How Much light is Too Much?

[kribbman]

Hi I have another question for the folks here at AA.
I just replaced my olb flourescent tube today. It was about a year old and was looking noticably dim.
The bulb I replaced it with is a Life Glow 15 W. T8 rated at 6,700 K. 95 LUX.
now this one isnt all that more powerfull over the previous one whick was rated at 6,500 K. but the new one is doing something that I didnt expect. apart from being super bright. Its sort of flickering, or so I thought. But when I try to look at it directly, it looks like one of those novelty Plasma lamps with a superbright white ray flikering through the bulb.

I dont know if this is normal or its that the tube is under or prehaps over powered. But Ive never seen a bulb do this at least not the ones Ive had so far.

Will too much intensity harm my plants?

 

[neilanh]

The K rating has to do with the color, not the intensity of the light.

As for the flickering, I suspect you don't haev it seated properly. Try removing it and reinstalling it.

 

[fort384]

You are not going to be anywhere near too much light with 15W over any size tank.

I think for a midsized tank (say 30-50G) you start to hit too much light at around 6-8WPG. But even that is debatable... it really is dependent on your setup, your species of plants, your fert dosing schedule, etc. 2WPG could be too much light if other factors in the water are out of balance, or if you are not injecting CO2.

It depends on your goal too. You can really kick plants into high gear and grow them quickly so long as everything is in balance under high light conditions.

 

[jsoong]

What was the original bulb you had? If the wattage is different, it might be that the ballast cannot handle the new bulb. That flickering banding look can be from an incompatible ballast. <But do check the seating & connections first to eliminate that as the cause of your problem.>