Which compact fluorescent bulbs should I get

HollyinWA

I found these bulbs at Petco but they had one left that was not broken. I bought it to make due until I found another one. I got it home and then I broke the one that I bought. They were way over priced at Petco storefront. I then found them on Petco online on sale but I took awhile to decide if I was going to get it...looked at local stores home stores for compact fluoresent with no luck.

I just went online to order them -- almost half the price -- and they no longer have them. Fortunately, after running another search, I found them at Dr. Foster's for even cheaper!

These are my choices - below. It is for my daughter's 14 gallon tank which has just a few live plants in there right doing ok with just the 2 incandescent light bulbs that it came with and the Flourite substrate below the gravel.

Coralife 50/50
50% 10,000°K daylight and 50% Actinic 03 blue. Great for fresh and saltwater aquariums.
Coralife Colormax
6,700°K full spectrum lamps with color-enhancing phosphors. Ideal for freshwater aquariums.

Which ones should I get? I think we discussed 8,000 K's before but can't remember exactly what we talked about for this tank size. The tank is 14 gallons which is deeper than a regular 10 gallon and a fixture for two compact bulbs.

Thanks. I need to order these today!

~Holly

Byron

Of the two the Colourmax is good. Although I have not seen this myself over an aquarium, I have checked its specs for another member or two and they look good to me. The kelvin rating of 6700K is good, it replicates the mid-day sun (around 5700K) so provides the needed blue and red with green to balance for a natural appearance plus good plant growth.

The other tube is not suitable, the "actinic" is the key that this is best over marine reef and coral tanks. It may "work" with freshwater plants but as all plant authorities recommend against actinic tubes I won't argue with them; I suspect it is the lack of red to balance, and of course no green so the colours in the aquarium will be washed out blue and sort of spectral.

Byron.

HollyinWA

Ok, great! Thanks, Byron.

Angel079

I'd pers also not add this one to a planted FW tank too high end K's there as B. mentioned already

That's the one I'd use; Not sure about your 14g set up, but if you have room for 2 lights, I'd get this one and one that's rated somewhere's lower around 5K - Any tank that has room for 2 lights I always had set up like this and had great success that way with plants.

HollyinWA

The tank does have the fixture for two bulbs. I cannot find any others that will fit other than this one.....slightly higher than 5K. Is this ok though? I am going to order now.

Thanks.

aunt kymmie

These are the exact same bulbs I use on my display tank. A great bulb but not cheap. :(

HollyinWA

Thanks for the encouragement. I am just about ready to checkout but thinking about getting the new fixture that i need for my new 55 gallon. It only comes with a single bulb fixture and if I do plants I will need a dual bulb fixture. The tank is deeper than a normal 55 gallon and is actually 56 gallons.

Now am not not sure if I am picking the right one. This is the one I am eyeing:

Fluorescent Aquarium Lighting: All-Glass Twin-Tube Black Strip Lights

I would have to get the 30" fixture which is actually a little long for my tank. My tank is 30 inches but the fixture it has now is 28" so it can set inside the tank frame. It is not a standard shape tank so it is hard to find the right accessories for it.

It says that the 30" fixture takes 17 watt bulbs in either T-8 (which is what I would get), T-10 and
T-12's.

I want to get this order in so it ships out today. They are fast!

HollyinWA

P.S. It appears it states 17 watts for the 30 inch fixture because that is what it comes with. I guess this means that if I need something with more watts, I can get it. Not sure if what it comes with is the type of bulbs that I would need for live plants.

redchigh

wal-mart sells some dual-spectrum 10w cfls with (supposedly) good red blue output for natural light and good plant growth. im no expert, but my aponogeton loves the bulbs. when i had incandecent bulbs it had two leaves, and when a new one grew an older one would die. since i two of the bulbs from walmart it has twenty leaves and about ten floating leaves, not to mention a half dozen flowers at the surface. the bulbs are 8 bucks, so i think its a pretty good deal.

i also hear people reccomend daylight flouros, so doesn't that apply to cfls? a 23 watt 6500k mini cfl is only 6 bucks at hardware stores....i've used them for starting seeds indoor for transplant and they seem to grow super fast...

Byron

This is a good fixture in my view, I bought two of them last summer to replace old fixtures that finally gave out. The tubes that come with it are useless though, but you can buy good ones. T8, T10 and T12 refer to the tube diameters, but T8 are more common now and some say are slightly more intense and less energy and last longer. Whichever, a good choice.

Speaking generally, all tubes of the same length are the same wattage, they are standard. However, some manufacturers now make tubes that produce the same intensity but for less energy (watts), so the wattage will be less but as I've said before, wattage has very little to do with light intensity. It works as a guide for T8's bearing in mind the newer lower wattage issue.

Your full spectrum tubes will work, the Colourmax mentioned earlier, at whatever wattage they make for this length.

Byron.