Help switching to live plants

[Reygan2]

Sorry to say Actinic bulbs are useless for plants.
The 6,700K is a good choice.

I wish I had known. The new fixture I ordered gave me a choice of bulbs, now it's probably too late to change. Oh well, live and learn. I'll pick up a better bulb when I make the trek to my not so local fs.

 

[fort384]

You could run it with the actinic and 6700k an see how it goes. It would be ok for low light stuff. Then if you want to increase the light later on you are already set and no upgrade required - just swap a bulb. Some folks like the look of the actinic on a FW setup.

 

[Reygan2]

Ok, the new t5ho fixture arrived today (yeah) but I am a little confused. It is a 30 inch fixture, but the bulbs are quite a bit shorter than the bulbs in the aqueon fixture I'm returning to petsmart. I measured them and they are 21.5 inches long. Can I get these bulbs in most lfs's?
Also, I can't decide on the best bulb combo. It came with a 65k daylight and an actinic blue, both 24 watts. I would like some opinions on what to put with the 65k. The blue bulb is useless.

 

[fort384]

That is a standard sized t5ho bulb. It will work fine centered on a 29.

I would suggest 10000K to go with the 6500K.

Some petsmarts and petcos carry t5ho lamps. Some don't. Most decent LFSs will have them, but your best bet is to buy online.

 

[Reygan2]

That is a standard sized t5ho bulb. It will work fine centered on a 29.

I would suggest 10000K to go with the 6500K.

Some petsmarts and petcos carry t5ho lamps. Some don't. Most decent LFSs will have them, but your best bet is to buy online.

Once again....thank you very much!

 

[Reygan2]

That is a standard sized t5ho bulb. It will work fine centered on a 29.

I would suggest 10000K to go with the 6500K.

Some petsmarts and petcos carry t5ho lamps. Some don't. Most decent LFSs will have them, but your best bet is to buy online.

I decided to keep the fixture you recommended and returned the aqueon fixture I bought from Petsmart. The guy at my fs recommended the Life-Glo 67k 24watt bulb to go with the 65k daylight that came with the fixture. I bought some crypts, and now I'm ready to get started.

Question... should I use any other ferts besides root tabs? I really want to avoid an algae farm.

 

[fort384]

For now root tabs are fine. See how it goes. You may want to grab a k/trace mix like flourish comprehensive in a few weeks if you notice any deficiencies.