I have a hard time looking for bulbs in the hardware store (because that's usually what's most affordable in terms of DIY) when nothing is labelled in (K) and there is no red/blue spectrum indicator or wavelength measurement. Not only that, but when I start asking question about color temperature and light spectrum, everyone in homedepot and Canadian Tire say, "Uhhhh, I don't really know."
From what I've been reading (from posts all overthe NET) the K value is the color temperature right? That's how good it looks to us humans, so does that have anything to do with the Red/blue spectrum that plants all want?
I'm just trying to get bulbs/fixtures that would do the job without buying 'aqua' watever brand for $50 buck a pop. any suggetions?
Most people at the major stores do not know anything about the bulbs, you are right about that! You can check what bulbs they have and then do some research on the net to try and find the spectrums. The nm spectrum is far more important to the plants then the K temp is, but it's important to find bulbs that look good to you as well... You can find good name brand plant bulbs even in Canada for less than 50 bucks. The Geisman bulbs are great and can be had for 20 - 30 bucks a pop from a place like J&L aquatics in Vancouver for example.
fish dork (may I call you dork?) Yeah, I have looked at J&L's website and don't get me wrong, there are really excellent stores here when it comes to aquatics, but the price for specialized items are really high. There are soooo many types of lights that I am basically sticking to my single glo & sho fixture by GE until I have saved up and set my mind on one kind of fixture.
Overfloat, I like the idea of Compact Fluorescent lighting, but again it would take me a long time to save for it. I'm actually thinking about some of the DIY LED's that are 3Watts each, but I don't know the effectiveness of them as they are still 'new' and not solidly proven. What also gets me is I have a canopy and light I do not use anymore because they have a single fixture for a 20 & 30 gallon tank, that's a joke (for those who want real plants).
Lighting can be one of the more expensive parts of this hobby unfortunately.
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