# cfl bulbs and a 10 gallon



## Sake (Mar 30, 2012)

There is a lot of good information in the lighting forum, here are some links that will answer your questions.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=85667


----------



## coolnick (Oct 28, 2006)

I used 2 27 watt CFLs over a 10g with diy co2 for a while with fantastic results.


----------



## Sake (Mar 30, 2012)

Wow that is a ton of light something like 200-250 maybe more par  Are they vertical or horizontal mount?


----------



## hambone870 (Feb 13, 2013)

by no means am i an expert but will say that with ive got good growth (low light plants) in a ten gallon tank with one cfl spiral bulb in a reflector

its a 15 wt that is equivalent to 60 wts i believe...

not sure what par that will work out to but im pretty sure that it will be more on the high side of medium, i could be wrong though


----------



## slavecorps (Jul 7, 2009)

Just ignore the incandescent wattage equivalent on the package of CFL's it doesn't mean anything as far as planted tanks are concerned. Nonetheless, you will get great growth with them provided they are of the correct spectrum. You should look over those links that Sake posted to learn more.


----------



## Dolfan (Apr 8, 2005)

I think I have the same or similar hood as you on my 10 gallon. It has 2 screw in sockets that are horizontal to the water. I use 18 watt spiral cfl bulbs and only use 1 of the bulbs. I had to remove the other as it was just too much light. Seems to do well in my tank. Just make sure your bulbs are in the 6500k range and you should be good to go. I would think two 13 watt bulbs would put you in the mid light range maybe even the high end.


----------



## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Horizontally-oriented CFLs produce less par than bulbs positions vertically, according to the links in the lighting sticky. So you can have a bright looking tank without an excessive amount of par by changing the orientation of the bulbs to horizontal.


----------



## crazymittens (Jun 4, 2012)

The second link Sake posted is what I came in to post.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=85667

A long read, but well worth it. I am about to test out a 10G cube with a single CFL in a brooder reflector using those principles.


----------



## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

I Find that 2 of the 9W 6500K bulbs are just right on a low light tank, When I ran the 2X13 watt bulbs it was an algae farm without C02. The 13W also ran pretty hot and raised the tank temps. I run fans on temp controllers on both 10G's to keep temperatures in check during the hot summer months.


----------



## morelight (Jun 2, 2013)

I read the two articles concerning light but it leaves me to check with a scientist for the correct answer. I'm lost reading that. I'll just rely on you guys to give me advice, thanks.


----------



## A.2013 (Jun 17, 2013)

I have this exact set up and wondering if my horizontal mounted 13w CFL's were gonna cut it. My LFS had a moving sale so I bought a bunch of cheap unlabelled/mislabelled plants only to find out 3/4 require moderate to high light. I was happy to read the sticky and find that I can still get moderate light with vertically mounted 13w cfls close to the surface of the water by using clamp lights...great news cause I have several-but those will be for other tanks. For this particular tank I have to use the light hood. Therefore the light will be horizontal.

So....hopefully by watching this thread I can find out if horizontally mounted 20w micro-mini cfls 11" from the substrate will make my baby tears happy:icon_wink


----------



## Sake (Mar 30, 2012)

morelight said:


> I read the two articles concerning light but it leaves me to check with a scientist for the correct answer. I'm lost reading that. I'll just rely on you guys to give me advice, thanks.


At 10 inches off the substrate, one 14w mounted horizontal would be enough. Depending on your reflectors, you may have too much light. What type of reflectors are in your fixture?


----------



## morelight (Jun 2, 2013)

thanks for making it simple. I got some cfl's today. They are Sylvania micro-mini 13watt. 6500k. Package of two, stated on the package, they give 800 lumens each. I'm gonna use the two because i have to mount them vertically. The package reads 5% light loss when mounted that way.


----------



## kingjombeejoe (Feb 17, 2013)

In my experience no matter which way you mount them, 2-13w cfls will be too much light without co2 or something to block out some of the light. The other option is to raise them higher until you find the right height. I'm going to try the 9w bulbs as recommended by The Big Buddah.


----------



## Sake (Mar 30, 2012)

Well it really depends on his reflector. Mine had a flat black plastic reflector which would really lower the par since you're not reflecting as much as a white one, or a polished metal one. Also it had a plastic guard on it that would block tons of light. Until he chimes in on reflectors and such we really won't know.


----------



## kingjombeejoe (Feb 17, 2013)

I have a stock hood with the reflectors removed and the plastic covers on and I get crazy algae without floaters. I hate the floaters so I hope the 9w bulbs do better or else I'm going to have to add co2. He may have a different experience but thats mine


----------



## Sake (Mar 30, 2012)

DIY co2 isn't horrible for a small tank like 10 gallons. My only problem was staying up on it, if I didn't change the bottles at the right time BAM welcome in the hair algae! lol I used 2 bottles so that gave me a lil wiggle room. Also dosing metricide would help a bit to.


----------



## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

I run twin 10 gallon tanks side by side, both with bone stock Walmart canopies with reflectors still installed and the clear bulb protectors still in as well. I used to run the 13W bulbs and DIY C02, but like Sake said if you aren't swapping out the bottles at perfect intervals hair algae is out of control before you know it. They also pumped way too much heat as my house is not air conditioned. I seem to have found the sweet spot for my 10G tanks with no C02, 2X9W CFL, lights on a 4 on, 2 off, 4 on schedule. Also, as soon as I switched to RO everything got much easier, less algae issues and RCS started breeding more than when I was using tap water.


----------



## bpb (Mar 8, 2011)

I ran two 13 watt cfl bulbs in the standard 10 gallon hood horizontal mount. Mineralized topsoil and gravel. No co2. After 2-3 months of horrible green spot algae, it subsided and growth exploded. Tank ran super lush for two years before the soil ran out and everything seemed to die over a couple weeks. I was trimming every week. It can be done


----------



## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

How about these?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lights-Of...-Aquarium-Bulb-1ct-Fish-Aquatic-Pets/10448675


----------



## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

Sake said:


> Well it really depends on his reflector. Mine had a flat black plastic reflector which would really lower the par since you're not reflecting as much as a white one, or a polished metal one. Also it had a plastic guard on it that would block tons of light. Until he chimes in on reflectors and such we really won't know.


I'm running CFLs with "Brooder" type clamp polished reflectors, which are very efficient and the bulb is vertically oriented, also more efficient. I ran two 13w bulbs on a glass tank cover on my 10g. A little too efficient I'd say. What kind of reflector and orientation is very important to how much PAR/intensity you actually get. BGA came in and started covering plants, then substrate (gravel). I switched to two 10w bulbs and vacced the gravel and the BGA is receding. If I still have problems I might just go to one 13.


----------



## Sake (Mar 30, 2012)

Yeah I'm running 4, 8 1/2 inch brooder lights with 23 watt cfl's over my 55, 3 of them over my 29, and 2 of them over my 20 long. Tons of light for cheap. Over my 10 gallon I had 2 brooders with 13 watt cfl, no co2 since it was a shrimp tank, I'd pull out mats of hair algae every week.


----------



## A.2013 (Jun 17, 2013)

vvDO:
Those are fine. These are cheaper.

http://www.menards.com/main/lightin...-micro-mini-t2-6500k-cfl-3-pack/p-1468236.htm

These are advertised at Menadrs but I found mine at Wal-Mart.


----------



## Dolfan (Apr 8, 2005)

I get a six pack of screw in 18 watt CFL's for 8$ at Costco, I love that place. They are 6500k, perfect for plants.


----------



## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

A.2013 said:


> vvDO:
> Those are fine. These are cheaper.
> 
> http://www.menards.com/main/lightin...-micro-mini-t2-6500k-cfl-3-pack/p-1468236.htm
> ...


Those are not the same bulbs. Linear 10w bulbs are great replacements for a typical 10g hood that usually houses incandescent bulbs. Good thing about them is they are better mounted horizontally. They will also keep you from going to medium-high light which is what the OP is looking for.


----------



## jimclassic (Dec 14, 2017)

slavecorps said:


> Just ignore the incandescent wattage equivalent on the package of CFL's it doesn't mean anything as far as planted tanks are concerned. Nonetheless, you will get great growth with them provided they are of the correct spectrum. You should look over those links that Sake posted to learn more.


Considering a tank of 24x12x18 inch and 22 gallon, how much CFL and of how much watt would be required??

Thanks in Advance
Jim


----------

