SO i have the ten gallon and im planning of having live plants. I bought the bulbs from sea-life and they are in a glass cup with gravel and water waiting to sprout. The lights i have in my tank are from Aqua Culture and they are the Plant growth bulbs.
Walmart.com: Aqua Culture Aquarium Plant Growth Bulb, 2ct: Fish

The bulbs may be good for plants (dont know dont have the plants yet) but visually they are dull, yellow and look like driving at night in a 60s muscle car (doesnt bring any depth or glamour to the tank. So i have been reading articles here and there and see some ppl hae used regular spiral house bulbs such as this.
Walmart.com: Sylvania 13W CFL Micro Mini Twist Light Bulb, Soft White, 2pk: Decor
Mine though are 13w, 6ohz, 190MA 3000k

A few things i have questions on.
1. i have no glass protector so any bulb i have gets a mist of water from splash and evaporation. Is this ok?
2. Are these even an ok lighting for cheap diy?
3. 3000k is better than the aqua culture ones but i want more of a white light than yellow so would a 5700K be better.
4. The ones i have are 13w. Im planning on having live plants. So in a 10 gallon ive read you need 3 watts per gallon so im close to 30 watts total. Is this ok or do i need more or less and with the lights being visually better for me, are they to bright for the fish.
5. Last but not least what are some DIY ways to have certain lights for DT and then another set built in for NT?

1. Condensation and electronics are bad juju. Socket-type (screw in) fixtures aren't as exposed as some, but the condensation will ruin the bulbs faster. I would suggest getting a glass Versa-Top (see link below), and blocking the light fixture up off the glass so the heat is regulated somewhat.

Aquarium Hoods & Canopies: All-Glass Versa-Tops

2. CFL bulbs are great for DIY fixtures. If you're interested in doing a great DIY fixture, consider SHO CFL bulbs and spot refletors from Home Depot or Lowe's. SHO = Super High Output, and while they are expensive ($30-$50 per bulb), one bulb puts out plenty of light for a 10 gallon and they are used for hydroponics all the time.

3. 5700K or better is a brighter light. 10000K is a daylight broad-spectrum light. I would suggest a 6700K or a 10000K bulb for your fixture. The K rating refers to the color of light emitted - lower K is more on the red side of the spectrum, and higher K is more on the blue side. Freshwater plants benefit the most from reddish light, hence why your bulbs make the tank look so dull.

4. See above statement on SHO lighting. Here's a link that helps explain better:

SHO, CFL Aquarium Lights, Compact Fluorescent; Hydroponics Lighting, Lamps, Bulbs

5. Not sure what DT and NT are...

Hope this helps!

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

about that, Daytime and night time. Another thing i was curious on is when ppl do homemade hoods from wood, what do thye use for waterproffing or whatever so the wood doest warp and get soaked. Im good in carpentry so what i did today was made a hood that is roughly 5 inches high. I made a hinge system up front when feeding the fish. I have it this high in thinking i may put 2 sets of lights in. One for daytime and one more subdued for night. My only delemia is waterproofing thsi so it doesnt just last for 2 months.

I didnt treat the canopy I built on the inside and all I did was stain the outside.
Ive never had one rot or even begin to. Dont use treated wood!..You could use redwood or something that has natural abilities to avoid rot. I did use a lot of bracing to reduce warping..After a few days it settled in nicely.

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Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do.