Lighting purchase

[Regen311]

Sorry if this is a dumb question... I've had a plant for about a year and want to increase the lighting I have in the tank so I was thinking of purchasing a new light fixture that has two bulbs instead of one (I'm in college, so I'm not super rich. 100-150 is reasonable). So, i went to bigalsonline and found this description:

This Current USA Satellite Power Compact Fixture is a single strip light which contains 2 SunPaq SmartPaq bulbs and 2 Lunar Lights. Lunar Lights are small LED's which sit in the fixture above the bulbs. The SmartPaq Lamp is a combination bulb comprised of 10,000K and 460nm Actinic. The SmartPaq bulb produces 3 times the output of standard fluorescent bulbs and has double the life (12 months). This model has one switch and mounting legs.

Current USA Satellite 48" 2 x 65 Watt Power Compact-Single Strip W/2 Lunar Lights at Big Al's Online

What is the actinic? And can you replace both bulbs with standard plant bulbs? Currently I have a 55 gallon with 1 plant bulb in it. I'm moderately planted and the plants are doing ok, I just think they'd do better and look better with more lighting. I have a friend who said he'd help me set up C02 as well (he's done it before). I'm just confused on what to buy to increase the light in the tank. Is this what I'm looking for?

Again, sorry if this is a dumb question. I just have been searching and have no idea what the best move to make to increase the light in the aquarium is.

 

[Regen311]

Ok, just to say this : I am totally confused now. That light fixture I posted first is not fluorescent... but the multiple bulb fluorescent fixtures are just as much. In that link, how do you replace those bulbs? I'm awful with this stuff...

 

[neilanh]

2x65W CF would do well on your tank, but it would put you right around the threshold of needing CO2 supplementation, either through CO2 injection or flourish excel.

Yes, you can replace the bulbs in that fixture. There's a wide array of bulbs that do well. In my 2x65W fixture I run 1 6500K and 1 10000K bulb. The plants love it, and I like the color tone of the tank with that combination. The actinic light does nothing for the plants (not in the usable spectrum), although some people find aesthetically pleasing, as it tends to make the colors in fish pop really well.

 

[Regen311]

thanks I was planning on doing C02 eventually so... I guess it's more motivation to get on that