# Can I use regular fluorescent light bulb for my fish tank ?



## ppaskova

Hi

Which fluorescent light bulb can I use ? Can I buy one in Home Depot or Canadian Tire or I should buy in PetSmart or LFS. I have been told by LFS guys that the bulbs they sell is a special bulbs designed for planted fish tanks and the ones Home Depot sells is a regular ones and don't have a spectrum the planted fish tank needs. Is this true ?

Thanks


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## Philip.Chan.92

LOL dont listen to LFS, they usually don't know what they are talkin about unless you talk to mike or frank and people of that sort. Regular employees at the LFS are fairly ignorant. A 6500K bulb from home depot is the same as a 6500K bulb from the fish store, except it costs less at home depot (this is assuming same wattage, lumens etc)


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## dl88dl

Yeah buy the 6500K from HD and save some money


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## BillD

I have had better plant growth with the 5000k tubes and they have a higher CRI.


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## Joeee

Question - How much do the fluroescent bulbs cost at home depot?


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## 50seven

If you're looking for cheap T5's, Home Depot only has the regular ones. They don't say how many K they are. I'll be stopping in at Supreme Lighting in Markham, they sell 36" T5HO bulbs for about 8 bucks; will post when I know the K rating.


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## Darkblade48

Joeee said:


> Question - How much do the fluroescent bulbs cost at home depot?


Which ones are you looking at? You can find the price out by going to the Home Depot webpage and typing in various types of bulbs (i.e. T5, T8, etc) to get a feel for the pricing.


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## Fish_Man

50seven said:


> If you're looking for cheap T5's, Home Depot only has the regular ones. They don't say how many K they are. I'll be stopping in at Supreme Lighting in Markham, they sell 36" T5HO bulbs for about 8 bucks; will post when I know the K rating.


interesting, let me know how that goes


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## dl88dl

Fish_Man said:


> interesting, let me know how that goes


+1 would also love to know what K ratings they have for only $8


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## bigfishy

50seven said:


> If you're looking for cheap T5's, Home Depot only has the regular ones. They don't say how many K they are. I'll be stopping in at Supreme Lighting in Markham, they sell 36" T5HO bulbs for about 8 bucks; will post when I know the K rating.


address????

I got the home depot T5s, and it cost $10. The shine of the light looks weird too!!!


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## 50seven

bigfishy said:


> address????
> 
> I got the home depot T5s, and it cost $10. The shine of the light looks weird too!!!


I'm stopping in there tomorrow. Will update afterwards...


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## bigfishy

50seven said:


> I'm stopping in there tomorrow. Will update afterwards...


Already asked while I did some errands

36" T5 HO for $9.95
36" T5 normal for $8.95

BUT... the highest light spectrum they got is @ 5000k


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## waj8

In my experience electrical suppliers like Nedco and Graybar and the like will order you some pretty nice lamps, I got mine for around $5.


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## BillD

nothing wrong with 5000K (my favourite). When looking at tubes, you need to check the CRI number as well as the K number. Someone posted a link for tubes awhile back, and while they were cheap, the CRI numbers were very low compared to name brand tubes.


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## AquaNeko

Joeee said:


> Question - How much do the fluroescent bulbs cost at home depot?


Mini CFL spirals of 9W or 13W are $7.98 for a 2 pack and as far as I know the same diameter. I can take the digi caliper with me next time I'm at Home D and check.

http://www.homedepot.ca/catalog/compact-fluorescent-bulbs/172463

I use 13W mini spirals. Cheaper to buy a 6pack for $13.98 ($2.33/ea before tax) vs $7.98 ($3.99/ea before tax). Just reselling out the spares helps other hobby people out if you stocked up on a lot of CFL bulbs.


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## arktixan

I ain't gonna lie... I have a 15W Tube, and have no idea what the info is on it, or w/e ... heh.


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## 50seven

AquaNeko said:


> Mini CFL spirals of 9W or 13W are $7.98 for a 2 pack and as far as I know the same diameter. I can take the digi caliper with me next time I'm at Home D and check.
> 
> http://www.homedepot.ca/catalog/compact-fluorescent-bulbs/172463
> 
> I use 13W mini spirals. Cheaper to buy a 6pack for $13.98 ($2.33/ea before tax) vs $7.98 ($3.99/ea before tax). Just reselling out the spares helps other hobby people out if you stocked up on a lot of CFL bulbs.


FYI: Home depot's PHILIPS brand Daylight CFL bulbs have a K rating of 6500 and CRI of 82 (all wattages).

I'll be checking a few other electrical supply houses this week for those looking for cheap T5HO's at 6500K or higher for their saltwater setup.


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## waj8

I don't think you will have any luck finding higher than 6500K. There is just no call for that in commercial lighting. What you need to ask for are 865 lamps. The Sylvania ones are quite good. Something like 84 CRI. Don't get too hung up on the colour temperature, it is more a matter of personal taste than anything else. Plants don't care at all.


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## george

According to Philips website they do not have any T5 HO with has more than 5000K, and that only comes in a 4' size.


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## waj8

Both Sylvania and GE have 865 lamps in various t5ho sizes. Not sure about Phillips. Phillips makes 965 T5ho lamps but not available in N.A. Sometimes Phillips lamps are called daylight deluxe or some other confusing designation. Anything to confuse the consumer.


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## marbss

check out bulbscanada.com they had some really low prices last time i was there. They have a store front in Markham.


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