How to get started with plants

[uh.oh...]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/pHosting/f/3662_DSC08376smc.jpg

this popped up a few weeks ago when i was responding to a similar post. i love the bulbs, they're perfect for plants, great size (smaller than a normal lightbulb), and they're like $7.00.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Ok update.:
It's kinda creepy, but today isn't to a garage sale and happend to find a ten gallon fluorescent tube bulb fixture. I'm still in shock.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Now that have that available, I was thinking aqua-glo or sun-glo from Hagen to use?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Nice find

You need to match the wattage of the fixture, so look on the bulb or a sticker on the fixture and it'll say somewhere (ie12w, 13w, etc). Usually a bulb marketed as "sun" something is a good choice, if it has the "K" factor listed 6700K or some where around there is a good choice.

I was planning a setup for a 20g, needed stand and found one at a garage sale for $5 .

 

[Ellenquacker72]

I just got a bulb thats 18000k. is that too much? It's called aqua-glo, is supposed to be good for plants...

 

[-Mac-]

18000k is fairly steep and far outside what the plants require or, possibly even desire. 6700k is fairly common for plant lights. 10,000k makes the light appear more 'white' to our human eyes and still useful for the plants.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Agreed. If you can get one between 6500K and 10000K, you'd be better off IMO, but the 18kK might be worth a try.

 

[jetajockey]

18000k is actinic range.

 

[uh.oh...]

i think with an 18000k bulb you might end up with some interesting algae growth... i'd return it if i were you, but its always interesting to see what might happen.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Uh oh, now I'm worried. It good reviews and was on sale from 16 to 4$ and taking it back isnt an option...
Uh oh. It looks great if that counts... I was a little concerned in the store. Bad move. Is algae bad? If I only kept the light on for a few hours (5ish) would that help prevent it?

 

[-Mac-]

The problem is the Kelvin of the light itself; the range on this bulb (18k) is pretty much useless for your plants. Go for the 10,000K, Ellen. Trust me, the kelvin will be more than acceptable for the plants and will give you nice, white light to view your tank.

 

[uh.oh...]

plants need a little more light per day than that, but I wouldn't worry about the algae right now. You may not see any. They color of your light is a lot more blue than a typical plant spectrum light bulb. The 6.7k/10k lights i like to use are a more yellow - white light. I do find the 10000k bulbs tend to discolor some of my plants. They look a bit washed out.