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hey guys, my 46 gal planted has compact flourescent hood..2 55 watt bulbs and the overall color of the tank is kinda orange and i hate it i want like a greenish more professional look so instead of buying diff. type of bulbs maybe i could just get like a greenish colored plastic or saran wrap or some other type of colored transluscent (sp.?) type of material that i could put under my light hood or under the canopy so the light will go through the color plastic or colored saran wrap and the tank would have a more greenish look or something..jus wondering if that would work..thanks!

..pics coming tonight of the tank etc.

It would probably work, but I don't know how good it would look. Also, keep in mind you have a certain type of bulb in there for the sake of the plants, not just for the look of the tank. What color temperature are your bulbs? Should be in the 5500-6700K range for plants...

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Back in the saddle!

i hate to say it but im not 'exactly' sure wat color temp. my bulbs are..how do i find out....i might jus give in and buy new bulbs with a better tint to them that is more beneficial for the plants and for my eyes..any recomendations for a new bulb? the bulbs need to be 55 watt and i think like around 20 inches long if that helps...thanks again!..pics coming tonight!

No problem

It should say somewhere on the side of the bulb. My guess is, if it's just the bulbs that came with the hood they may be 10,000K or partial actinic (both are used for salt-water reef tanks, they make planted tanks look washed out and ugly and don't really do much for plants... )

These are the lights I use for my set-up:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=23399;category_id=1845;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

Note that they are straight pin: before you get new bulbs, if that's what you decide to do, make sure to check and see if the bulbs you currently have have a straight pin set up, or square pin.

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Back in the saddle!

..thanks for the quick reply gosh..yea i'll take the bulb out and check to see if its straight pinned..and yes i'll wait 2 mins before touching the bulbs so i dont burn my fingers