lighting help

[forsaken]

Comparing the wattage that a CFL uses to the wattage of an equivalent incandescent bulb is pointless with regards to aquariums. Treat them as 9W bulbs, or whatever wattage they actually use.

you lost me at CFL

 

[sostoudt]

you lost me at CFL

compact flourscent= cfl= curly bulbs that go in regular light socket= bascially flourscent bent to a compact shape.

incadscent= have a glowing filament= old school regular house hold bulbs

any wattage recommendation you recieve for fish or plants is based on new technology, ie not incadscent.

the new types of bulbs(flourscent/halide/compact flourscent) produce more light per watt then incadscent. incadscent produces roughly 5 times less light per watt then flourscent.


edit:also i believe power compact and cfl are the same thing just different bases.

 

[sostoudt]

with this lighting setup would you be able to grow some of those carpet like plants? such as the grass that covers the whole aquarium substrate? is it high enough lighting for those type of plants?

hairgrass, isnt very hard to take care off. the correct fixture and wattage depends on the size of your tank.
a general recommendation is 2-3 watts per gallon.

 

[forsaken]

ok I ended up with a 4 pack of 100 watt bulbs that are 6,500k. It is a spriral bulb. I have a dome light reflector. which is the silver ones that reflect light and make the tank brighter. So should I still get 2 domes? and use 2 100 watt lights? that seems like WAY too much. should i get 2 60watts? 2 50watts? 2 40 watts? or just stick with the 100 watt? The ends of the tank are sorta less bright. still bright just not as bright as the center. will the tank be ok with one dome? thanks.

 

[forsaken]

bump

 

[Nights85]

I use a dome and ended up with one light without a dome
tanks 70 gallons so 2x100 watt equiv would help if I had 2 domes
or so but I wasn't planning on using this setup too long but plants
do grow well with this lighting type but I hear its much better to get
the T5-HO I mostly just wonder if I should get a higher Kelvin for
normal freshwater plants 6700k - or 14000k <- This only for salt
water coral life or does it work just as good for freshwater plant life?

 

[mgamer20o0]

ok I ended up with a 4 pack of 100 watt bulbs that are 6,500k. It is a spriral bulb. I have a dome light reflector. which is the silver ones that reflect light and make the tank brighter. So should I still get 2 domes? and use 2 100 watt lights? that seems like WAY too much. should i get 2 60watts? 2 50watts? 2 40 watts? or just stick with the 100 watt? The ends of the tank are sorta less bright. still bright just not as bright as the center. will the tank be ok with one dome? thanks.

it isnt 100w you need to use the actual wattage. should be like what 23w per bulb. plus they have alot of restrike meaning a lot of the light shinning goes back on the bulb. they can and do work but you need to know their limits.

i think you really need ot take some time and do some reading to understand how plants work and how the lights work.

might be a little more then you want to spend but these lights linked bellow put out a lot of light with out using as much power. they do so by using high out put light with individual reflectors.
http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-ligh.html

 

[Nights85]

it isnt 100w you need to use the actual wattage. should be like what 23w per bulb. plus they have alot of restrike meaning a lot of the light shinning goes back on the bulb. they can and do work but you need to know their limits.

i think you really need ot take some time and do some reading to understand how plants work and how the lights work.

might be a little more then you want to spend but these lights linked bellow put out a lot of light with out using as much power. they do so by using high out put light with individual reflectors.
http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-ligh.html

I was thinking of the 3ft one myself from them earlier would the
14000k be better than the 6700k? and does it matter at all if they
are white or blue I think I see alot of the blue ones in use...

 

[mgamer20o0]

the blue ones dont really help plants grow. generally speaking i would get the all white ones.

 

[Nights85]

the blue ones dont really help plants grow. generally speaking i would get the all white ones.

Whats about the 14000k is that only helpful for coral life or
will it benefit the freshwater plant species...