Nutri grow plant lights

[Ansel Marrow]

I bought one, cant afford a setup from Ah supply, hopefully this will keep my plants alive. One 24" 20wt bulb and just a reg white bulb. Any comments towards these bulbs?

 

[madasafish]

IME (and I think Rex Grigg will back this up), it's the amount of light more than the type of light that matters... 20W (or is it 40W?) on a 37G tank is about 1/6 (if 40W, then 1/3) of what you need to keep plants really healthy. I've found that the 40W fluorescent strip that 55 Gallon tanks come with is abysmal at keeping my amazon swords alive... I'm adding 110 more watts of compact fluorescent light to it next week (with a CO2 system). On my 10G, the 30W I have of light, my fertilized substrate and CO2 system are making the plants explode with growth.

Of course, it's a matter of which plants you have, too. If you have Java Ferns and Anacharis, you're set. If you want to go with more delicate plants, you'll need a lot more light still.

Sorry...

 

[tkos]

Yeah, normally those plant bulbs are a waste of money. You really just want a bulb within a good kelvin range and after that high wattage. 5000-10000K is where you want. I have used both types and haven't noticed much difference.

That being said you will probably be able to keep your plants alive, but any growth will be slow.

 

[madasafish]

One difference that good plant-oriented bulbs *do* make is that they bring certain colors out of plants. I have a triton fluorescent 18" on my 10 gallon, and check out what it did to the previously green plants Allivymar gave me...

 

[madasafish]

Picture does the leaves no justice... The red is really beautiful!

 

[Guest]

Read my FAQ. "Magic" plant bulbs can't and won't make up for lack of light. You have 30 watts over a 37 gallon tank. At a minimum you should be closer to 80 watts.

 

[Ansel Marrow]

Ok Ill have to construct my own light setup for fun or something. The 24" light I got is 20wts btw. Ill just throw in some more light strips, maybe 4 x 20wts should be enough.

 

[Ansel Marrow]

The guy at the professional fish store told me wattage is nothing, said I should get the nutrigrow bulb and a daymax.

What type of bulb SHOULD i buy for a 24" hood?

 

[madasafish]

A triton bulb (the one I mention above) will be great and last longer than most bulbs (phosphors don't die out as quickly). You can use it effectively for about a year. Of course, it will continue to shine after that. It'll cost you a pretty penny, though.

If you're looking to boost light levels, you can just buy the most standard aquarium fluorescents you can find... They'll work, too. Generally ppl advise fluorescents in the 5000-6500K range, or the 5000-10,000K range (warmth of white light).

 

[Guest]

Are this guy's eyes brown? They should be because he is full of S**T. First and foremost is wattage. As far as color temp goes you are pretty limited due to the 24" length but if you go to the BORG or a good lighting supply store you should be able to get bulbs in the 5000k-6500k range. These are what you want. Most of the bulbs in the fish store are way overpriced. Or if you want to do it right go to AH Supply and get a 55 watt kit. Even that is really not enough light for your 37 gallon tank but it's more than what you have. And you will actually get as much light into the tank as you would with 4x20 NO lights due to the better reflector design.