On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 19:13:04 GMT, (Richard) wrote:

In article ,
Dave wrote:
I've got a 35 gallon planted tank with a bunch of tetras, plecos, and a
rubber eel. Currently have a double florescent canopy with a power glow and
a flora glow bulb. I've heard that the bulbs lose a lot of thier spectrum
after awhile...and should be replaced. Is this true..and how often should
the bulbs be replaced?? Also..is there a better combo for plant growth than
power glow / flora glow??

Dave



GE publishes graphs that show the decay of light output over time. It drops
quickly the first week then slows down and in 6 months is roughly 80% lower
then when new. The anal retentive and wealthy retube at 6 mos.

I use hardware store not pet store tubes and believe gro-lux and any
blusih tube (C50, SPX65, Daylight) to be about as good as you can get
and do not hold much stock with Asian made high priced pet store bulbs.


I have 5 tanks. They all have less than 1.5 watts per gallon even
with new bulbs. Since I decided to leave the lighting that way, I
chose only "low light" plants. I have never changed the bulbs. I
have all the light I need to enjoy looking and the choice of plants
gives me no reason to have maximum illumination.

dick