coralife lighting

[panboy]

i want to get a coralife compact flourescent fixture. however, they give out tons of light.

i have a 46g thats 36" long. so i was thinking of getting a 20" or 24" fixture.

i know it wont cover my whole tank, but would my plants still get light from it? if its6-8 inches away from the edge?

 

[scott1000]

You want "tons of light" in a planted tank. I would highly recommend getting the 36" light (96 watts, I believe). That amount of light would only put you in the "medium" light range according to most people. But that would also depend on how tall your tank is.

 

[Lateral Line]

The compact fluorescents that I have seen may give out lots of light, but their spectra is very limited, typically 2700K. I have been told there are full spectrum lamps around, but you will need to be sure your lamp has a 5500K - 6500K to cover the photosynthetic range sensibly.

 

[scott1000]

Coralife makes a power compact light which is specifically designed for fresh water tanks. It is in the 6700K spectrum. But, lateral line is right, you should also check that and not just the wattage. Coralife also makes a PC designed for corals which has a 10,000K bulb in it, get the freshwater one.

 

[panboy]

yeah ive researched alot ,and found the 6700k freshwater lights.

however i would rather save some money, and get the 24", which would make it 6 inches short on each side of my tank. would this effect the plants on the edge?

the 24" i found gives out 2 65watt, which = 130 w, plus they are 6700k. so i think it would be alright.

 

[scott1000]

I think that would work fine.

 

[Pescado Guy]

Keep in mind that watt for watt, compact flourescent lamps give out 2 times the amount of light as normal output fluorescents. I would get the 36" single bulb light which is 96 watts which is equivalent to 192 watts of normal output fluorescnts. Don't get the 24". The longer one will spread the light more evenly throught the tank and will look a lot nicer too and your plants will love you!!!

 

[tsr770]

I have the 36" 96 watt Freshwater Coralife lamp on my 46 gallon bowfront. It seems to get the job done nicely with my plants, but I am still trying to get the algea under control completely.


Here is a pic of it up and running. I didn't totally like the yellow light from the 6700k bulb, so I stuck a 30 watt 50/50 no flourescent lamp behnd it, which whitens up the color a lot, and keeps my silver fish from having a green tint to them


My tank