Help with aquarium lighting

[GeeZeusWoks]

So i have a regular light stand, which i would like to buy new bulbs for, it currently has 2 phillip T12 40-watt plant/aquarium linear flourescent light.

but they only run 2700 K. I was wondering if i can either replace them with different light bulbs such as

Shop GE 40-Watt T12 4-ft Sunshine (5000K) Fluorescent Light Bulb at Lowes.com

40-Watt 4 ft. T12 C50 Natural Light Supreme (5000K) Linear Fluorescent Light Bulb (2-Pack)-423979 at The Home Depot

Do you think these bulbs will do the job for my 75 gal tank ?
Dimensions : 46 x 18 x 17.5

 

[bkiggy]

As long as the ballast will support the light it would be ok

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Does lowes or home depot offer a daylight or full spectrum t-12 with a color temp of 5000k - 6700k? If they did that would work better for plants i think.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I guess sunshine, natural light and daylight are all terms used loosely though. They're just spread over the frequencies that allow for better plant growth than standard bulbs.
Would full spectrum be better for the o.p. to use?

 

[GeeZeusWoks]

Does lowes or home depot offer a daylight or full spectrum t-12 with a color temp of 5000k - 6700k? If they did that would work better for plants i think.

what if i have a tank with fake plants, will 5000 K be too bright if i didnt have any real plants ?

what's the lowest K i can go ?

 

[phishfriend]

If you don't have live plants k rate doesn't matter at all really.

 

[GeeZeusWoks]

If you don't have live plants k rate doesn't matter at all really.

would a 4100 K be good for it ?

i currently have 2 Phillip T12 40-watt Plant/Aquarium light on it..
can i just use those ?

 

[LS240]

Kelvin ratings have nothing to do with how much light is put out by a bulb. So higher K does not mean more light. The higher the rating the more blue the light looks, the lower the more red. Nice neutral white is usually around 6500k. Any Kelvin rating will work especially for a non-planted tank, but 6500k will certainly look much better than what you've got.

As for your question about being too bright: I don't think so. T12 bulbs do not put out much PAR, which is an actual measurement of light intensity in the ranges useful for photosynthesis(watts per gallon is essentially useless so completely ignore anything relating to WPG.) Your setup would be considered low lighting and should grow low light demand plants but since you're not going planted you don't need to worry about that. That said, it might be enough to grow algae but unfortunately my knowledge is very limited in dealing with algae in non-planted aquariums. Maybe only use one of the bulbs or raise your lights up unless you think it's simply too dark in the aquarium and unattractive, in which case, research ways to keep the algae away. Do you have issues now with algae? If not it may not even be a concern. Buy the bulbs that make your aquarium look good to your eyes and enjoy.

For more information than I could ever give you on lighting an aquarium, check out this thread: Lighting an Aquarium with PAR instead of Watts

 

[phishfriend]

For more information than I could ever give you on lighting an aquarium, check out this thread: Lighting an Aquarium with PAR instead of Watts

OH Thank you baby jesus!! the lighting thread I have needed to read!