Lighting In A 12"x12"x12" Cube!

[R1ch13]

This!

I saw this and thought it could be good!

What do you guys think?

Richie!

 

[fozziebear]

you need one with a daylight bulb, Ikea do a magnifier lamp that has a daylight bulb with it.

 

[aaronnorth]

No, it is only 11w your tank is about 27l right? you need more light on a tank under 10g

take a look HERE

 

[garuf]

how about this tinker?
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...rksid=p3907.m29

 

[R1ch13]

how about this tinker?
[URL="http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...rksid=p3907.m29"]http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...rksid=p3907.m29[/URL]

Yeah lol!

I do know that 11w is not enough for my tank!

But you can put up to a 50 watt bulb in that lamp!

And Yes i would use a daylight bulb, because i know normal lights give off a horrible yellow colour

Garuf that luminair is really good and good value for money but i honestly dont have that kind of money just now

I want a cheapo lamp that will suffice!

All i really wanted to know was...

Does it really matter if you use a normal bulb as apposed to a flourescent strip?

Should of made that more clear in first place... sorry lads!

Thanks

Richie!

 

[Waterloo Kid]

What matters is not the type of light bulb/tube you use, more the quality of light it puts out. Aquarium lighting is generally produced to put out a specific light spectrum (mix of colours, or wavelengths of light if you want to be technical). Plants use more of the red and blue ends of the spectrum and discard (reflect) the middle green part. Hence why plants appear green. What you really need is a full spectrum light bulb. The light will appear white (like sunlight!) and will give your plants what they need and let you see the proper colours of your plants and fish. Look for the Kelvin rating (not going into that right now!) and get something rated at about 6,000K. Don't go above 10,000K as these lights will be missing a lot of the red end of the spectrum (hence they'll look more blue-white) and your plants wont thank you, although algae might!
I have no idea if specific spectrum bulbs are available. Quality tubes are abundant, and shouldn't cost the earth if you try to get the fitting second hand (ebay etc.)

Anyway, hope that helps!

WK

 

[R1ch13]

What matters is not the type of light bulb/tube you use, more the quality of light it puts out. Aquarium lighting is generally produced to put out a specific light spectrum (mix of colours, or wavelengths of light if you want to be technical). Plants use more of the red and blue ends of the spectrum and discard (reflect) the middle green part. Hence why plants appear green. What you really need is a full spectrum light bulb. The light will appear white (like sunlight!) and will give your plants what they need and let you see the proper colours of your plants and fish. Look for the Kelvin rating (not going into that right now!) and get something rated at about 6,000K. Don't go above 10,000K as these lights will be missing a lot of the red end of the spectrum (hence they'll look more blue-white) and your plants wont thank you, although algae might!
I have no idea if specific spectrum bulbs are available. Quality tubes are abundant, and shouldn't cost the earth if you try to get the fitting second hand (ebay etc.)

Anyway, hope that helps!

WK

Thanks so much Waterloo Kid!

Thats exactly what i wanted to know!

Thanks for the in depth explanation, it helped alot!

I know what i need now

I have 2 15watt arcadia starters in my cupboard, just no bulbs looks like i need a trip to my LFS!

Thanks again!

Richie!

 

[garuf]

Or better still, lampspecs, you can get suitable lamps for a fraction of the price.