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Old 02-05-2006, 12:25 AM posted to rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants
Mister Gardener
 
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Default actinc bulbs in freshwater tank?

On Mon, 01 May 2006 20:49:03 GMT, Charles
wrote:

On Mon, 1 May 2006 16:24:04 -0400, "chaz" wrote:

I am looking to replace my twin tube light with a CF that has the following
specs

** two 65W bulb 12000K DAYLIGHT & two 65W actinic BULB a total of 260W **

I know actinc are used in salt tanks, but would these harm or provide no
benefit to my 80 gallon fresh? If they arent any good for it I dont want
them.


Notice: There are more than one Koi Los on the aquaria groups, but
only one Mister Gardener. So far.

If your goal is to grow plants, you should consider looking at 5500-
6500K (commonly called "daylight") bulbs and many folks also like
10,000K. 50/50 6500/10,000 or thereabouts bulbs sound like what you
need. This is a common configuration from Coralife and others. I use
all 6500K on my planted tanks and couldn't ask for nicer growth.

When you upgrade your lighting, you are going to need to upgrade your
fertilizing and CO2. The Flourish by SeaChem line of plant foods are
quite popular and cover just about every formulation you might need.
Flourish Excel contains a "carbonator", making CO2 available to plants
without requiring a mechanical CO2 system, though the high amount of
light you plan to use may call for a dedicated CO2 injection system.
You're looking at a significant investment with the lighting and CO2
system, make sure you do your homework before taking the dive. And of
course, The Krib Plants section is a good place to begin.

-- Mister Gardener
-- Pull the WEED to email me

Everything Aquaria & Tropical Fish at The Krib:
http://faq.thekrib.com/