I'm no pro here, but the color temp and spectrum aren't necessarily tied
that closely. I use the GE Sunlight and Sylvania Sunstick bulbs, which are
great, and they're rated at 5000K.

If you can get somebody to order from Grainger for you - they don't sell to
individuals - they have a Rapid Start T8 from GE, the Chroma 50 (Sunlight
bulb). It's item 5V572. It's a 36", 30-watt bulb, 1.5" diameter. You
didn't mention if you have that or the 1", 25W need, or 4', 32W size.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Books, Artwork, and Lots of Free Info!

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Bette Noir" wrote in message
m...
Hello, all,

I just got some light fixtures to supplement the light for my orchids
that are in a west window. At Home Depot I was sold some lights that
they said were wide spectrum. Well, the guy didn't seem to understand
what I wanted, after all. They are apparently considered intermediate
spectrum: the color temp is 3500k.

This seems to be pretty close to the temp for bulbs rated as warm. If
I mix two of the 3500k bulbs with bulbs that are rated cool, will I
have enough of the spectrum covered? Or do I need to ditch the 3500k
for 3000k? This seems to be a bit hard: there don't seem to be any
"warm" T8 bulbs on the shelves.