SCREW in PC Lights

Need some opinions and/or knowledge. I have set-up my 10 gallon with 2 fixtures from Home Depot (nice looking brushed metal desk lamps with adjustable arms). I have put the screw in PC bulbs in these fixtures, they are from a company here in Atlanta, I bought them at Home Deopt when I got the lamps. The bulbs are 19 watts, the are (according to the package) 6500k. Now I know that 6500K is a fine temprature for a daylight bulb...but I was just wondering if anyone else uses these, has experience good or bad or know of other screw in PC bulb options. BTW I have those 2 and 100% atinic PC at 18watts, for a total of 5.6 watts/gallon. Any input appreciated!

how much did u pay for everything at home depot?

Sorry....

On sale (40% lowest price sale) the lamps were only $18 each, but were like $55 originally. The bulbs were only $7 each. So the whole 6500K set up at 38watts was $50.

Of course, you could buy a cheaper fixture for these bulbs if you wanted to. They are just a regular screw in base so you could use a 5 dollar plastic clip on fixture if you wanted I suppose.

These lamps just look real attractive, by Hunter Fan, and are easy for me to adjust the height on without any problem.

This set-up also allows me to go with a completely open top, which I am a big believer in.

I have 4 of those over a 28 bowfront and they do great. Home depot sells a "thing" that is basically 2 screw in lamp sockets back to back with a metal bolt thing for mounting it. I was able to use 2 of these and 4 lights to put 80 watts over my 28. I have a nice covering of coraline that has built up and it makes a nice crisp white color, but I don't have anything that is light critical. the bulbs were 7 or 8 dollars each, and the fixtures were like 3 or 4 each. All of this fit inside the black plastic light hood that came with the tank.

HTH

yeah i have seen those at home depot. imo, i wouldnt trust them.

don't use these if you are trying to keep anything but brown shrooms alive. spend the $50 on the csl 32w smartlite. the only thing that the spirals are good for is a refugium or lighting a fish-only tank. i tried them on my ten and for about a month the color was ok. then they started turning yellowish, not the blueish-white that they were originally. after replacing them with the csl everything exploded with growth, including the coralline.

Originally posted by joshnemily

i tried them on my ten and for about a month the color was ok. then they started turning yellowish, not the blueish-white that they were originally. [/b]

I agree I got some screw ins to light a curing tank. I transfered them to my betta tank and the light has turned very yellow over the last few weeks.

Of the four I have, one tends to get very hot (arrangement in the hood causes it) and the other 3 are pretty well cooled. The one that gets hot IS very yellow now after a month and a half, the other 3 are still nice and white.

Thanks for the comments. I am looking forward to seeing how these work out for me. So far, after about 10 days they are both running very cool (I can touch them after they have been on for hours) and the color is still crisp white/blue.

I would wonder if any of you that say you have tried this have tried this specific brand and model of bulb:

Commercial Electric > Daylight > 1100 Lumens > 19 watts

The only thing in the tank now other than LR and LS is a nice colony of GSP. I will keep and eye on things. I have to say that I am very skeptical of the PC lights that I have seen so far the are sold as "aquarium specific". I like the way my JBJ 18watt fixture looks, but I do not think that it puts out much intensity for 18watts.

Anyway, if the screw ins are actually running at 6500K things should be great because the intensity is there for sure. However, if the bulbs start to die off every 4 - 6 weeks I will have to evaluate the cost savings of the fixtures and bulbs. I am not sure why a bulb that is promoted as lasting 7 years would go so yellow so fast? We shall see!!

actually that is the brand that i had but, they were 20w, 1200 lumens, 6500K, and spiral shaped. im assuming yours are the u-shaped. mine didn't get all that hot and they were in a cheap hood with very little ventilation.

about the bulb life of 7 years, i think that is assuming that the bulb is run for <4 hours a day. somewhere on the package it says something about that. running them 10-12 hours a day severly decrease the life of the bulb. i have a 40w 50/50 NO bulb that is way over a year old and it still works. though not as brightly and not with the same spectrum of light. they recommend replacing them every 6 months because the spectrum changes and the intensity has decreased. the screw-in bulbs were probably not designed to retain their color for a long period of time like the aquarium specific bulbs are. just their ability to produce light (what ever color temp that might end up being) for a long time. they had to choice between bulb life and color retaintion. sorry to ramble. hth

joshnemily - good info and input, thanks. Actually these are spiral, and yes, I agree with you that the 7 year thing is definately for less use than the 10 hours a day I am going to burn them. If I get 6 months per bulb I would be happy.

In terms of dollars, the 18 watt JBJ bulb was $20 and I would guess it will run for about 10 months, so that is about $0.7 per day; if the screw-ins go six months at $7 each that is $0.4 per day. Not a huge savings, but I really like the way they look.

Hey, if they don't fly, they are great desk lamps!

a correction about the cost of the bulbs on a per year basis.

1x28-32w, 50/50 bulb is $20 lasts 1 year, (which IMO is equal to the screw-in and actinic). total = $20 per year.

2x28-32w bulbs are $20 each, last 1 year. total = $40 per year.

jbj bulb is $20 lets say it lasts 1 year

screw-in bulbs are $7 each last 6 months, you would need 4 per year. thats $28 a year. total = $48 per year.

that really doesn't sound like a savings to me. they would make good desk lamps though.

I'm using two of these over my 10g because I had an old incandescent tank hood available. I figure if I get six months out of them on the main tank, then another six months over the 'fuge tank, I'm doing good. By then I'll know what I'm going to do with this stuff long-term and can replace/upgrade the lights appropriately.

smart move gobies.

it's better to wait and get the appropriate stuff, then going on a shopping spree and get stuck with stuff that dosen't work.

My ex-girlfriend never learned that...LOL

-Shadow

20 Watt Daylight ALTO 2' T12 Fluorescent Bulb

Model 213314

Daylight lamp color creates a crisp, bright, alert environment

Pleasant, cool color counteracts hot climate temperatures

Ideal for indoor applications because of their daylight color

Sell Pack Description:

Each

Sell Pack Ship Weight:

5.776 oz.

Sell Pack Length:

23.75"

Sell Pack Width:

1.5"

Sell Pack Height:

1.5"

Sell Pack Cubic Size:

53.4375 in.³

Does Product Nest?

No

Sell Freight Class:

100

Bulb Application:

Fluorescent Straight Tube Bulbs

Length:

3 Feet or Less

Color:

Daylight

Watts:

20 watts

Life:

9000 hrs.

Nominal Length:

24"

Color Temperature:

6500 Kelvin

Preheat Or Rapid Start:

Preheat

Manufacturer:

Philips

They sell this at home depot, and it actually says aquarium safe on the box !!!