"Flandry" wrote in message
om...
by normal are you talking about a T8 Phillips or GE Sunshine. I did see
the
GE today but it was a T12 bulb.

If your present bulb is a 40W, 48" bulb, it's not a T8 bulb. Either
T10 or T12. I would guess T10, because that's what my All-Glass light
strip used before i retrofit it. T8 is not widely used in commercial
Aquarium lighting because there are less colors available (or so i've
been told), but it is very common in commercial lighting because it's
more efficient. A 48" T8 bulb is typically 33W, and hence is called a
T8F33 or something like that. It's supposed to give the "same" light
as a 40W T12.

Any bulb with a very high CRI will be useful to plants. There are
others that produce more in the specific wavelengths plants use
(maximizing your useful wattage), but they don't look as good and also
are harder to find and more expensive.


The bulb is 42", standard fixture on the 48" canopy. Does not say on the
bulb whether it is a T8 or T10 but it is definitely not a T12. Appears to be
about half the size of a T12. Standard Hagen Power Glo bulb, what ever they
are.

Rick