank and it probably will in yours. and for a first time flourecent bulb user im loving how much light gets into my tank rather than iredecent lights. i will stick with flourecents for the rest of my fish keeping days. hope this helps.


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