bulb recommendation..

[Phil Williamson]

I've got a 20gal tank with two 15watt bulbs on it (two separate light
fixtures), 1 powerglo and a sunglo.

Now, my LFS told me the best light setup would be to put two powerglo's in
there, what do you guys think? I need to replace both bulbs shortly and I
want to get it right the first time.

Phil..

[RedForeman ©®]

|| I've got a 20gal tank with two 15watt bulbs on it (two separate light
|| fixtures), 1 powerglo and a sunglo.
||
|| Now, my LFS told me the best light setup would be to put two
|| powerglo's in there, what do you guys think? I need to replace both
|| bulbs shortly and I want to get it right the first time.
||
|| Phil..

For a non-CO2 tank, I like the bluer bulbs, the yellow-ish bulbs have
started too many algae blooms for me, and mine... I prefer the bluer look
anyway... and I think both of your bulbs are on the yellow end... I could be
wrong, and YMMV, but IMO, bluer looks better, and grows better....

--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

[RedForeman ©®]

"Phil Williamson" > wrote in message
> I was planning on sticking with something from the hagen series since I
can
> just walk down the street to get them. I can't get anything off the net
> since I don't have a credit card.
>
> What do you suggest?


I would take my bulb down there, and see if they have something in the 5000
kelvin range, if you don't like it, I apologize, I think that is what the
perfecto bulbs are....

This is their parts number chart, pick what you have and see if Hagen can
find something similar...
12" 8 watt
R00900

15" 14 watt
R00901

18" 15 watt
R00902

24" 20 watt T12
R00904

36" 30 watt T8
R00905

48" 40 watt flo T12
R00906


--
RedForeman ©® future fabricator and creator of a ratbike
streetfighter!!! ==========================
2003 TRX450ES
1992 TRX-350 XX (For Sale)
'98 Tacoma Ext Cab 4X4 Lifted....
==========================
ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø


is that better??

[Rikko]

On Thu, 3 Jun 2004 14:35:47 -0400, "RedForeman ©®"
> wrote:

>"Phil Williamson" > wrote in message
>> I was planning on sticking with something from the hagen series since I
>can
>> just walk down the street to get them. I can't get anything off the net
>> since I don't have a credit card.
>>
>> What do you suggest?
>
>
>I would take my bulb down there, and see if they have something in the 5000
>kelvin range, if you don't like it, I apologize, I think that is what the
>perfecto bulbs are....


Bear in mind that Hagen lies on a couple of their Kelvin "ratings"
(ie. the 18,000K power glo tested for somebody as something like
7000K) - but it's all subjective from what I've seen.

As far as the Hagen bulbs go, it depends on whether you want sheer
light output (good for plants) or viewability (good for making you
actually want to look at your tank).
For pure light output, I believe the Sun Glos actually put out the
most light. They have something like double the Power Glos because
they have a wider spectrum, but they aren't as BRIGHT so won't
penetrate as deeply. I haven't tried these on aquatic plants because
they look pretty ugly (yellow).

The Flora Glo tubes are "made" for planted tanks (they have the
"right" spectrum - note this claim is being highly debated by a large
number of plant enthusiasts) but I found it too dim to be very pretty.

The Aqua Glo and Power Glo have an identical Kelvin rating, but the
Power Glo is a fair bit more intense. Both are somewhat purplish and I
quite like the look of them.

The only other appropriate bulb would be a Life Glo. They are a 6400K
full spectrum (AFAIK) with a nice pure white appearance. I quite like
these bulbs though they are at the higher end of the price spectrum
(along with the Power Glos). Be warned there is a Life Glo and a Life
Glo 2. The original Life Glo was *very* expensive because it had a
built-in reflector. If your canopy has halfway decent reflection I
would try and get the LG2.


My bottom line: Power Glo or Life Glo. I've seen plants do well under
both of them, though never used them personally (I'm not paying that
much for a light bulb! :D)

[Rikko]

On Sun, 6 Jun 2004 10:14:13 -0400, "Phil Williamson"
> wrote:

>Great post!
>
>I think I'm going to go with two powerglo's when I replace the bulbs. What
>do you have in your hoods that is cheaper than the hagen bulbs?

For my 15W in my 20 gallon I actually just picked up a cool white T8
tube from Rona. It's not one of those grow lites or the like, so it's
a fairly blueish tinge compared to others (though still distinctly
yellow). I'm not trying to grow plants specifically but I find the
crypts and natans I threw in there are growing like weeds.

For my 77 I built a T5 strip. T5 tubes are still somewhat expensive,
though I was able to get them close to wholesale. If you were
interested in building a T5 canopy (or building *any* canopy), the
guys at plantedtank.net will have more info than you want. You could
probably find T5s cheap at a hydroponics store, or perhaps your Home
Depot will carry them (they were a special order for me if I wanted
them).