# Cool white T8 bulbs for low light plants any good?



## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

So I setup my 20L the other day but my 24" and 18" T5 fixtures just don't cut it length wise and I have lots of dead spots plus I don't like have two different fixtures just hanging there but I have a 48" T8 fixture in my garage that I can salvage and my roommate has brought home like 10 spare bulbs from work, all cool white color according to the writing on them, so would they work? I'd hate to not be able to use the 10 bulbs as that would keep me in lighting for a very long while but at the same time, don't want something that the plants won't benefit.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Cool white bulbs will grow plants, but you may not like the appearance of the tank. That's true of all common fluorescent bulbs. Warm white bulbs look the worst to me, so if I had to choose between cool and warm white, I would always choose cool white. I like "daylight" or 6500K bulbs best, when I can find them.


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

Cool white T8 should work fine. How high above the tank are they going to be placed?


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Thanks hoppy. I'll at least set it up for now and use the bulbs I have as they're 2 brand new bulbs in the fixture and I've spent too much already on this adventure (always happens) and maybe upgrade the bulbs down the road.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Bah, the ballast doesn't work in that fixture. Good thing there is 2 more to try. lol.


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## speedoflife (Jun 12, 2011)

I've tried a cool white bulb in my aquarium, but it looked so dark and green. It was a very strange light.


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## BudHop (Jun 24, 2011)

I'm no light expert but I just got done reading "The 101 Best Aquarium Plants" and it advised avoid cool white or ultra-blue "reef aquarium" bulbs because of the color spectrum in them. Their advice was daylight or 6500K


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

Ok, its only $9 for a 2 48" daylight bulbs so I can spare that and I found a working ballast. They're 4 foot lights and I only have a 30" 20gal long but o well, I can deal with the extra light for the room anyways I guess since I can't find any 30" or 36" fixtures around and daylight bulbs to go with them, and besides this fixture is free.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

BudHop said:


> I'm no light expert but I just got done reading "The 101 Best Aquarium Plants" and it advised avoid cool white or ultra-blue "reef aquarium" bulbs because of the color spectrum in them. Their advice was daylight or 6500K


Basically anything from 6500-10,000 work well for plants. I personally like the combo of one 6500k and one 10,000k


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

I used the sudo growlux method with a daylight & warm white combo. Grew plants in my 29gal like there was no tomorrow. I was able to finance my aquarium hobby solely on the trade in credit on my surplus crypt thinnings for over 3 years.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

They are very yellow over the tank. lol. Tomorrow I will get some daytime bulbs and experiment with 1 of each or 2 daytime's and see. What a mess though, I almost wish I bought a fixture but its done, so its done. lol. The problem was the fixture with the reflector I wanted, the ballast didn't work, so this time decided to test the fixtures still hanging up, so cut the wire, plugged the ends into an extension cord, blew a fuse. One has a short and thats the reason they weren't hooked up. So tested another one, it worked so took down that fixture, well tried, screw stripped, so standing on 2 boxes with pliers for 20mins in a 120c garage to get it unscrewed, no reflector, ok, figure I'll just take the reflector from the first one. Doesn't fit, smaller fixture, so have to take apart both fixtures, swap the ballasts and rewire everything, put it all together, outside of the reflector looks like crap from years of garage dirt, try and clean it, won't clean, take it apart, spray paint it black, let it dry, put it all back together.

Then it comes time to hang them. Its on a slanted ceiling so its hard to measure properly where to hang them so its centered. Think I got it right, hang it, covers the front part of the tank but not the back at all. Drill hole, re-anchor again, get it lined up and its done. 

Heres a pic with the 2 cool white bulbs anyways.


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

Use a Plumb-bob and line to find the center of your tank relative to the slanted ceiling.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

2 6500k daylight bulbs looks a million times better. No more yellow. lol. I may try a combo of one of each still, I'll see and play around but for now, this is nice.


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## narhay (Feb 28, 2007)

Don't go crazy now and clean up those tootsie rolls ...


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