Can I use household light bulbs?

[Fishies86]

I've got a 48 litre tank that is lit with two 15w cfls (i think that's what they're called). One of them keeps blowing and I'm having to replace it fairly regularly. At £15 a go, this is getting fairly expensive.so I was wondering if I could use household energy saving bulbs instead (£3 each) if I can find the right colour temperature, and if they fit in the sockets?

 

[jetajockey]

I use regular household CFLs in my fixtures, they work fine.

 

[Fishies86]

Brilliant that's just what I wanted to hear thanks!

 

[jetajockey]

Welcome

 

[FastFly67]

If your tank is planted (I'm assuming it is given this is the planted section), you'll need to look for 'daylight' CFLs. They're usually mixed in with the regular CFLs (most stores stock them by brand). They will have 'daylight' written on the outside of the package and most also have 6500k (or maybe it's 6700k) displayed on the package as well.

 

[blert]

"Daylight" is a broad term used by the lightbulb industry. I've seen bulbs labeled as "daylight" with a kelvin in the 3000s. Look for a bulb labeled "full spectrum" with a kelvin rating of around 6700k, they should be easy to find.

 

[Fishies86]

Yeah I looked for a bulb that was over 6000K, but they were all 2700k
So much for that idea had to buy the proper aquarium bulb, but they'd dropped the price to £9.99 so it was better than I'd expected