Hello everyone,

As you can see I am new to your community . You all seem nice and I am looking forward to meeting you all.

I have been a long time freshwater hobbyist and have had many large planted tanks in Australia.

However since I have lived in France I have not had a tank until a few days ago when I saw a great deal: A 60cm long tank (30 high and 30 wide) with filter, heater and light included for 34 euro new.

The kids have been nagging for some fish so I thought it was a good starter for them. I knew the light which is in the style of an energy saving bulb would be useless for plants).

However now the tank is cycling I am wondering if their are any of these 'bulb' (not tube) lights that have the correct spectrum for plants to grow?

I love the look of the broad spectrum lights and I love plants but the inbuilt fixture is bulb only.

Thanks everyone for your time and any info you have to share

Jay

Jay,

By 'bulb' type light I'm assuming you mean a screw-in socket light fixture, correct? And by 'tube' I'm thinking you mean fluorescent. Also, by 'energy saving bulb', I'm assuming you mean a Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulb. Just needed to get things clear in my head.

CFL bulbs are great for plants, though they are not as efficient as a T8 or T5HO fluorescent fixture. I'm using a 13 Watt CFL desk lamp over my 3 gallon right now, and it is growing plants just fine.

You will want either a bulb rated at 6700K (preferably) or a 10,000K bulb, in order to get decent plant growth AND really showcase your tank. Both are more of the broad-spectrum daylight bulbs, and I'm pretty sure that CFL's are 10,000K.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Yes exactly! My tank is a cheapie so it came with a screw in light bulb caseing instead of a tube holder.

So you are dead right! So are you saying that I can yet a screw in light bulb for my tank of a good light specturm? (by that I mean warmer not so much harse white light). As a screw in?

I just checked the box of my aquarium pack and it says it comes with a 1 X 15 watt light.

So Gismo you are saying you are mananging to grow plants with a 13 watt?

Thanks for all your help everyone

Jay

Google Images
These bulbs are great for plants.As you can see they are natural daylight which is what plats need.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. For your fixture, just go with the "warm daylight" compact fluorescent bulbs like Beverly just suggested, but be sure you don't screw in anything that's rated for higher than 15 Watts - you can go under that Wattage, but don't exceed it or you risk electrical failure by overloading the socket.

Incandescent bulbs are the other option, but they are MUCH less efficient and won't get your plants even half the light they need. Compact fluorescents are designed to mimic the same color light, just much more efficiently.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Ok thanks to the both of you, so much.

I am now trying to find what I would call this in French.

Is this the type of bulb you can pick up at the local fish shop? (think petco?) or is there somewhere I can order online?

Jay

well,you can probably find the equivalent at Petco,or even find them in a general store where they have the light bulbs.

__________________
http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

"ampoule fluorescente compacte" is what Google translate has to say...

__________________
Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Good luck with the CFL's. Hope you can find one. I used these in my 10 Gallons many times.

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55 Gal Planted Community Tank
50 Gal Sand Planted Bronze Cory Tank
20 Gal Planted RCS Tank
20 Gal PlantTank "Beaslbob"
20 Gal Planted RCS Tank
20 Gal Platy Breeding Tank
15 Gal Electric Blue Crayfish Breeding Tank
15 Gal Platy Breeding Tank
(3) 15 Gal Planted RCS Tanks
10 Gal Planted Golden Mystery Snail Breeding Tank
10 Gal Planted RCS Tank
10 Gal Swordtail Tank
10 Gal Endler Tank
5 Gal RCS Display Tank
4 15 Gal RCS Tanks (Waiting to stock)
2 20 Gal Longs (Waiting to stock)

Thanks everyone! Thanks to you all I think I have found it:

Ampoule fluocompacte ou lampe fluorescente compacte (LFC)

Jay