"g_i_n_k_o" wrote in message
...
In rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants Reel McKoi
wrote:
:
: Where I live the 6500K's are $10 and that's at Wal*Mart.

I try to stay away from WalMart since they don't always treat their
workforce very well.

They treat them like crap but they have the best prices around. When you're
retired that matters. :-)

There is a place called Menards in the upper midwest. They sell
32 watt T8 Phillips Octron tubes for dirt cheap.

They wont fit in the 4' reflectors on 55g tanks. I Googled the name and
came up with loads of hits. I didn't find tubes. None of these stores are in
my state.

: I've had no luck with plant tubes. The tanks looked dark and the plants
: stretched.

I never use just plant tubes. I mix a plant bulb with a bulb that
provides light for a human eye.

: I have had really good luck with Seachem Flourish Excel. It helps
keep
: my tank that tends to have a moderate algae problems to barely
noticable
: algae here and there. Please note that it does kill certain kinds of
: plants (Vallisneria, Elodia (Anacharis), and Saggiteria. The product
: is way too expensive unless you buy it in bulk by the gallon jug.
:
: It is indeed expensive and we saw zero difference in either plant growth
or
: algae.

This stuff completely cleared up a big mess in a very high light tank.
It also helps in some containers and tanks that don't have CO2 added
to them. But, this was used with an Estimative Index fertilizer
schedule. I haven't tried it with other growing methods.

He knew I didn't have a high-light tank and couldn't afford the high cost of
Barr's products and shipping. I should have been told the truth right from
the start. I think it was a come-on to sell Barr's products.

: Actually my plants do very well under the cool and warm bulbs, unless
: there's a serious algae bloom as I have now.

That mix will work. It's been used for decades by people growing indoor
plants. However, many warm white bulbs don't have all that great of a
spectrum. You want red and blues for plants. In some 4100K tubes, the
red spikes were the same that were in the 3500K tube (The 3500K tube
was pretty much a 4100K tube, minus the blues...) So, sometimes two
good 4100K tubes will do better than a 4100K and a not-so-good 3500K.

From a personal aesthics point of view, a 6500K tube looks better to my
eye and is better at balancing up an ugly growLux tube. Of course,
others will prefer the look of another tube!

--

RM....
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
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