Black96WS6
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi,
I tried searching for this, and while I did find lots of useful info, none that quite pertained to my question, so here goes:
Background:
When I purchased my tank a few years ago, I had only the intention of a predator tank with some rock, wasn't even sure to have live rock or not, so I just went with a basic fish lighting setup, a Coralife 50/50 T8 15Watt.
Now, however, I currently have a FOWLR setup, and would like to move up to mushrooms. I am saving up for a nice coralife pro aqualight, in the $200-300 range.
While at Wal-Mart today, I happened to see 2 things: a 24" 75Watt effective (17 Watt actual) plant growth T8 fluorescent for $9.96, and a 100W effective (25W actual) power compact fluorescent 6500K for $5, plus a $5 lamp/socket/wiring kit.
I put the 24" light over the tank and it really brightened it up, so much so that I'm not sure I even need the power compact fluorescent, which is REALLY bright (see photos) below.
Now, I know these lights don't have the the blue actinic lighting, however I thought this would be better than just the 15Watt 50/50 on there, to keep things growing until I can get the aqualight.
Will this type of lighting cause a problem with any of the polyps, coraline, etc because it doesn't have the corresponding blue? Or will the depth of the water decrease the need for ths?
Also, should I put the power compact on as well?
Here's the tank with the 24" T8 setup:
Here's the power compact next to it for comparison:
And here's how I put it together:
I tried searching for this, and while I did find lots of useful info, none that quite pertained to my question, so here goes:
Background:
When I purchased my tank a few years ago, I had only the intention of a predator tank with some rock, wasn't even sure to have live rock or not, so I just went with a basic fish lighting setup, a Coralife 50/50 T8 15Watt.
Now, however, I currently have a FOWLR setup, and would like to move up to mushrooms. I am saving up for a nice coralife pro aqualight, in the $200-300 range.
While at Wal-Mart today, I happened to see 2 things: a 24" 75Watt effective (17 Watt actual) plant growth T8 fluorescent for $9.96, and a 100W effective (25W actual) power compact fluorescent 6500K for $5, plus a $5 lamp/socket/wiring kit.
I put the 24" light over the tank and it really brightened it up, so much so that I'm not sure I even need the power compact fluorescent, which is REALLY bright (see photos) below.
Now, I know these lights don't have the the blue actinic lighting, however I thought this would be better than just the 15Watt 50/50 on there, to keep things growing until I can get the aqualight.
Will this type of lighting cause a problem with any of the polyps, coraline, etc because it doesn't have the corresponding blue? Or will the depth of the water decrease the need for ths?
Also, should I put the power compact on as well?
Here's the tank with the 24" T8 setup:
Here's the power compact next to it for comparison:
And here's how I put it together:
