I just bought a new light for my 10 gallon 3 hours ago.
On the box it reads 18000K.
It is a 15W fluorescent bulb. (It cost me enough...($80 australian))
1. Is this a determination of brightness?
2. Is this too bright?
3. If so, should I exchange it for a not-so-bright bulb?
But Bob, 18000K is nearly 3 times 6700K.
Is this way too high or it is irrelevant? Does the phrase ''Too much of one thing is as bad as too little of it'' come into play here?
Personally, I'm using a bulb that is half 67k, half 10k, and it's the best IMHO. 18k doesn't support photosynthesis, so it won't really do much good in your FW tank. Did you buy an entirely new light fixture? If so, I would return it and get something higher wattage for the same cost- which you will be able to, I swear! I got my 40 watt for my 10 gallon w/ fan & lunar light for $75, which granted, is a bit more in AU, but with the exchange rate these days *grumble* but I digress...
Do you know the brand of this light? Is it power compact? Definitely go for power compact. I dunno if Coralife or Current USA is carried down under, but those are the two manufactures I use and LOVE. Also, I dunno if your light came with actinic, as it sounds like it's a SW light, but actinic is totally useless in FW, so no need to go for that!
Just finished talking to one of my plant mentors. She said that 6700K constitutes a good medium for planted tanks. She has tanks using up to 12000K. The 12000K tank is not normally used except by those experience plant keepers that enjoy the challence of keeping demanding "high light" plants.
So to answer your question, take the bulb back and get one in the 6700K range, but not lower than 6700K.
1. The brand is power-glo
2. 18000K, 55 lux, 15W, T8 light bulb
3. It's highest colour spectrum is in the blue, according to the box...
4. I'm not sure these guys will gimme my money back, I bought it 5 days ago, it's not Walmart, it's the LFS that tries to kick you out if you don't buy anything.
Not that it bothers me, I'll just buy another bulb, it's like $15. And yes I did buy a whole new lighting fixture, but they let you choose the bulb and pay for it seperately.
Any suggestions on what I should look for before I go back tommorrow to try exchange it???
Or you could keep it in case you ever decided to set up a marine tank
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