reptile light for plants?

[maui]

well my sister's obsession with reptiles may just come in handy... i hope!
i was given a light bulb that would normally be used in a reptile tank to use for my two new 15 gal tanks. its 48" long and im assuming its fluorescent (it looks like a long cylinder tube with little prongs on the end).
its a 40w bulb that is called a "tropical terrarium lamp" which has a "high UV output" "30% uva and 5% uvb".
i'm wondering if i can make use of this bulb as i am cycling my tank using plants and looking for something to stimulate quick growth.
i'm also thinking of using a indoor grow lights... i'm not sure what wattage those are thou...
im really new to aquatic plants and as you can prolly tell, i've got lots to learn
any help would be terrific, thanks in advance!

 

[Silly me]

the tropical terrarium lamp wouldn't work.. sorry..

a normal coolwhite light would be much better, the 5% uvb is only going to cause problem with the fish as it could cause sunburn, and there is no trees shading your tank.. You do get fish that would love this but it's of no use for your plants..

You can just replace the tube with a aquarium tube, of the same watts

 

[Lateral Line]

The photosynthetic pigment in plants, Chlorophyll, absorbs light in quite specific frequency bands. Light outside of those bands is not used, thus does not count in your Watts per gallon or whatever you use. For good plant growth in average situation, use full spectrum 5500K - 6500K lamps.

 

[maui]

alright, thanks for the info folks.
meh, i guess that bulb will just have to wait a little longer to be put to use.
i will look for some bulbs that are full spectrum 5500K - 6500K instead.
i didnt realize that fish could get sunburn, thats pretty intense.

 

[Paul_MTS]

don't reptile tubes give out heat aswell to heat the tank?? if that is right you would be making the water too toasty!!