Home Depot Lights
- Thread starter Tigurius
- Start date
The difference is plain! One is sold in petstores and the other in a hardware store! Now let me tell you a secret! There are 3 or 4 manufactors of fluorescent lighting tubes. Other companies order a certain tube (or kelvin), put their logo on it and sell it! Therefore, the tubes themselves do not differ.
The Kelvin does because of different phospors used in the tube. However, the most important factor is deciding on the application. In this case its a freshwater planted tank. Taking into consideration the kelvin at noon which is 5500K, getting tubes around that range is optimal for plants. Im not saying you cant get different tubes of different k values! Most people, myself included mix in some 6500K to acheive a better looking tank however one has to remember that the plants do not benifit immensely from higher or lower k values. What will really make plants grow is lighting intensity!
The Kelvin does because of different phospors used in the tube. However, the most important factor is deciding on the application. In this case its a freshwater planted tank. Taking into consideration the kelvin at noon which is 5500K, getting tubes around that range is optimal for plants. Im not saying you cant get different tubes of different k values! Most people, myself included mix in some 6500K to acheive a better looking tank however one has to remember that the plants do not benifit immensely from higher or lower k values. What will really make plants grow is lighting intensity!
yeah the bulbs a home depot are fine as long as you know what the specs are i buy the ge plant and aquarium bulbs and the screw-in pc full spectrum bulbs.some also have phillips full spectrum bulbs.like red has said most bulb are made buy the same manufacturer and just have a diffrent mix of phosphors that change the color and intensity of the bulb
The kelvin rating doesnt really relate to the temperature of the tube itself. Color temperature means the perceived color the tube gives off! Usually we associate blue with cold and red with hot therefore the lower the color temperature, the warmer the perveived color, the higher the color temperature, the cooler the perveived color.
HTH!
HTH!
I bought some "Plant & Aquarium" bulbs from Home Depot, without reading the packaging carefully. They said that they were ideal for growing indoor plants, so I figured they'd probably be a good spectrum for my tank, too.
They were pink and about 3000K. I don't think that's so great for plant growth.. Plus, they were ugly.
I don't know if those are the ones you're talking about, but try and check the packaging while you're in the store. You probably want something between 5000 and 10000K.
They were pink and about 3000K. I don't think that's so great for plant growth.. Plus, they were ugly.
I don't know if those are the ones you're talking about, but try and check the packaging while you're in the store. You probably want something between 5000 and 10000K.