2x15w incandescent vs 15w florescent

[James_in_MN]

I was thinking about replacing the Aqueon hood with a 15w florescent light from my 10g tank kit with a different Aqueon hood that instead takes two 15w incandescent bulbs. The problem is, there's no stats on the bulbs to tell if they're adequate for a planted tank. My florescent light is an 8k 15w bulb, but the two 15w incandescent bulbs don't have any spectrum stats on them at all. Should I reconsider switching lights?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I was thinking about replacing the Aqueon hood with a 15w florescent light from my 10g tank kit with a different Aqueon hood that instead takes two 15w incandescent bulbs. The problem is, there's no stats on the bulbs to tell if they're adequate for a planted tank. My florescent light is an 8k 15w bulb, but the two 15w incandescent bulbs don't have any spectrum stats on them at all. Should I reconsider switching lights?

Incandescent bulbs do nothing for plants, but if you replace the with CFL's you'll have 30w of power and can get 65-6700K bulbs that plants will love .

 

[James_in_MN]

Incandescent bulbs do nothing for plants, but if you replace the with CFL's you'll have 30w of power and can get 65-6700K bulbs that plants will love .

OK, that should be doable.

Am I correct that the 15w florescent light that I'm looking to replace is useless, even for low light plants?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

OK, that should be doable.

Am I correct that the 15w florescent light that I'm looking to replace is useless, even for low light plants?

Not in a 10g tank as the wpg rule doesn't really apply, so it should be OK if you have the right K value (6500K-6700K), but 2x15w(CFL)=30w so you'll have 3wpg which is pretty darn good. Might even force you to infuse co2 to stave off algae and promote lots of plant growth.

 

[James_in_MN]

So, it sounds like...

- If I leave my lighting as-is with the 8000k 15w florescent bulb, it's not good for the plants in the tank.

- If I replace the 8000k florescent bulb in my current light with a 6000k bulb, that might be acceptable for low light plants, but not much beyond that.

- If I replace the entire light with a hood that has two 15w CFLs, I could end up with an algae problem if I don't use a CO2 system (I currently dose with Excel instead).

 

[Demonknight]

anything between 6K and 10K is supposed to be good for plants from what I have read.

 

[j2112j]

Regarding hoods with incandescent bulbs, in your case 2 x 15w...

Can you actually find cfl replacements ?
I've never seen a cfl with a replacement rating other than the typical 40, 60, 100, 120 watt rating ?

I was going to get a 10g with a hood that has 2 x 25w incandescents for $19.99 as a QT or plant grow out. Thought I could replace with cfl's, but can't find cfl's meant to replace 25w incandescents anywhere.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

So, it sounds like...

- If I leave my lighting as-is with the 8000k 15w florescent bulb, it's not good for the plants in the tank.

- If I replace the 8000k florescent bulb in my current light with a 6000k bulb, that might be acceptable for low light plants, but not much beyond that.

- If I replace the entire light with a hood that has two 15w CFLs, I could end up with an algae problem if I don't use a CO2 system (I currently dose with Excel instead).

With a 15w 8000K you're in great shape for low and maybe some med-low plants. Go to plantgeek.net and you'll find a lot of plants to choose from.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Regarding hoods with incandescent bulbs, in your case 2 x 15w...

Can you actually find cfl replacements ?
I've never seen a cfl with a replacement rating other than the typical 40, 60, 100, 120 watt rating ?

I was going to get a 10g with a hood that has 2 x 25w incandescents for $19.99 as a QT or plant grow out. Thought I could replace with cfl's, but can't find cfl's meant to replace 25w incandescents anywhere.

Disregard the wattage replacement rating when going from incan to CFL. That rating is so you don't put a "hotter" bulb in and melt the fixture.

 

[EndlersEatGuppies]

I have two 13 watt CFL'S 6500k and 800 lumen's in my 10g tank. I am growing an Amazon Sword and some moneywort that are doing GREAT!

 

[Demonknight]

I'm thinking j2112j means he hasn't seen something along these lines before



Zoo Med Ultra Sun Daylight Compact Fluorescent Bulb at PETCO

 

[DragonFish71]

Here's what I use for my plants in our 10g. They do come in higher wattage.

GE Daylight Energy Smart Spiral T3 Reviews, Specs, Ratings & Prices - Green Options Community

 

[fort384]

Yes... what matters is the actually wattage drawn by these bulbs. They are going to be in the 10-20W neighborhood. They give an equivalency rating to incandescents that is usually like 60W 100W etc, but the equivalency doesn't matter...

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Yes... what matters is the actually wattage drawn by these bulbs. They are going to be in the 10-20W neighborhood. They give an equivalency rating to incandescents that is usually like 60W 100W etc, but the equivalency doesn't matter...

+1

The CFL vs incan wattage equivalency bit is mostly a marketing line to sell them (people hate change lol) as a better option to what's been around for nearly 100 years.

The ZooMed CFL link posted earlier is a great option.

 

[James_in_MN]

I have two 13 watt CFL'S 6500k and 800 lumen's in my 10g tank. I am growing an Amazon Sword and some moneywort that are doing GREAT!

Do both bulbs combine for 800 lumens, or is each bulb 800 lumens?

I ask because I have a Marineland ultra bright LED 24"-36" on my 20g high, and the box claims 600 lumens. If your bulbs are 800 lumens each, I should replace that light ASAP (I'd have to eat $100, which would royally suck, LOL).

 

[mfdrookie516]

You need to take in to consideration that CFLs don't have the reflectors that LED's do. You lose a lot of light with CFL's unless you have a good reflector rigged up some how. So, more than likely, you're putting more light in the tank with the LED's than you would be with CFL's

 

[jetajockey]

they have 6500k CFL replacements in different wattages at the big box hardware store, the boxes are even a different color to denote the 'daylight' bulb type.

You probably won't have to go with co2 injection with a basic hood with screw in CFLs, but it is definitely an improvement over a single tube t8 or t12.

 

[James_in_MN]

You need to take in to consideration that CFLs don't have the reflectors that LED's do. You lose a lot of light with CFL's unless you have a good reflector rigged up some how. So, more than likely, you're putting more light in the tank with the LED's than you would be with CFL's

I hope that's the case, because I'd hate to have to replace that thing.

My issue is, I've had multiple plants melt down in my 20g tank, including when I switched from a pathetic 15w florescent deluxe hood (VERY bad for 20g high) to the Marineland LED. I had multiple anacharis incidents, and the last problem plant was wisteria.

The oddity is, my corkscrew vals have come back from my Excel melting pretty well, and my amazon sword has done OK too. I do think that both of those plants may be able to survive in low light settings, but not thrive and will grow slower.

 

[j2112j]

Yeah, I was thinking about the warning stickers you see in lamps like "40 watt MAX". Wondering if I used my Sylvania 60w replacement (13w cfl 6500k), would i get electrocuted or blow a fuse or something. Apparently not

Thanks for clearing that up

 

[fort384]

Yup you got it... the bulb draws only 13W, so you aren't close to the UL max wattage of 40. Like Mr. L said, it is a kind of a marketing tool. They are saying that a 13W CFL will look like the same amount of light as a 60W incandescent.