SmartPaq Eclipse lighting retrofit

Has anybody used these compact flourescent retrofit kits in their
Eclipse hood? I have an Eclipse 1 twin lamp, and the light fixture is
shot. My original plan to give up on the 10 gallon tank and just buy a
bigger tank, hood, stand, filter, etc. for some reason seems to exceed
my budget, so I am contemplating using this retrofit kit to fix the
problem.

Questions:

-I can't seem to find any information comparing CFL to T8 bulbs. It
seems like the CFL produces more light per watt? Is that right? So by
switching from two 15w T8 tubes to a 32w CFL, am I actually gaining
more light for my plants?

-Is the kit difficult to install?

-The kit comes with this bulb "10000°K/460nm Actinic." My tank has
been somewhat ignored for a while, and I don't remember what I was
buying for bulbs, but I think generic daylight bulbs. Will the actinic
part of this bulb make the colors in the tank look odd? Is this an ok
bulb for freshwater plants? I am not trying to do anything too
spectacular, just want stuff to be green and growing, even if slowly.

-Any thoughts on whether it would be better to do this retrofit kit or
to just buy a new hood? The cost difference is only $15. I wonder if
there have been any design changes to the hoods since I bought mine 6
or 7 years ago.

Thanks for any help you can give me. Somehow doing water changes on a
dark tank with 3 small fish and an overgrowth of java moss isn't
inspiring. If I can get some light back in there, I think I will
remember why I like aquariums and maybe I will add some plants and
fish. ;-)

Jessica

-I can't seem to find any information comparing CFL to T8 bulbs. It
seems like the CFL produces more light per watt? Is that right?

Not really. They actually make a little less, just a little, and
less than T12s. BUT and it[s a very big but, they do so in a much
smaller space, so the effective luminous flux per square inch is
greater.

All 40 watt tbes are about 3000 lumens. With CF that's spread
over say, a 16" by 1/2" strip, whereas with T12 it's over a 4 foot
by 1.5" spread.

Two 40W cf's take up about a quarter of the space of one T12.

As for what tube to get, doesn't matter. Get what ever is cheap
or on sale.


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