[mmelnick]

I'm trying to decide which bulbs to go with for my T8 build. The Philips plant and aquarium bulbs don't actually have any ratings on them. Does anyone know what the Kelvin rating it? How do they look?

I like a bluer tank.

 

[mmelnick]

bump

 

[jas1313]

Without double checking I believe I have the same brand. I do not know the rating but visually it gave off a yellow tint. I don't use it anymore and did not like how it looked at all.

 

[jeffkrol]

I'm trying to decide which bulbs to go with for my T8 build. The Philips plant and aquarium bulbs don't actually have any ratings on them. Does anyone know what the Kelvin rating it? How do they look?

I like a bluer tank.

There are a lot of "charts" out there.. This is for a t12 Phillips :

Spectrographic analysis of a 15W 18" Philips "Plant & Aquarium" fluoro tube.
The light has a distinctly pink tint to it.

Kelvin rating only matters for your vision..

 

[mmelnick]

So what would you guys recommend for someone running 2 T8 tubes side by side? I may add more in the future, but low light should be fine. I am more concerned with the color quality rather than overall light intensity.

 

[burr740]

Coralife 50/50 may be what you're looking for, at least for one of the bulbs. Before I got into plants, I used to use them on all my fw fish tanks. I absolutely love their color quality, really brings out the reds and blues. If they came in T5HO I'd probably be using them right now.

Here's a couple links that may be of some use to you:

http://www.coralifeproducts.com/product/lamps/ - Shows all their T8 bulbs, hover over the "Colors:" buttons to see spectral graph for each one.

Here's a thread with some comparative pictures and discussions on various bulbs - http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=137802

Also, if you set Google to "images" you can search specific bulbs and usually find a few pics of tanks using them, although a quick glance didnt offer much on the Phillips P&A.

 

[jas1313]

Agree with the 50/50 as far as good color. I use them on my cichlid tank. I prefer the zoo med over coralife but that's just me.

 

[H2Ogal]

You might try 10,000K "Ocean Sun" lamps from Zoo Med. They are a bright white with a slightly bluish cast. I use them in single and dual T8 strips. Some people like to mix lamps with different color temps, but I find that it makes the front and back of the tank look too different to me.

 

[lauraleellbp]

The vast majority of bulbs between 5000-10,000 k will support FW plant growth just fine.

Main difference between them all is just how colors are rendered visually... and that boils down to personal preference.