Types of lights ?

[bsmith]

what are the kinds of lights that you can get for a freshwater tank, i really like the kind in saltwater tanks because it looks blue, but what is out there and what are the differences including price ? thanks

[maxpayne_lhp]

White-color is the best to me! And it's cheapest!

[Osiris]

50/50 is usually best of FW to bring out most color of fish but have seen some natural daylight colors of 12k pull some very nice colors too.

[MyraVan]

A tri-phosphor bulb (mine is called triton) is pinkish and makes my rosy barbs look even rosier than usual. But I don't think I'd want to use a triton as the only bulb, so if I had only one bulb it would be a daylight bulb.

[DavidDoyle]

Try reading here for great info on lightiong and bulbs- http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaver.../lighting.html

Tritons are supurb bulbs- they are not pinkish- rather they are a full spectrum, tri-phosphor, daylight bulb. The do not have to be replaced until they burn out. They are great as the only bulb for a tank.

[MyraVan]

To me the Tritons look pinkish, in comparison to a daylight bulb. I think they have more red in their spectrum than daylight bulbs. But you're right, they are very good bulbs. I wouldn't want one as the only bulb in a tank for aesthetic reasons, not because there would be anything wrong with it! I just think that the pinkish light makes the tank look a bit funny.

[Gracie6363]

my 10 gallon tank i have a lights incandesant hood.... i bought at walmart these bulbs for it called deep blue sea. They are regular bulbs, coated dark blue. I use one of those and one flouresant thats made for the tungsten hood.

[bsmith]

ok so what are basic prices for each of the top 3 kinds of bulbs for a 30" bulb ?

[bsmith]

i have been looking on ebay and found a "Zoo Med RL-36 Reef 50/50 " bulb and a "Power~Glo Fluorescent " & "Marine~Glo Fluorescent " & "Zoo Med OL-36 Ocean Sun " & "Sun~Glo Fluorescent "
WHATS THIS MEAN !!!! all i need to know is for my freshwater tank, whats the best 2 ? thanks this is new material for me

[blakeoe]

i Just put two aqua-glo lights in mine and they look pretty good and my plants love them.

[sbsociety]

I use the 50/50 too... It runs about 16 bucks at Petco, but this one private owned little shop by my house sells the same ones for 8 bucks... I don't go there though cause it's small and they only sell goldfish. (If the tank is even stocked)

[bsmith]

i have no plants, just fish, you think it will still be good, and make their colors stand out really well ? they are all about the same price on ebay so it just depends on which one is the best ?

[MyraVan]

Perhaps the color of bulb you want depends on the fish you have? As I mentioned, the pinkish Tritons make my rosy barbs lok especially rosy. So maybe if you had red/orange/yellow fish the Triton would be good. But if you had blue/green fish, maybe the 50/50 bulb would work best. (This is just a guess; I have never tried a 50/50 bulb.)

Er, I think the 50/50s are available only in compact flourescent format; if you're getting just plain cylindrical bulbs 50/50 is out, but you could get one daylight bulb and one marine blue actinic bulb; that's what 50/50 bulbs are!

[Damon]

Triton bulbs are not pinkish (at least not to me or what the K and CRI tell me). Bulbs higher in the spectrum (up to 10K) will give off a more pinkish glow. 8800K bulbs are very pink. 5000K is what is know as natural daylight. Nice white glow with just the smallest hint of yellow. Anything lower than 5000K is getting more yellow to the eye. 6700K is great for showing off true colors. 10K or 10000, is whitish-blue (not actinic). WHatever you chose be sure to purchase a bulb with a high CRI (over 90) and a good lumen output.

[MyraVan]

What can I say? The Triton bulb I use looks pinkish to me in comparison to an Arcadia Freshwater Lamp, and in comparison to an Interpet Daylight bulb. I use the Interpet Triton bulb. Perhaps Triton bulbs made by other companies are different?

Hmmm, well, at least someone else agrees with me that Tritons look different from daylight bulbs. On this web page,
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/H...637/index.html
Hoa G. Nguyen writes that an Interpet Triton bulb looks "Purplish" which isn't too far off from my "pinkish".

Maybe color is in the eye of the beholder?

[Damon]

Has to do with the CRI. And triton bulbs should have a violet tint. The higher the K towards 10000, the more violet the bulbs emits to the human eye. A triton bulb with a lower CRI may indeed "look" pinkish to the human eye but it not pinkish. THe bulb he uses in his comparrison chart doesn't give off much in the way of Lumens either. Not sure if this is true for all triton bulbs but I would imagine it isn't.

[MyraVan]

OK, I'll go for "violet" instead of "pinkish". The Triton I use appears brighter to my eye than the Arcadia Freshwater bulb that's next to it, but probably simple appearances aren't a good judge of lumens emitted.

[malawi4me2]

On my 120g FW, I run 2X96w 10K PC flourescent, and 2X96w 03 Actinic and I am happy with the effect. Also, my plants (java fern, giant vallisneria, and annubias barteri) are all doing very well. I think that it's all a matter of personal preference (especially since you don't have any plants to consider).

[DavidDoyle]

From http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaver.../lighting.html by Richard J. Sexton

Actinic
These tubes emit light only from the blue end of the spectrum and are used in marine setups to supply the blue that is missing from normal aquarium lighting but is required by marine algae, anemones and corals. They are usually only available from specialty aquarium stores and are not cheap. They have little or no application for growing freshwater aquarium plants.

[bsmith]

i am not sure what brand or style the bulb is but i got the 50/50 bulb at petsco and i love it. it is really blue and glows my blue rocks and accents the fish really nicely. i like that bulb a lot right now.