How bad is my bulb?

[chopsunst]

Good afternoon,

My tank

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com ... 2FSimjk%3D

I have an Arcardia original tropical FO 18 24 " in my lid. The tank is 18" I think, and approx 100l.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com ... 0sttH5Q%3D

The problem I have is I really can't tell if the bulb is still good for use (I approximate it's about a year old, but won't have been used much in that time). I don't want to buy another bulb and find it's the same/similar lighting, is there any other way I can tell?

Also is that bulb any good for growing plants? If not, what do you recommend?

And as you might be able to see from the photo, I only have fixings for one bulb, is there an alternative to buying an entire new hood?

Sorry about the barrage of questions, I hope it all makes sense!

 

[ceg4048]

Why do you think that there is something wrong with your bulb and why on Earth would you want to buy another one? Does the bulb illuminate when you turn on the switch? If the answer to this question is "Yes" then there is nothing wrong with your bulb and you do not need to buy something else.

Cheers,

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

I think the Op means do they degrade in time. To that the answer is probably yes a little but there usually good until they fail.

Your tube says for plant growth on it but I usually find that most tubes of different colours and kelvin usually do say it improves plant growth. I think most people have tubes that make the tank colour look more natural than actually how good they are for growth.

 

[chopsunst]

I was told at a LFS that bulbs will degrade with time, and I assumed that would mean plants are getting less light, therefore bad.

ceg4048 - Yes it does turn on and illuminate the tank, but my concern was that I only have the one 18 watt bulb, and a 20 US gallon tank, just doesn't seem much in comparison to all the other aquariums I've read about.

 

[ceg4048]

Hi,
Your LFS is wrong. They want to sell you more bulbs, so by tricking patrons into believing this propaganda they ensure that they will get a steady supply of bulb orders.

ceg4048 - Yes it does turn on and illuminate the tank, but my concern was that I only have the one 18 watt bulb, and a 20 US gallon tank, just doesn't seem much in comparison to all the other aquariums I've read about.

That's probably true, but did you also read about how much algae a lot of those tanks get? Well the reason is because of all that light.
I looked at the photo of your tank and the plants look fine to me, so there is no point in worrying whether you have enough light if the plants think that there is enough light.

Have a read of this thread=> viewtopic.php?f=50&t=8273

Cheers,

 

[chopsunst]

I suppose it was because this bulb makes everything look very pinky, and if it pretty much comes down to preference, and may still consider changing it in the future.
The Elocharis acicularis and lilaeopsis were only planted yesterday so are bound to look ok (at least for now!)

I understand now and appreciate the information.

edit- one further question: would it benefit my plant growth if I somehow fixed another light inside my existing hood?

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

You would benefit in FASTER growth, not necessarily better. If you increase light you need to also increase ferts and possibly co2. Most plants do well in moderately low lighting they just grow slower. Which is not such a bad thing!

 

[ceg4048]

I suppose it was because this bulb makes everything look very pinky, and if it pretty much comes down to preference, and may still consider changing it in the future.

Yes, this is the only excellent reason for buying another bulb. If you look at the top of this Lighting section there is a sticky by JamesC showing alternative buls and their colors.

The Elocharis acicularis and lilaeopsis were only planted yesterday so are bound to look ok (at least for now!)

Oh, OK, that's a well known trick. The proof of the pudding is long term.

As AWB mentions, more light simply increases the rate of growth. More light has no effect on improving the health of plants. Health improvement can only be accomplished by improving nutrition and CO2. Therefore, if this is a non-CO2 enriched tank it will only create more problems if you add more light.

Cheers,

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

As I did you need to differentiate between the creators of competition scapes and your average punter wanting a nice planted tank. A lot of stuff in this board relates to high end systems and the absolute maximum plant growth and health due to some of the folk in here are specialists.
Yours as mine is looks like just a nice planted tank long term with a few community fish in. If you just want to keep in this direction then get another tube with colour you like. Preferably something which makes your plants look greener and more natural. Often the tubes that offer marine type extra brightness can be very white and make the plants looked washed out.

If you want to ramp up the lighting and have a show type tank then there's plenty more problems and science lessons ahead As it is now your off to a good start looking at your tank so don't spoil it by thinking light is the most important thing in a plants life.

Sorry if that sounded a bit high and mighty there I'm still learning myself but I am just starting on my 2nd bottle of red wine.