screw in CP for 150?

[Jman17H]

I just bought a 150 breeder tank that I am going to heavily plant and I am trying to determine the best method for lighting. I have a 48" 260 watt aqualight and 2-24" 65 watt aqualights that I am going to use but I was thinking of adding either a 2-strip of regular flouresent or creating a line of maybe 8-10 screw-in CPs. Does anyone have experience using the CP's above such a big tank and will they penetrate the water enough to make a difference. I will either use a mirror or mettalic tape on the top of the hood to get the most of the light. The tank is 20" tall.

 

[travis simonson]

I can't say that I've used screw-in CF bulbs before but I do know that they are not nearly as efficient as strip-type CF lights because of their coiled design. Hopefully some of our members here who have used screw-in CF bulbs will be able to comment more on their usefulness.

 

[mr funktastic]

pretty much useless for that size of tank in my opinion. they dont penetrate very well an generate to much heat. you are much better off buying a cheap strip light. another downside to these bulbs is the k rating. sometimes its tricky to find the 6500 k and even when u do they are a very yellow colour and not very appealing. if u want to go heavily planted i would look into a source of light that is going to penetrate the tank better. maybe some HO T-5?

 

[Jman17H]

Yeah, less work and better results so along with my aqualights I am going to use a 24" dual strip light and a 48" dual strip light. That saves me for hours of work to create a strip of scrw-in CP's anyways. It is now mostly setup with my CO2 regualtor in the mall and some more lighting to add.

 

[SparKy697]

Also, most screw in cf lamps are not rated for inverted operation. Even the ones that are have a much shorter life span when installed in that orientation. The heat accumulates in the base where the ballast is and cooks it a little faster.

 

[Jman17H]

What do you mean by inverted? Which way would the screw-in portion be pointing?

If by inverted you mean horizontal with the screw-in part facing towards a wall? If so I guess I may need to rethink how I just replaced my bathroom lights with CP's?

 

[SparKy697]

I mean with the base up. I had to purchase a couple hundred of these for work and when I was ordering I had to specify the orientation in which they were to be installed. Base down, base up, or horizontal. Each one gave a different life span.

Base down was the longest life, Horiz. was the next longest, and base up was the shortest.

 

[Jman17H]

So I should cut that 9 yr lifespan from the box in half for all the bulbs I have in fixtures coming straight down from the ceiling. I guess that is still better that regular bulbs and saves electricity thus makes my dent in environmentalism.