Household compact fluorescents won't work, will they?

[leafyseadragon]

A while ago I planted an Amazon swordplant in my 10 gallon tank. It did well for a while, went downhill, and eventually died. At first I thought it was because my corys kept digging it up, but in retrospect, I should have realized a 15 watt striplight probably wasn't enough light for a 10 gallon tank.

I recently found my old Hartz aquarium light, the one that accepts two threaded bulbs. I was thinking of putting in two 26W household compact fluorescents in the tank and getting some new plants. I am pretty sure 5.2 watts per gallon is enough light, but is it of the right color? Will this encourage plant growth? If not, I'll stick with plastic plants, can't kill those.

 

[Guest]

If you go to Wal-Mart and look in their "aquarium" section you should find some 6500k screw based CF bulbs. Those work quite well. Or even better. Go to www.ahsupply.com and get their 2x13 watt upgrade kit for your strip light. Or go whole hog and get a 36 watt kit and a nice enclosure and you will be set for life.

With the spiral bulbs you are lucky to get 40% of the light into the tank due to things like re-strike.

 

[mgkaelen]

rex- what is re-strike?

 

[leafyseadragon]

Thanks for the info, Rex. You're in Portland? I *really* miss Powell's!

Anyway, I've been to the aquarium section of Wal-Mart, and I have never seen CF bulbs there. But this tank is a temporary setup until I upgrade to a 75L. I already have some spare 26W CF bulbs that I'm not using, and I'd like to use those.

So while what I want to do isn't optimal, will it work anyway?

P.S. I concur with mgkaelen, what is re-strike?

 

[Guest]

Re-strike is when the light goes back into the bulb. Like inside the coil of those lamps. Light that re-strikes is basically lost.

 

[tkos]

I have a 15 watt and 13 watt screw in bulb in my 10 gallon and my Amazon sword grows like crazy. I cut 2 or 3 leaves off a week so it won't over take my tank. The colour temp is around 3500K I think for these bulbs. But they were cheap and seem to work fine for my plant selection. (my other plants are java ferns so they work with almost any light).

 

[leafyseadragon]

The bulbs that I have are not the spiral kind. There are three narrow U-shaped loops sticking out of the base at a 120 degree angle from each other. This makes the bulb rather tall compared to the spirals, which means it does not fit any of my lamps. So I am trying to find another use for them.

 

[malkore]

FYI the wal-mart supercenters here don't carry those screw in PC's either. It must be a regional thing. Nebraska isn't exactly a huge fishkeeping state.

 

[tkos]

In my walmarts I find them in the regular lighting section, not the pet section.

 

[loganj]

FW plants don't seem to be particular about the color temp of the lights they are under. The cool white lamps don't always make for the most attractive aquarium due to the color of light they put out though. That's just my opinion of course. The Home Depot here carries a line of CF bulbs by Commercial Electric and they have a "Daylight" bulb that is 6500k. It's a spiral type and puts off a nice white light compared to the household bulbs.

 

[captainGregor]

CF Ligh

I just got a hold of an industrial overhead light - posting a picture here. It has 2 CF lights there Those lights are standard 3000K industrial lights. I have 2 sets of lights. If I place 2 of those sets on my 55 the total wattage will be 160 watt. They fit perfect. The question is, if I use these 2 bulbs or replace them with 4100K will my FW plants grow better than with my piteful 2 standard 15 watt bulbs now? Thank you for your advice.

 

[Guest]

Of course your plants will grow better with more light. You might want to get some bulbs in the 5500k-9325k range though. If those are 40 watt CF lights the bulbs are a bit harder to find. And if you put both of them over a 55 you are going to need a pressurized CO2 system.