LIGHTS

[Sharkie]

ok i no i have read sumfin before about what flouro's to use but cant find it....so what bulb should i get for my 2ft deep planted tank? plants are growiung nicely but the bulb is about 5 yrs old...yes i hear you laughing...but i like the colour of it as it brings out the blues in my fish and its not to bright and at nite my tank looks amazing.have looked in the goldfish bowl but the flouro's are abut 45 bucks.any ideas i no i can get from bunnigs but not sure what coulour or spec's etc

[alanmin4304]

If the plants are growing well get one the same. Have a look on the ends of the tube and tell us what is written there.

[Luke*]

ideal is 5000k to 8000k spectrum usually about 6000k for planted freshwater tanks similar to sunlight colour. bluer bulbs are 10000k+ and usually used for saltwater tanks. often the bulbs have a common name like daylight or cool white etc HTH

[supasi]

You can buy them at KMart or bunnings for about $5 bucks each.

As th others said, 6000k is about right for plants.

HTH

[alanmin4304]

From your description I suspect your tube may be a growlux type tube (20000k) which is developed for plant growth and has a good output of blue and red light and therefore looks purple. These are not available from Bunnings but are cheaper than the pet shop if you can get them from an electrical wholesaler (still dearer than the other types). You can still get to heaven if you use growlux, it is all a matter of personal preference.