Light Tube Help Req

[bramswell]

Dont know if this has been asked before, couldnt see a post about it

its time to replace the original tubes in my vision 180 (T8)

i want my fish to look like they did at the shop when i bought them, i bought the guppies because they where colourful, getting them in my tank and they just look a little dull

the guy at the shop recommended 1x power glo and 1x aqua glo

is this a good combo to get the best out of the fish colours

and is it worth buying the reflectors for the tubes

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Bramswell.
Mixing fluorescent tubes will often give you better color rendition. Each individual fluorescent tube has a very few phosphors that actually emit the light. That means that specific color bands are well represented while other color wavelengths are almost not represented at all. Mixing various brands and spectra of fluorescent tubes means that you get more different wavelengths represented and color rendition should improve. In the US you will find a "CRI" rating on fluorescent tubes. The closer the CRI is to 100, the better that tube is at giving a good color rendering. A rating of less than about 85 means the light is not very good at giving an accurate color rendering. A rating of much more than 90 is very hard to find.