Milet Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Gidday everyone, i just won an auction off trademe for a small tank for my breeding angels (http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=91437975) In the auction it said it is a light mounted in the cover...it uses a normal bayonet house type bulb Is this sort of bulb okay for the fish and plant growth? If not, is there a good sort of bulb i can get to fit the socket for my needs? thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 A screw in fluoro will work fine Don't know how much room there is in there, might not be much. But with enough room you can get screw in fluoros from something like 4 watts all the way up to 100+. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hey Milet. A good question. The plants will probably live with a standard light bulb but wont thrive, the reason being the spectrum of light your average household bulb gives off is wrong for plants. Most bulbs are around 2700 kelvins, which is a kind of yellow colour. However don't fear because you can buy the proper bulb you need fuss free at your local Warehouse. Go down and rifle through their range of energy saver light bulbs. You will eventually find an energy saver lamp that has '6500K' or 'Daylight' written on it, they're available in both bayonet and edison screw. They use less power than a standard bulb and are the perfect light spectrum for growing plants $3.55 from memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Don't bother with the really cheap ones, imo. Spring for good quality bulbs, they're only a few bucks more and I find the really cheap ones are a bit dim and don't last too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Ours have been fine, but we would have bought a better brand name if we could find them in 6500K, don't know why but I've only been able to find 6500K bulbs in the cheap brands. We've got a 14W Red Stamp 6500K in the toilet and that blinds ya at night. Makes the toilet look cleaner though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Makes the toilet look cleaner though. Worth every penny then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMAZONIAN Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Hi All The bulb will be quite suitable for the fish and plants in the tank. It's only of recent years that people have been able to buy fluorscent light fittings that are suitable for the atmosphere above a tank. I remember well that 48 years ago with my first tank (the lid was aluminium) there were two 75 watts lamps in the hood. One on each end, and the same size tank as yours. An 20 or 23 watt "Energy Saver" will work a treat. Go for it and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milet Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Thank you very Much everyone for answering my question its most appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Ours have been fine, but we would have bought a better brand name if we could find them in 6500K, don't know why but I've only been able to find 6500K bulbs in the cheap brands. We've got a 14W Red Stamp 6500K in the toilet and that blinds ya at night. Makes the toilet look cleaner though. Because stupid western people like sitting in the pale orange glow that reminds them of the days of lighting by the way of burning oil and wax, whereas the more onto it people in the east prefer the brighter refreshing color of daylight Also you can get 60ish and 105 watt energy savers from mitre10 mega's - Not exactly compact fluroescent, and the guy told me not to run them horizontal with only the bulbcap supporting it. Bunnings also often have philips tornado energy savers in daylights, both cap types and up to 23 watts, but my pile of dead bulbs shows that they die just as quickly as the elto and home brand stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milet Posted March 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 hey again everyone. i got a 20w philips Tornado 20w energy saving bulb. Will this do ok? And also, there is nothing between the water surface and the bulb, do i need to put some perspex or anything between it? ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 Please note what I said above about colour spectrum. Your light is either: 2700K Warm White (most likely, good for people who like yellow) or 6500K Bright Daylight or Cool Daylight (unlikely, perfect for plants). Warm White will probably be ok but its not ideal and will make the tank look yellowish, a 23 watt 6500K energy saver will set you back about $3.50 at the warehouse and it will look a lot better and brighter. I never worried about glass between my lighting and tank, but I do make sure nothing bubbles up (dont want the light getting wet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted March 22, 2007 Report Share Posted March 22, 2007 It should be fine. If you have a lot of driftwood in the tank which makes the water go yellowey, my experiance shows that 2700 or 3000k tubes make it look less obvious. I would not be keen on an unprotected bulb holder over a tank, make sure your RCD is working properly since it is very easy for water to sit in the gap between bulb and bulbholder, since its a small gap it will wick into it and sit there corroding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milet Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Went to the Warehouse yesterday and managed to find a 23Watt 6500k Energy saver bulb for only 4 bux. Tank looks great, thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milet Posted March 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 Oh and i cut a small piece of clear perspex to sit between the bulb and water surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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