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So I've currently got two bulbs of T8 30W fluorescent (I think it's the default All-Glass bulb) and two bulbs of T12 30W 50-50 bulbs. I'm considering going out and getting some brand new lights. However, I'm limited with these ballasts since that it appears it would be pretty expensive to get ballasts for brighter lights. So I'd like to know what's the best lights to get without getting a new ballast.

I've been looking at the Zoo Med lights; they have three different 36" bulbs that seem to be appropriate: Flora Sun, Tropic Sun, and Ultra Sun. There's an obvious price difference, and I was curious if the higher price is actually worth it.

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/Search.php?Page=0&SearchID=3&DatabaseID=2&Heading=Aquarium&Keywords=Lighting

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Hi,
In looking at your choices:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A12923691%2Cp_4%3AZooMed&page=1

Were I you, I would purchase one with a "K" rating of
6700 and not more than 10,000K.

The bulbs with a 5,000K rating will seem "yellow" to
pinkish red in their light. While plants use the light
in the Red part of the spectrum, and the blue at the other
end of the spectrum, you cannot appreciate the colors of
plants or fish in those two extremes. The 5,000K end is
the "red" end and the light will wash out the colors of
the fish. The same thing will happen a the other extreme.
The bulbs at the very highest ends are called actinic, and
mostly come in actinic blue. Again, the blue washes out the
plant colors and the fish colors. Very nearly all the
actinic bulbs come as 50/50. They are a mix of the actinic
blue and a white section so that the light is nearly normal
intense tropical sunlight.

http://www.1000bulbs.com/pg/KelvinTempExplained/

Lights that are 10,000K and up are for reef and salt water
tanks. The very high K rating gives the invertebrates the
nearly sun like light that they use to make their vibrant
colors.

Light that is most like the tropical sun and best for
the human eye (perception) and plants is light that is
around 6700 - 8800K. In tanks that are 2 feet deep or
more, then you should consider 10,000K bulbs as they are
closer to the blue end of the light spectrum and the blue
light penetrates deeper into the tank without being
absorbed or scattered. Thus, more light energy would hit
the plants than if you used lights from 5000-6700K bulbs.

Of them, this is probably the one I'd use:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Sun-Trichromatic-Fluorescent-Lamp-500K/dp/B0002568AO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1201417712&sr=1-4

Frank



-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Does it make a difference that my tank is a 125 gallon (apparently I didn't mention that)? Or should I still go with the Ultra Sun? The 125 gallon is about 2' deep. Would the 50-50 bulbs I already have actually be appropriate 8in this situation? On the flip side, I have heard that plants do not use the rays from actinic light at all and it would just be a waste, since they would only be using half of the energy from the lights.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Hi,
"Light that is most like the tropical sun and best for
the human eye (perception) and plants is light that is
around 6700 - 8800K. In tanks that are 2 feet deep or
more, then you should consider 10,000K bulbs as they are
closer to the blue end of the light spectrum and the blue
light penetrates deeper into the tank without being
absorbed or scattered. Thus, more light energy would hit
the plants than if you used lights from 5000-6700K bulbs."

For the two foot deep tanks, I would use the 8800 - 10,000K
bulbs.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I seem to be finding that a mix of Kelvin bulbs will be better to get a mix of colors; it appears many people with deep tanks use such a mix. For depth penetration it seems people tend to suggest more powerful lights such as PC or MH. I also run into sources that say that light attenuation with depth doesn't matter much in our aquaria, due to effects such as internal reflection by the aquarium.

The only one of the Zoo-Med bulbs that is labelled over 6500K is the Ocean Sun 10,000 K. The other two bulbs are Actinic 420 and the 50-50 bulb. It appears that ZooMed doesn't have an 8,800 K bulb. So I guess that translates into getting Ocean Sun.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Hi,
Increasing the power of the bulb is an option for
deeper tanks, and yes reflectivity is a problem with
some of the light waves canceling each other or
interfering with each other.

The only logical way to increase the watts/gallon is to
go to more advanced bulbs than the standard T-8 type.
Power Compacts are an excellent way and the U shaped
bulbs come in quite a variety of lengths, wattages, and
Kelvin ratings.
metal Halide lights are more expensive to run and because
they are incandescent bulbs, are terribly hot. Most of
these are mounted hanging over an aquarium just because
of that (the excessive heat). This gives rise to another
term peculiar to them, and that is "footprint." When
one is suspended over a tank, say a pendant style, the
circle of light that the light puts out is the footprint
and generally the footprint of "A" bulb is about a foot
and a half in diameter. Bumping one's head on the darned
things is another problem when working on a tank.

Here are the normal variety of MH bulbs and information
on them:
http://www.aquarium-lighting-guide.com/metal-halide-ansi

As far as blending various Kelvin rated bulbs is concerned,
That is most commonly done when using a blue actinic bulb.
Straight blue bulbs wash out greens and viewing a tank
with straight blue bulbs is almost as bad as trying to
view a tank with either red lights or true moonlights.
The colors of the fish and plants just aren't there.
So, they combine the bulbs with other, "white light" bulbs
generally around 6700K. That way, the blue light penetrates
the depth of the tank for growing plants, and the blue is
overpowered by the white for seeing the inhabitants and
plants. One of the ways these objections are over come is
by making a bulb 50/50 actinic blue. One half of the
U shaped bulb is blue and the other half is white.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--