Lighting choices?

[Mr Miagi]

Hi all,

I was going to order a twin flourecent twin 3ft light holder, as my single is inadequate. What bulbs should i put in them and how do i choose which is best. Ie watts, kelvin? all that stuff.

 

[jimboliana]

mr_miagi32

It all depends what you have ie plants, fish or both

Check out the Dennerle range and also the the Arcadia range both are well suited to all your needs and you prob need 5000K to 7200K no hotter than that

Hope this helps

 

[Mr Miagi]

Yeah, it does. Thanks

I have a pretty deep tank. So will need to accomodate for it. The plants are easy species, ie. vallis, hygro, java fern to name a few, but all simple plants.

On my current light it says:

AquaGlo (I know its a dodgy brand)
18000K
30W
( T-8 )

can anyone dessifer these for me? Maybe a sticky on these figures would be great gf225

 

[George Farmer]

can anyone dessifer these for me? Maybe a sticky on these figures would be great gf225 

I'm working on a lighting article at the moment. Unfortunately I only know of UK available lighting so the info won't be relevant to everyone. However, I do know that the Hagen Aqua-Glo are not the best choice by a long way. If you have access to other Hagen types then I would recommend the Life-Glo or Life Glo 2. They are 6700K full-spectrum and ideal for plants. The Life-Glo has an internal reflector whereas the Life-Glo 2 does not (and is cheaper).

Any tube that is full-spectrum (tri-phosphor) and is between 3000K and 7500K should be ok. Any colour temp. above 8000K may contain a lot of blue light and thus stimulate algae growth. Personally I use Dennerle 3000K, Life-Glo 6700K and Arcadia Freshwater 7500K. I doubt Dennerle and Arcadia are available in Oz though. One should study the spectral output if possible. This is represented on a graph with peaks at certain wavelengths. Aim for the largest peak in the red area - not the blue.

T8 is the tube diameter in eighths of inches i.e. T8 - 1". T5 - 5/8". T12 - 1 1/4"
18000K is the colour temp. and is measured by heating a piece of iron. The colour given off by the iron at the temp. is known as colour temp. Generally the lower the temp. the more red and the higher the more blue.

30W is the power consumption of the tube in Watts.