HaNs Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 So why do some members swear by petshop lights rather than wholesaler ones? What kelvin rating do the plant lights have? 4300k ish? Iv never had problems with wholesaler ones that are 6500k Go for gold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 Plants should have 6500 - 8000K bulbs. You can spend $30 on one tube from the pet shop, or you can go to the wholesalers and get 3 for $30. Pet shop ones are more expensive because of the brand name Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 $5 at miter 10 mega for the 2 and 4 foots, the 3 are an unpalatable $15. Still, cheaper then the petshops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 Damnit! I just spent the best part of $100 on new bulbs.. although I have an AR850, do they require special lights made to fit them?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimebag Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 there is heaps of different types, colour ,temp, etc that you can get from electrical wholesaler. last time i went there were about 8 different types that are specifically for plant growth and aquariums. you can even get the reptile tubes there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 The pet shop probably buys theirs from the same wholesaler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 I've always used 6500k (thats what most people seem to say) 5' are $6.50 from ideal electrical. I have roof fixtures with cords on them from the wholesaler, they are much cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 I buy "bright white" or "daylight" tubes from Mastertrade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 I use a combination of growlux (10000K) and cool white (4000K). I tried 65000K for about a year but have gone back to what Grandfather used 30 years ago. I have previously quoted the wrong K numbers for these but checked them out and these are the go. I bought one of each at 4ft (36watts) for $17 total two days ago. They work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 It is all done with rose tinted glasses and mirrors because the K rating is corrected somewhat to the human eye and relates only to a peak in the light frequency emitted. Therefore the growlux emits UV and we can't see it. I don't know what I am talking about----I just use it because it works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 When I used the grolux the algae took over. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paekakboyz Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 caryl I think that is what has happened for me - I went and bought a couple of 6500k bulbs to replace the ones that came in my Aqua one hoods. I've got a 4 foot tank with... 1x 4ft 40w dual tube Aqua one (one original tube and one 6500K one) 1x 3ft 30w dual tube Aqua one (ditto) hair algae has started to take over and I've reduced the lighting period down to 10hrs from 12... the other plants continue to grow well but algae has just taken off! a real pain as I hadn't expected adding 6500k lights to kick start such rampant algae growth... I guess I could go back to the original tubes? (I think took out the 10000k bulb and left in the 1000k ones) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 The pet shop probably buys theirs from the same wholesaler. No. You won't get 'PowerGlo' at an electrical wholesaler, and you wont get standard 6500K tubes at a pet store either. 6500K tubes sold in wholesalers are used for visual lighting, so the color matters but not specific wavelengths, as long as it's bright white thats all that matters. Plants use chlorophyll, which prominantely uses light from two wavelengths of light. Both of these points have huge peaks in aquarium/plant growth bulbs, standard bulbs do not have these peaks. They have the required wavelength but not at the extreme of grow lamps. If you're wanting to grow plants without using hundreds of watts of metal halides, at least make the effort to use lights that are designed to be efficent for plant growth. A T5/T8 tube that is designed for plant growth give off a white light, but will look slightly purple when you stare directly at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 16, 2007 Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 As I said. I don't know what I am talking about so I just do what works. Growlux is designed for growing plants is it not (might be why it is called growlux). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 I have been quoted $20 for 5 foot grolux tubes at Mastertrade, that sounds like a good price to me for a proven tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 That is about what I would expect. At the moment it is fashionable to use daylight (7600K) tubes but 30 years ago we used cool white, growlux and 1/10 of the total wattage in incandescent. I have tried daylight for a year, both submersed and emersed and was not realy happy with it so have gone back to the old ways. Every one to their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Daylight is 6500K normally. Cool white (4700K?)would cover the lower wavelength for clorophyll, and growlux would certainly cover the higher wavelength. Would be a good combo. I'd imagine though that the cool white tube would be mostly for viewing pleasure than plant growth. 6500K daylight tubes centre the curve so that you get fair levels of both wavelengths needed, but tubes like GroLux PowerLux etc will always be better as they're designed for this purpose and have those specialised peaks. Totally agree with you Alan, growlux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 I go by the theory that you can put more of the less expensive less perfect tubes over the tank and still come out ahead pricewise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 It depends on wether you want to save money or grow plants. The best lights are the cheapest ones that work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 I go by the theory that you can put more of the less expensive less perfect tubes over the tank and still come out ahead pricewise. Then you end up paying more in power and I found I had trouble with odd algaes. GroLux isn't too expensive, people spend $$$ on Flourish, Flourish Excel, CO2 and all sorts, might as well buy a $20 bulb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 All I've ever seen gro lux tubes for was about $30 more than normal tubes. $30 price difference will pay for about 167 kw hours. That would run a 40 watt fluoro for about 347 days at 12 hours a day. The normal suggested tube replacement interval is about half that. And if you're wanting to go for the best, go for metal halides anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 Fiiiiiiiiineeeeeeeee Ira wins with his fancy logic. I wouldn't pay more than $27-28 for a GroLux/PowerLux though, I'd probably whipe a booger on it then go get a $7 tube instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 As I said earlier, I bought a four foot growlux and a four foot cool white a few days ago for a total of $17. No probs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 19, 2007 Report Share Posted November 19, 2007 If you check you will find that the new tubes last a lot longer than they used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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