# new light fixture T12 40w bulb



## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

so my old AGA single flourescent strip broke so i went to home depot and bought a workshop strip light and got a T12 40 w bulb since that is the only one that would work with that fixture. i know nothing about bulb wattage and plants but wanted to know if that is decent for growing any plants? the bulb (philips brand) is advertised for being perfect for growing indoor house plants and aquariums.


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

lament configuration said:


> so my old AGA single flourescent strip broke so i went to home depot and bought a workshop strip light and got a T12 40 w bulb since that is the only one that would work with that fixture. i know nothing about bulb wattage and plants but wanted to know if that is decent for growing any plants? the bulb (philips brand) is advertised for being perfect for growing indoor house plants and aquariums.


I think indoor plants only require @ 3500k, aquarium plants need atleast 6500k (daylight bulb). Check to see what the color spectrum on the bulb is. If its a 6500k daylight bulb your good.


----------



## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

thanks for the quick reply exodus. so the philips box says:

light output: 1600 cumens
color temp: 2700 K

looks like it wont be sufficient, even with 2 bulbs running in this fixture.

i also read the fixture box again and it says the fixture can take T8 32 W bulbs but i dont remember seeing those at HD. should i return this bulb to HD and go to a real petstore tomorrow and get a bulb designed for 6500K?


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

You can get the daylight (6500k) bulbs at Lowes or Home Depot. Much cheaper than buying them at the pet store.

ps- #20 sucks

#48 rocks


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Ex0dus said:


> ps- #20 sucks
> 
> #48 rocks












Must be an inside joke?


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

#20 = stewart /// stewart = home depot driver //// home depot = poo

#48 =johnson /// johnson = lowes driver /// lowes =









Jamie, you need to start watching nascar man :laugh:


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Ex0dus said:


> #20 = stewart /// stewart = home depot driver //// home depot = poo
> 
> #48 =johnson /// johnson = lowes driver /// lowes =
> 
> ...










I haven't watched much NASCAR since college! One of my old roommates always had golf or NASCAR on Sunday...we spent many a Sunday recovering from a hard Saturday night falling asleep after the start and waking up just before the finish. Needless to say my Saturdays (and Sundays) are a bit different these days!









Sorry to derail lament...now back to your regularly scheduled thread!


----------



## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

unfortunately there is only home depot in south central wisconsin, there are only a few lowes across the entire state.

well thanks for your help and i will return this bulb and get a real one tomorrow.


----------



## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

lament configuration said:


> thanks for the quick reply exodus. so the philips box says:
> 
> light output: 1600 cumens
> color temp: 2700 K
> ...


Not that it would not be sufficient, because 2.700 Kelvin bulbs usually emit as much light as 6.500 Kelvin bulbs. But the color is different. 2.700 Kelvin is exactly the same as with incandescent bulbs. So the red part of the spectrum is more represented. In natural white color bulb (6.500-8.000 K) there is more blue light.

I think it is the T8 36W bulb that has the same length than T12 40W bulb (= 48").

Harry


----------



## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

wow thank you harry. you got it exactly right, about the color that is. this 2700K bulb has this weird distinct purplish hue to it. it is not the clean bright white color as my last bulb.

i also did some research about the t8 32s vs the t12 40w and the t8 is supposed to be more efficient because they are the same bulb but the t8 has a smaller diameter so it puts out the same amount of light but at a lower electricty consumption.

i will get a new bulb today and post a pic of the tank.


----------



## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

so i went to the lfs because i had some store credit there and went with some T8 32w bulbs (2 of them) for my fixture. the only specturm they had for their T8s was 8000K so i put it in right now and it looks amazing.

i now have 1.16 wpg on the tank and hope that can sustain some plants. and the best news to top it off is that i got a steal of a deal on some fish too. 
1 poly ornatpinis $33
1 indo datnoid $5

so the dat and bichir are in the tank now.


----------



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

I normally would have directed you to Home Depot to get 6500k or 5500k bulbs, because they are way cheaper than the LFS

But if you found 8000k bulbs..







They are not really easy to find in my experience, and I always wanted to try them, I hear they look great! Nice pickup


----------



## lament configuration (Jun 22, 2003)

dippy, these were hard to find. how much are bulbs supposed to cost, i got the 8000K for $20 a piece. here is a pic i took today of how the 8000K looks with my white sand complementing it.


----------



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

those lights look nice to the eye!

I would stuff the tank with more plants now, to get a nice balance going


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

Just remember that the K of the bulb says nothing about the actual color the bulb will emit. Most 6700k bulbs emit a very yellowish hue. These bulbs usually have a cri in the 80s. If you can find them, sylvania has some 6500k/6700k bulbs that have a cri rating in the lower 90s (91-92) which wont look so yellowish. So before you go out to the fish store to buy some expensive ass bulbs check the local hardware stores for the cheaper stuff. You can still find daylight bulbs that will emit a more natural white/blue hue to them vs that yellowish hue alot emit.


----------



## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

Commonly the coloration (into human eye) fluorescent bulbs can be distinguished from the Kelvin valeue (color temperature).

CRI
The CRI (color rendering index) shows how well the different colors can be distinguished from each others under the light of the bulb. Usually fluorescent bulbs tend to shift colors from their "true" hue and saturation. A perfect bulb (equal to sunlight) would have a CRI of 100. Usually they are of 80 or 90. many CRI 90 bulbs on the other hand have lowered efficiency.

KELVIN
The Kelvin (color temperature) means the temperature that a perfect radiator needs to emit light with the same "color" as the bulb in question. Low Kelvin means more red, high Kelvin more blue.

2.700 K fluorescent bulbs are made to mimic incandescent bulbs, they are slightly reddish
4.000-5.000 K fluorescent bulbs are made to produce warm light (like sunlight), they give a yellowish tint
6.000-8.000 K bulbs are made to give cool white (cloudy day) light, they look very slightly blueish.

But as Exodus said not every bulb fits into that description. The reason for that is the human eye color vision. Human eye is very sensitive to green light and not so sensitive at all to red and blue light. So, even small changes in the green light radiation, means a lot into human eye. And vice versa, even big changes in the blue radiation does not mean so much into human eye. In Kelvins all lights (red green blue) have an equal importance.

Fluorescent bulbs are trifosfor bulbs, they emit three lights (RGB, red green blue). In plant and aquarium plant bulbs (9.000-18.000 Kelvin) the green radiation has been reduced, thus giving a dim outlook into human eye (and also low lumen value, because it is measured heavily emphasizing the green light). The high Kelvin (12.000-18.000 K) bulbs are marine bulbs. These bulbs, though they look into human eye quite white, contain a lot blue light (which is important for the zooxanthellae in the corals).

Harry


----------

