# Bulbs



## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Does anyone know how low the 6500k bulbs go in watts the screw in ones. Thanks


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

For the compact fluorescent bulbs that you are describing, the lowest common wattage I have seen is 13 watts.


----------



## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Darkblade48 said:


> For the compact fluorescent bulbs that you are describing, the lowest common wattage I have seen is 13 watts.


Thanks I want to get two for a low light 10 gal I hate that yellow color from incandesent. Two 13 watts should do me .


----------



## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

pat3612 said:


> Thanks I want to get two for a low light 10 gal I hate that yellow color from incandesent. Two 13 watts should do me .


Two might actually push you into high light territory which could start to cause algea issues, etc. Is this a planted tank? If not and you just want to see them, I would recommend one 13W bulb or if you really want more light, maybe one 23W bulb, but two 13W might cause algea issues for you. Try to stick under 20W total flourescent light if you can to avoid algea breakouts in your case. If this is a planted tank, then that's a whole different subject.

Harry


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Harry Muscle said:


> Two might actually push you into high light territory which could start to cause algea issues, etc.


I wouldn't say it's high light. 26 watts is about 2.6 WPG, but then again, remember that the WPG guideline breaks down in tanks < 10 gallons. In addition, most of the CFL bulbs that I see are spiral nowadays, so there's a lot more restrike as well.


----------



## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

Darkblade48 said:


> I wouldn't say it's high light. 26 watts is about 2.6 WPG, but then again, remember that the WPG guideline breaks down in tanks < 10 gallons. In addition, most of the CFL bulbs that I see are spiral nowadays, so there's a lot more restrike as well.


True ... so I guess he'd be entering medium light. I would still try to do closer to 20W in a 10G (if it's non planted) just to avoid any possiblities of algea issues, etc. Thanks for the correction.

Harry


----------



## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

I have 2 13W screw in CFL in a planted 10 Gal and the algae loves it; which is a bad thing. But then the guppies love the algae; which is a good think. But the guppies can't keep up; which is a bad thing. So I'm going to remove one of the bulbs and cap the socket and see what happens.


----------



## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Its going to be a low light planted tank.


----------



## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

pat3612 said:


> Its going to be a low light planted tank.


That sort of changes things 

13W over a 10G might be a little too low light, but 2 13W bulbs might require CO2 or at least Excel. Ideally you would want about 16 to 20W of light over that tank if you don't want to use Excel or CO2. Btw, here's a really good article to read about how to run a very low maintanance low light tank. It's the process that I'm following and I love it. Great success with it.

http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html

Harry


----------



## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Thanks just finished that article last night. What kind of subtrate are you using. Two of my tanks are flourite and eco complete mixed. Id like to a planted sand tank not sure if it would work. This would be a cory and shrimp tank. Also Ive decieded to do a 20 gal. Mostly Moss and low light plants


----------



## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

My tank is setup with just flourite. That's the only thing that I have different than what that article mentions and I've had great success.

Harry


----------

