bordercollie05
Fishaholic
I'm starting to understand the lighting lingo and have spent half the day sorting out lumens vs. watts. This is what I've gathered so far:
The WPG rule is generally used for T12 bulbs which have ~50 lumens per watt. So, if you calculate the lumens per gallon that you would get for a high tank of 3WPG you would have ~150 lumens per gallon for a high light aquarium. So, if I multiply this by ten, that should be the number of lumens I'll need for my ten gallon right? I get ~1500.
Now, if I have a spiral compact bulb that gives 1800 lumens, is that enough light for my aquarium? It seems like it wouldn't be enough because its rated at 25W, even though I know thats just the energy it draws for producing heat and light.
I'm just wondering if there's anything I'm not taking into account that I should be, etc.
Thanks so much,
Laura
The WPG rule is generally used for T12 bulbs which have ~50 lumens per watt. So, if you calculate the lumens per gallon that you would get for a high tank of 3WPG you would have ~150 lumens per gallon for a high light aquarium. So, if I multiply this by ten, that should be the number of lumens I'll need for my ten gallon right? I get ~1500.
Now, if I have a spiral compact bulb that gives 1800 lumens, is that enough light for my aquarium? It seems like it wouldn't be enough because its rated at 25W, even though I know thats just the energy it draws for producing heat and light.
I'm just wondering if there's anything I'm not taking into account that I should be, etc.
Thanks so much,
Laura
