# Should I upgrade my light?



## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

On my 29 gal, I'm using two Ott-Lite Plant Grow bulbs, (5900k bulbs on a Home Depot Shoplight). It cost $20 for two bulbs, and another $15 for the shoplight. 

I'm looking for something brighter, maybe the Coralife light. The problem is, I'm not sure if new light is worth the trouble and money. What does everyone think?


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

if these are florescent bulbs how many watts do you have currently?


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## Mr Fishies (Apr 9, 2006)

I'm guessing you have 2 24" T12 lights at 20W each?

Recently I've seen there are a lot of T8 lighting kits coming available at hardware stores - before you go the aquarium specific ($$) lighting route, you might consider a more efficient (lower cost) general purpose T8 light fixture? A T8 bulb by nature of their increased efficiency is going to supply more light per watt than a T12.

Up here in Ontario, the government is even offering consumers rebates when they purchase T8 and T5 lighting fixtures top replace old fixtures. Check with your local city and provincial/state govt, if you're really lucky...

Also, as a really cheap first thought, you might consider adding a mylar reflector to your light if you can find a hydroponic store near you that sells it by the foot (not by the roll).


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## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

bratyboy2- They are 2 40 Watts light. They're Ott-lite plant bulbs. I have had trouble finding people who have used them. 

Mr Fishies- They're 48" T12. I hang them from the ceiling, about an inch above the top of the tank. 

I was thinking of buying the Coralife 30", but they cost $70 on ebay. I'm not sure if the cost is worth it. 

Basically I've spent $20 on my aquarium light. :-D

As for the mylar, I've got tons of huge mylar balloons I can just tear apart and use. So I still don't know about the light upgrade.


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## mommyeireanne (Oct 24, 2007)

If you are running a soil based NPT, you are right on target with the 2-3watt per gallon rule of thumb for regular fluorescent lights. If they are a year+ old, you may need to replace them. 

The annual replacement is what drove my light choice. I didn't want to spend much, and I wanted to be able to use the bulbs in my house until they burned out. But that's another story...

If you want to run higher lights for faster growth, you probably need to dose ferts and run CO2, in my opinion. Otherwise, you may end up with algae. But the beauty of a soil tank is that you don't need anything else. I think it's not worth the trouble or money. I actually had to lower my wattage when I got algae, to get back to 2-3 watts q gallon.


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## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

mommyeireanne- I think that's a great idea that you use old aquarium bulbs in your house until they burn out. That's very cost productive!  

The only reason I'm really looking for a new light is that I want bright lights that will make the colors on my fish POP. The coralife is 65 watts/29 gallon=2.2 WPG. The light i'm using is 80 watts, but it's a bit dull, and doesn't show off the fish's color.


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## tropism (Jul 21, 2006)

Ok, long post and lots of links coming up... 

The Coralife 30" 65 watt PC fixture is this one, right? http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18369/si1383022/cl0/coralifefreshwateraqualightdeluxesingle30strip That comes standard with just a 6700k bulb. In my opinion, the color of the Coralife 6700k and 10,000k bulbs is _ugly_ by itself. It makes everything look green (which is good if you only have green plants) but blues and especially reds are REALLY washed out.

This is also just my opinion and other people may feel different, but I really like the color from the Coralife 6700k/Colormax combo bulbs. (Like this one: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18367/si1379056/cl0/coralifecolormax6700k65wpowercompactlampstpin) I have Coralife 6700k/Colormax bulbs on my tanks and they make reds and blues really stand out. My nephew even commented that my neon tetras looked more healthy than any he's ever seen. (He certainly wouldn't have said that with just the Coralife 6700k by itself -- the difference is _amazing_.) Some people don't like the pinkish tint to the Colormax bulbs, but if you're using the combo bulbs or use at least 1 daylight bulb per Colormax, the pinkish tint is not overwhelming, and doesn't make the stuff in your tank look pink. They are a little bit dimmer than daylight bulbs though, because our eyes are more sensitive to green than to red and blue. I posted some pictures in another thread about the Coralife Colormax bulbs -- I just wish I had done some color correcting on the pictures first because *it DOES look much more pink (especially the wood) in the pictures than in real life* (and a friend that's seen both the pictures and the tank in person agreed). You can look at the Bacopa and Ludwigia arcuata around the middle of the tank to get an idea of what I mean about the reds being washed out with just the 6700k bulbs. Unfortunately I lost almost all my aquarium pictures and can't find the backup.

I can't find much information on the Ott-Lite Plant Grow bulbs, but you might want to look into what full-spectrum bulbs and plant/aquarium bulbs your local hardware or pet store carries. You might be be able to get the same effect as the 6700k/Colormax combo by using a daylight/full-spectrum bulb and something like the GE 9325K aquarium bulb (which comes in both 48" 40w T12 and 30" 55w PC) or a different brand's pinkish plant grow bulb (like those used for growing violets). Generally, the pinkish plant grow bulbs look pretty dim. Here's another link from The Planted Tank forums with some pictures of the GE 9325K bulbs.

So, to summarize: That Coralife fixture with just the 6700k bulb will definitely NOT make your fish's colors "POP", but if you use the 6700k/Colormax bulb they will. You'd have to factor that into the cost as well if the 6700k/Colormax bulb does not come with it. Even though that fixture is only 65 watts, it should be getting more light into the tank since it's only 30" rather than 48".


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## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

tropism said:


> Ok, long post and lots of links coming up...
> 
> The Coralife 30" 65 watt PC fixture is this one, right? http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18369/si1383022/cl0/coralifefreshwateraqualightdeluxesingle30strip That comes standard with just a 6700k bulb. In my opinion, the color of the Coralife 6700k and 10,000k bulbs is _ugly_ by itself. It makes everything look green (which is good if you only have green plants) but blues and especially reds are REALLY washed out.
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for the links. 
I do have mostly green plants, so shall I just stick to the 6700 Kelvin light? 
I did not know that 30" will be better than a 48". So a 48" scatters more light all around because it's bigger?

EDIT: So I've been reading around. I think I should go with a combo of GE 9325K and 6700K light.
So I'm going to go ahead and return the two Ott-Lite 48" T12 @ 5900K, which costs me $20.
Use that $20 to buy one GE 9325K and mix it with 6700K that I have (Actually, I have 6 of these LOL!)

Searched around the forum: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/science-aquatic-lighting/723-9325k-difference-4.html

"Lildark, the best combo is basically your preference to your eye. Some like it really bright and red, some like a mixture, some like it whiter looking...I Prefer 6700k + GE 9325k and believe it gives the best coloration of fish, and plants.

-John N."

Anyone care to help me decide? PLEASE?!


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## mommyeireanne (Oct 24, 2007)

Hey Rev, 
If you just want to decide what color you like best: Could you make a 'filter' out of some thin cloth? Grab woven colored cotton shirts, scarves or whatever so long as it's thin enough for light to shine through and test a red, yellow, green and blue by holding it over the light. Or just something around the house- Plastic flimsies would probably work better, or maybe permanent marker on saran wrap? Maybe some sort of filter could give you an idea of what color makes your tank look best, without you having to buy anything else. Just an idea...


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## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

Ok, so I just ordered the GE 9325 K light from lighbulbsdirect.com
$25 after everything. Can't wait for it!

I just realized something. I have a 48" strip over my 29 gallon. The 29 gallon is 30" long, so that means there's an extra 18 extra inches. How much light am I losing?? Would it be better for me to get a 36" or a 24" strip instead?


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## tropism (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, not much of the light from the 'extra inches' is going to be going into the tank. That's what I meant by "Even though that fixture is only 65 watts, it should be getting more light into the tank since it's only 30" rather than 48"."

Lighting a tank with a fixture that's as close as possible to the length of the tank would be ideal (but not necessary). You'd probably be getting about 62% of the light into the tank if you're using a 48" light over a 30" tank (30/48 = .625). You have a total of 80 watts, so the _approximate_ amount of "wattage" that's putting light into the tank is 80 * 0.625 = 50 watts*. That said, this in an 'El Natural' tank, correct? I don't see any problem with that amount of light if your plants are doing ok. Remember that if you increase the light, your plants will need more CO2 and other nutrients, and more maintenance. I don't *think* that going to a 65 watt 30" power compact fixture would be enough light to cause problems, but I don't think it's necessary either.

Based on what I've read about the GE 9325K bulbs, I think you'll be very happy with the way it makes your plants and fish look. If you think it makes stuff look too pink, give it a few days. It seems that it takes some time for some people to adjust to being able to see reds in their tank again 

*Interestingly, if you change to either a 36" standard fluorescent light fixture with 2 bulbs, you'd theoretically still get about the same amount of light -- 2 x 30 watts = 60 watts, 30"/36" = 0.833, 60*0.833 = 50 watts  For the 24", you'd get less -- 2x20 watts = 40 watts (plus shaded sides of the tanks, since the bulb would be 6" short of the tank length)


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## Revernance (Aug 20, 2007)

tropism said:


> Well, not much of the light from the 'extra inches' is going to be going into the tank. That's what I meant by "Even though that fixture is only 65 watts, it should be getting more light into the tank since it's only 30" rather than 48"."
> 
> Lighting a tank with a fixture that's as close as possible to the length of the tank would be ideal (but not necessary). You'd probably be getting about 62% of the light into the tank if you're using a 48" light over a 30" tank (30/48 = .625). You have a total of 80 watts, so the _approximate_ amount of "wattage" that's putting light into the tank is 80 * 0.625 = 50 watts*. That said, this in an 'El Natural' tank, correct? I don't see any problem with that amount of light if your plants are doing ok. Remember that if you increase the light, your plants will need more CO2 and other nutrients, and more maintenance. I don't *think* that going to a 65 watt 30" power compact fixture would be enough light to cause problems, but I don't think it's necessary either.
> 
> ...


You are way too awesome!


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