Trying to make and informed decision

[pairustwo]

I've got a nice little low light tank growing with some Anubias, java moss, and something I think are called Crims (Local Fish Store shorthand for a bulb plant that sends out lots of runners and produces really long flowing blades).

Anyway, I'd like to branch out -pun intended, and I'm looking for advice on lighting.
Is there a practical difference between the following lighting schemes?

http://indoorsun.stores.yahoo.net/26watt.html
I'm looking at two 30 watt bulbs of the 6400K model screwed into an aquarium reflector kit.

Or

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA...fefreshwateraqualight24powercompactlight1x65w

A couple of questions on top of that.
the 6400K -6500K range is good for growing plants but will I need to supplement with 10000K to get good color from plants and fish?

And will simply upping the light without adding CO2 cause more algae problems? I want to avoid CO2 if I can. I'm using Excel Flourish.
Thanks
Pairustwo

 

[Purrbox]

It'd be helpful if we knew what size tank you're dealing with.

 

[pairustwo]

I have a 20 gallon that currently has 1.5 watts of T8 light.

I was hoping for more general answers to the following questions

1.Are screw in CF lights a better option than the tube CF lights? The two links above seem to be close matches in terms of wattage and the spectrum.
Screw ins are certainly cheaper but people don't really seem to use them. I was wondering why.

2.Do people add additional 10000k lights simply for better visuals? Or is there some additional benefit to plant growth?

3.Will upping the amount of light primarily boost algae growth if all other factors (no CO2 injection, only adding Flourish, and Flourish Excel) remain constant? Or will it encourage plants to out compete Algae. I ask because right now I have healthy plants and no algae problems and I don't want to buy 60 bucks worth of trouble.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I'll tell ya what I know about your questions.

Are screw in CF lights a better option than the tube CF lights? The two links above seem to be close matches in terms of wattage and the spectrum.
Screw ins are certainly cheaper but people don't really seem to use them. I was wondering why.

Its my understanding that the tube CF lights are better to use. With the screw ins you have to account for restrike, which takes away some of the light. Sorry that I can't go into it in more detail....maybe someone else can. The screw ins are cheaper, but the tube CFs appear to be more effective.

Do people add additional 10000k lights simply for better visuals? Or is there some additional benefit to plant growth?

Usually people add 10000K lights for better viewing. Some do add it just to have a mix of the different spectrums. 6700K alone can look very yellowish and 6500K or similar can have more of a reddish hue....to balance these out, some people add the white-blue 10000K bulbs. You don't necessarily have to have the 10K though.

Will upping the amount of light primarily boost algae growth if all other factors (no CO2 injection, only adding Flourish, and Flourish Excel) remain constant? Or will it encourage plants to out compete Algae. I ask because right now I have healthy plants and no algae problems and I don't want to buy 60 bucks worth of trouble.

This all depends on what plants you add to the tank. Right now, you have slower growing plants, so upping the light without adding faster growing plants would be a recipe for algae, without CO2 injection. But, I'm assuming the reason for upping the light is so you'll have more plant options. So, it can be done if you add some fast growing stems with the increased light. I'd use the Excel every day as the carbon source.

 

[Purrbox]

There is an additional reason why the screwin compact fluorescents are less efficient, it's because they are self ballasted. This means that you loose some additional energy to the second ballast in the bulb, along with restrike (light hitting another part of the bulb and being absorbed) which is especially bad with the spiral bulbs.

Whether or not just upping the light will be a recipe for disaster, depends on how much you increase the lighting and whether or not it throws the tank out of balance. If you had some room for error with less light and didn't do a huge increase, it's very possible not to throw the tank out of whack. Of course if it's barely in balance at the moment, even the slightest increase could throw it off and create algae galore.

 

[An t-iasg]

In addition to the excellent answers posted above, I can share my limited experience with the CF screw-ins:

I only used them for a very short time a few years ago. You have to make sure that the base size will fit into your incandescent hood and the overall diameter won't be too large. I remember them as running very hot. This could be due to the brand of CF spiral bulb I had or the particular incandescenet hood I had.

I later got a straight tube CF and it was more wattage than the CF screw-ins but it was not as hot at all.

I like the Coralife from Big Al's that you linked. I would choose that one over a spiral CF configuration. I use the Coralife 20-inch, 28 watt - that is similar to the one you linked - over a 10 gallon tank and it works out well for me. Be sure to order the legs too.

 

[pairustwo]

OK, so now I'm learning something. Screw ins - in efficient got it.

It seems like the sweet spot for growing a lush aquarium without algae involves

providing enough light (and other elements) for fast growing plants.
and
having plants that grow fast enough to absorb enough nutrients to out compete algae.

In other words if I pile up a bunch of fuel without ever burning it in a controlled way it will eventually catch fire on its own.

If I add light it will encourage fast growing plants to process nutrients the and then algae wont spread like wild fire.
Does that make sense?