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Originally Posted by AZFIsh1 I like these bulbs for plants. I use them in a mix with 10000k and 6700k. I found what I think is a decent buy on them at this place: http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
$14.20 each when FosterSmith gets $34.99. I ordered four bulbs from them. Came in on time and well packaged. They do have a few other bulbs that could be of interest to some for our uses but you have to peck through the site as the search feature isnt all inclusive..... Any way.. just thought I would share and no I do not work for them LOL! |
I'm glad that you like them, but I'm not sure how your plants feel about them. This tube has a CRI of only 67 (CRI is a measure of how closely the light matches natural sunlight, which is 100). At 67, and given the color temperature of the bulb, I'd guess that it is very blue and lacks red.
I prefer to use full spectrum tubes, meaning that all the colors of the rainbow are present in the light, and with a color temperature of 5,000 K - 6,700 K. The 5,000 K bulbs are a soft, warm white while the 6,700 K bulbs are a crisp white light, tendiing to blue.
Look for GE Chroma 50's, often sold as "Sunshine Bulbs". They are dirt cheap here in Toronto (less than half of what you paid). All of the major lamp manufacturers sell a version of this tube. GE also makes a "Plant & Aquarium" bulb, which appears to my eye to contain more blue in its spectrum (maybe 6000 K). It should be the same price as the Sunshine Bulbs. Both have a CRI of 90, and either one or a combination of the two will grow plants really well. Additionally, due to the high CRI, colors of both fish and plants will appear natural and not like they are at a disco.
Of course, its your tank and you are free to light it however you choose.
James Purchase
Toronto