Trying to find the right full spectrum lighting option

[onebyone]

I'm thinking of making my 5 gallon a lidless tank and using a desk lamp equipped with an appropriate bulb as my light source. My current hood is rated for only an 8W bulb and I'm hoping to increase my lighting as I'm getting bored of only having low light plants in this tank. A better hood (16") looks like it's going to cost me about $40 with shipping, so if a cheaper option could work I'd love to try it.

What I need, then, is a full spectrum 6500K bulb that can screw into a normal desk lamp. Assuming the lamp will be several inches or more above the water, what sort of wattage would I be looking at for this bulb? The compact fluorescent bulbs confuse me as well, 15 watts that provides as much light as a 60 watt? Would that turn my 5gal into an algae farm?

Should I be looking at something like this?

http://www.bulborama.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=799

or this?

http://www.drugstore.com/products/p...tt_&CAID=3a3953ed-db0f-4673-bc36-1343dc581201

I know pretty much nothing about lights so any help would be appreciated!

 

[calivivarium1]

1) The first watt rating is the one you go by, not "replaces X amount of watt incandescent"

2) Just go to the hardware/walmart/target/wherever and either look for a CFL that gives you the Kelvin rating you are looking for(such as the first bulb in your link) or look for "daylight/sunlight" bulbs. Personally, I don't buy the bulb unless they manufacturer states exactly what the kelvin rating of the bulb is.

 

[jpappy789]

I tended to use the daylight CFLs which are usually rated around 5000K. And as cali said do not go by the comparison rating...the original wattage is what matters. What that means, I think, is that a 15 watt fluorescent is putting out as much light as a 60 watt incandescent. The power usage is different but the output is the same.

 

[onebyone]

Thanks for the advice, that makes a lot of sense. I never knew what they meant when they said 15 watt = 60 watt. I'll check out home depot now that I know what I'm looking for (though a lot of them don't tend to say the kelvin rating which odd).

 

[Canuck]

Thanks for the advice, that makes a lot of sense. I never knew what they meant when they said 15 watt = 60 watt.

Just FYI, the comparison is to a standard incandescent bulb which is about 10% efficient. This means that a 60 watt bulb produces 6 watts of light and 54 watts of heat. The CFL (which is just a smaller version of a fluorescent is about 40% efficient. So a 15 watt bulb will produce the same 6 watts of light but only 9 watts of heat.

 

[Fresh250]

i use the CFL bulbs that you find at Lowe's or Home Depot. The important thing is the Kelvin rating. I got 6500k when i went last, but checked recently and haven't found anything over 5000k. I prefer the R40 reflector flood bulbs but i dont think the reflector is crucial, mostly preference.

 

[onebyone]

I also couldn't find 6500K bulbs at home depot, so I went back and did some more online snooping. In case anyone else is looking for a similar product, this is what I found:

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/s_6500k-15-watt/

Though I feel that's pretty expensive for a single bulb, the site offers free shipping, so I think I'll give it a try.

 

[dundadundun]

I also couldn't find 6500K bulbs at home depot, so I went back and did some more online snooping. In case anyone else is looking for a similar product, this is what I found:

http://www.lampsplus.com/products/s_6500k-15-watt/

Though I feel that's pretty expensive for a single bulb, the site offers free shipping, so I think I'll give it a try.

those are the same bulbs i swear by and use on my 30 gal. i get mine at walmart in 4 packs for cheap. sometimes you have to get them with the wattage you want when they have it but they're worth it for a cheap alternative, imo. i've also used the home depot N:vision brand but didn't like them as much... others seem to.