55w PL light

[scang7]

I am thinking of acquiring a 55 w PL light by CR aquarium for my 2 feet tank. My current light condition is 15w FL + 36 w PL. I intend to remove the 15 w FL and replace it with the the 55 w PL bringing the total wattage to 91w. I have some questions and would appreciate the advice of you guys.

1. Wat determines the K of the light? Is it the colour meaning that blue is higher followed by white and red? In that case, if I have a white light, does that mean that it is around 6500K?

2. Will 91 W for a 2 feet tank be 'overkill'? Will it be good for my plants if I use 91 w but lower the number of light hours? Will the heat generated by the high wattage be too much for my plants?

3. I find that more people buy the 36 w PL light rather than the 55 W PL light. The 55 w PL is actually cheaper than the 36w PL and higher wattage = greater intensity?!?

[bclee]

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On 4/1/2003 3:19:27 PM

I am thinking of acquiring a 55 w PL light by CR aquarium for my 2 feet tank. My current light condition is 15w FL + 36 w PL. I intend to remove the 15 w FL and replace it with the the 55 w PL bringing the total wattage to 91w. I have some questions and would appreciate the advice of you guys.

1. Wat determines the K of the light? Is it the colour meaning that blue is higher followed by white and red? In that case, if I have a white light, does that mean that it is around 6500K?

2. Will 91 W for a 2 feet tank be 'overkill'? Will it be good for my plants if I use 91 w but lower the number of light hours? Will the heat generated by the high wattage be too much for my plants?

3. I find that more people buy the 36 w PL light rather than the 55 W PL light. The 55 w PL is actually cheaper than the 36w PL and higher wattage = greater intensity?!?
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My first question to you is why you want to have so MUCH light? 51W is enough!

Higher lights does not mean you can use shorter photoperiod.

You may be in a lot of algae problem if you do maintain your nutrients & CO2 in high lights.

BC

[tranquillizer]

i dun think the 55w comes with electronic ballast(that will save 30% of the electricity and wont cause ya water temperature to increase)<correct if i'm wrong> ... tt time i saw a shop having this 2ft light total w is 55xx3 costing $120 only ... with 1 reflector ... but still dun see the shop plants growing ... why ? anybody ?

[scang7]

bclee...

see that my plants that are at the back that are light demanding are not growing very well.. was thinking that it maybe the light. cos i am usinga 15w FL at the back .. my 36W Pl is placed towards the fromt

[hoppinghippo]

scang: if your light demanding plants are placed more towards the back then front, then maybe try switching lights around to have the 36w behind? you can see how the plants grow to, they tend to grow towards the light they need, so you can identify the uneven parts of your tank. my 2ft tank currently uses 2X36W PL lights and its just rite for all my plants including high light plants.

[Mortadelo]

55w PL require expensive electronic ballasts.

36w PL can use the good old cheap magnetic ballasts.

I think thats why most of us use 36w compact fluorescents.

[bclee]

I am using 36W + 15W in my 2ft. Plants are growing well.

In such small tank the problem is usually shading. Shift your lights and plants around. 91W for a tiny 2ft is definitely overkill.

BC

[vinz]

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On 4/2/2003 5:37:11 AM

55w PL require expensive electronic ballasts.

36w PL can use the good old cheap magnetic ballasts.

I think thats why most of us use 36w compact fluorescents.
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Actually, a lot of us here use electronic ballast. We stick to 36W because it's more easily available then 55W.