# Incandescent or CFL for small tank?



## turtledove (Feb 8, 2011)

I'm a TOTAL newbie at this, so I have very basic questions. 

I have a small tank that's probably only 5-8 gallons. I want to grow small amounts of anacharis and water wisteria to supply food and help with nitrate removal for a turtle tank. 

Can I just use a daylight-type incandescent bulb for this (like Reveal) or do I have to do a CFL? What wattages are appropriate? I plan to use a clamp lamp, in case that matters. I don't want to make a huge investment in this since the purpose is not aesthetic, I just want the plants to not croak.

I would also like to understand what people mean when they say they use CFL bulbs in an incandescent hood. They were commenting that when they used the incandescent hood, their plants grew better, but I'm trying to reconcile this with their using CFL bulbs. HUH? 

Sorry, as I said, this is totally new to me.

Thanks for any advice.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I recommend a small compact fluorescent, one that is the equivalent of a 60 watt incandescent bulb. the compact fluorescent bulbs last around 10 times longer than the incandescent bulbs and they use only 20 to 30% of the energy.


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

The incandescent bulbs that come in those hoods wont grow plants and replacing them with another incandescent bulb probably won't grow plants either. I use two 15 W Spiral CFLs rated at 6500K in my incandescent hood on my ten gallon and they work great. You can buy a 2 pack at walmart for $5. You can also go with the mini CFLs because they fit in hoods better. Putting CFL bulbs in a hood that has the screw in sockets is what is meant by "CFLs in an incandescent hood". Try to find a bulb that has a color temp of at least 6500K.


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