Do these lights make my tank look bright?

[maxwellag]

I just changed from gravel to sand today, and accidentally broke one of my light bulbs in my hood. so I replaced both with 60 watt (15 watt equivalent) cfl daylight spiral bulbs...
So, my question is, do you think this will be enough for plants? I was going to do low light plants before with my old bulbs, but with these, I feel like I have a lot more opportunity. I would like to go all out planted. Do you guys think it will work? (of course I'll set up a DIY co2 reactor.)
EDIT- my tank is ten gallons. (oops, forgot to put it in there... )

 

[maxwellag]

Before better lighting:

View attachment 61016

After better lighting:

View attachment 61017
Note: the white streaks on the glass in the picture above are bubbles.. I just finished filling it back up, and i haven't had a chance to wipe them off yet

 

[jsoong]

How big is your tank?

 

[maxwellag]

How big is your tank?

10 gallons... sorry I forgot to put that in there, i will add it

 

[maxwellag]

So do you think I could go all out planted with these lights?

 

[jsoong]

2 x 15W cfl should be good over a 10 gal for plants. You are up to maybe medium light, and you might not even need CO2 at that level. Double that amount of light, and you are looking at a high light tank.

<i know, the tank looks bright, but compared to the sun, that is still low-medium ....>

 

[maxwellag]

2 x 15W cfl should be good over a 10 gal for plants. You are up to maybe medium light, and you might not even need CO2 at that level. Double that amount of light, and you are looking at a high light tank.

<i know, the tank looks bright, but compared to the sun, that is still low-medium ....>

Ok. So could I do all plants, or what? (Im not very familiar with plants)
Also- what type of bulb do you recommend to make it a high light tank? I need the kind that has the spiral socket.

 

[maxwellag]

The current total lumens is 1600. What is recommended?

 

[jsoong]

Go to plantgeek & look at their list for low to medium light plants:
PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

You won't have enough light for high light (or high-medium light) plants. You can try & see if some will survive, but don't spend too much $$ on it!

15W is as high as CFl's goes. To get more light, you need to put in more fixtures or go with a different light (say T5-HO).

 

[jsoong]

The current total lumens is 1600. What is recommended?

Lumens is how bright the light appears to our eyes ... not too useful for plants. For plants, you want to know PAR (photosynthetic active radiation). You can buy a PAR meter & measure the light reaching the bottom of your tank ... but that is overkill for the hobbyist.

Most of the time, we just rely on other people's experience with the type of light we have. Try reading this for some insight on lights for a planted tank:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/a-beginners-guide-to-lighting-53375.html

 

[maxwellag]

I just calculated the lux and it is 26.2. According to this site it's high light. Minimum Light Threshold | Watts Per Gallon | Rex's Guide to Planted Tanks
I don't know if that site has good info though.

 

[maxwellag]

Go to plantgeek & look at their list for low to medium light plants:
PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

You won't have enough light for high light (or high-medium light) plants. You can try & see if some will survive, but don't spend too much $$ on it!

15W is as high as CFl's goes. To get more light, you need to put in more fixtures or go with a different light (say T5-HO).

I may upgrade to CFL tubes or Marineland Double Bright LEDs in a few months.

 

[jsoong]

Rex Gregg is a good site.

The problem is extrapolating from Rex's calculations (using PC's) to the spiral CFL's. The spiral shape means a lot of the light does not get into the tank. Also the final amount of light getting to the tank depends on the reflectors, which in a PC is designed to be efficient for a linear fixture. Retrofitting CFL's into an incandescent hood means the reflector is nowhere optimal for a spiral fixture.

To make a long story short, you simply don't get all the lumens from a CFL into the tank. <Or into a room either .... the CFL's are noticeably dimmer than the equivalent incandescent or normal fluorescent ....> From reading what people are saying using the CFL, 2 of those seems to be in the medium light range. You can certainly try more demanding plants ... but don't expect miracles with that pretty high light red plant you want!