[Wet Thumb Forum]-Which screw-in compacts should I use?

[oocfish]

I currently have these:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product...45;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

in my hood that used to house incandescent light bulbs (2 bulbs).

Is this sufficient to grow riccia? I am hearing so many conflicting things and I am confused about watts and K. Someone please help!

I am tying my riccia onto rocks in my 10-gallon tank.

[Pete City]

I grow riccia in my 40 with 2.4wpg, so I think this should work, just make sure your fertilizer regime is up to snuff.
My bulbs are also 6700s

[imported_russell]

i'm really not sure if that is enough or not. riccia is pretty easy, so it should work. i have the same exact bulbs in my 10 gallon, and i was also thinking about growing it. if nothing else, i know it would grow floating on the top of the water.

[Paul Higashikawa]

I found something similar at Walmart; two for $8.00 and has higher wattage. It's also at 6500K. So if you have time, why not do a lil local store hunting. You'll most likely find something similar as well as saving the shipping fees.

[imported_shalu]

I buy the cheap screw-on CF bulbs regardless of color temps. Even the 2700K worked fine for me. 23W CF bulbs are now 3 for 99cents at 99Ranch Market in SF bay area, that is almost free

[Paul Higashikawa]

Hm...is that so, Shalu? Are you sure the plants are not sitting on a window already full of sun? hahaha, J/K:P But that is an interesting observation. Money aside, I still prefer 6500K bulb because they are more pleasant for my eyes and don't seem to emit as much heat.

[Jane of Upton]

I've been using two Spiral CF bulbs over a 10 gal, the orientation is horizontal (standard two-socket fixture thingy). I've just changed out the 2700-3300 K "warm white" bulbs for 5500 K daylight bulbs because they "look" brighter to my eyes. Yes, that is terribly subjective, and has nothing to do with actual intensity output. I just found the 2700 & 3300 K ones were too yellow for my tastes. Also, that tank had a recurring algae problem, whereas my 39 gal, with 3 spiral CF of 6500 K did not seem to have the same troubles. Now, of course there are variables in the type of fauna and flora in the two tanks, but it just seemed like the side with the "yellower" of the two bulbs (ie, the 2700 K) had more brownish algae, but that might have been me, overanalysing my tanks. However, I AM using the "warm white" (2700 K) bulbs over a few small 10 gal terrarium setups (growing young terrestrial plant cuttings on.....) with great results.

I just got some 35 W, 6500 K spirals from an online place called Light Bulb Warehouse. With shipping, they averaged $7.50 per bulb ($5.45 + ship). Still cheaper than the ones sold on aquarium catalog sites. Do be advised, though, these bulbs are physically larger than the slim ones the aquarium places sell, so the fixture needs to be able to house a larger bulb. My 10-gal setup will not be able to use these, but the other fixtures I have (intended for high-wattage reptile heat lamps) will house them with no difficulty.

In my 10 gal setup, with the two standard slim socket area (meant for those incandescent tube lamps), I found that the largest wattage I could get while still physically housing the bulb was 20 w. But, the fixture is "rated" to be only 15 watt. Not wanting to risk exceeding the sockets electrical rating, I've been using 14 watt sprial CF. I'm doing some rearranging this weekend, and plan to switch both bulbs over to the 5500 K mini-spirals I found at Home Depot.

Check out the Krib site - there was WAY more technical data than I could wade through, but there was some interesting stuff! One thing that struck me in all this research was that the output, or intensity of light going down into the tank (where one wants it) could be substantially increased by putting an effective reflective backing into the fixrture. The guy who was doing the "study" increased intensity significantly by putting kitchen foil into the fixtures. Being a devotee of cheap & easy improvements, I've put foil into the backing of all my fixtures now. I've used rolled-up loops (flattened when the foil is pressed on) of electrical tape to secure it, figuring it would be heat-resistant and made for this type of application.

Best of Luck!
-Jane

[Jane of Upton]

Oh, and watts and Kelvin (K) have very little to do with one another. Kelvin is the "color temperature". This is what is measured when you see those color graphs of whether the light is in the bluish range (6500-10,00 K and above) or yellowish range (2700 K). Often a spiral CF bulb is available in the same wattage, with different Kelvin ratings. In a bakery or restaurant, you may want a warm, inviting light, whereas in an electronics repair shop, you'd want a whiter light, which gives us better detail resolution because it strikes different types of receptors in our eyes.

There are varying opinions as to whether color temp (or differences in wavelength of the light) is more important than sheer intensity when it comes to plant growth. Add to that that the type of plant may utilize light slightly differently, and there is a lot of reading to be done on the subject, LOL! Some corals ONLY use specific wavelenghts of light, hence the highly specialized bulbs. Personally, I kind of wonder just how much of this has crept into the aquatic plant knowledge base, not on its own merit but because of the "whats good for the goose is good for the gander" mentality. Terrestrial plants (of which I have more experience) do fine with cheapo cool white shop light bulbs. They also do fine with warm white cheapo bulbs. Begonias, in particular, will express different pigments (hot pinks, silvers and chartruse greens) in their leaves under different lighting conditions, but that is getting way off topic!

Wattage is more indicative of output, but with caveats as to type (Power Compact Flourescent, Very High Output CF, Metal Halide, etc).

Hope this helps.
-Jane

[imported_shalu]

Originally posted by Jane of Upton:
Do be advised, though, these bulbs are physically larger than the slim ones the aquarium places sell, so the fixture needs to be able to house a larger bulb. My 10-gal setup will not be able to use these, but the other fixtures I have (intended for high-wattage reptile heat lamps) will house them with no difficulty.

In my 10 gal setup, with the two standard slim socket area (meant for those incandescent tube lamps), I found that the largest wattage I could get while still physically housing the bulb was 20 w.

hehe, I did fit those bulkier bulbs into my standard 10 gallon fixture, but not without re-tying the sockets onto the hood.

[oocfish]

I actually ended up putting my riccia in my 20-gallon with a 65-watt coralife, had them floating on the top of the tank...then in the end it tested my patience too much, I got tired of the "fishing out" dead pieces and it really just lost its appeal for me. Perhaps when I get more experience in this hobby? For now, I'm just sticking with the "easier" plants in my tank.

I put the remaining riccia in my shrimp tank, and they loved it, it was like a huge riccia buffet for them.