Optimal T8's for plants.

[digitalrainman]

What are some good T8's to get for general use and possibly plant growth in the future. I heard alot of people use a combination of the power glo, sun glo and aqua glo lamps. This will be for an eclipse 2 hood that uses standard 18" T8's.

I was also thinking about getting a good lamp for a 10 gallon i have to try and grow plants in it. Would you recommend a PCF 20 inch, 28 watts, it looked about the highest in terms of watts that i can plop down on a 10 gallon.

Thanks in advance.

[kewlkatdady]

I'm not a plant tank expert in any way...
but I think you should look for a light in the 4000-6000K range.

K is the spectrum output...
I think.

[AndrewH]

I'm running GE and Phillips T8 lamps from Lowes (mine are 48", but they should have the 15w 18"ers).

I'm using a combination of 5,000 K and 6,500 K (2, 5,000 K and 4, 6,500 K) on my planted tank with great results.

Cheap lamps with great results, and I'd highly recommend then.

I've seen the 10 gallon incandescent hoods at Wally World and the LFS for $20. The ones I saw were rated for 50W total which would mean you could put 2 spiral CFL 23W lamps and get a ton of light on a 10 gallon tank.