What kind of Flourescent bulbs for Growing plant?

Here's the thing I want to get a Fluorescent bulb for a Fluorescent hood I have, I'm on a tight budget and that's why I went Fuorescent so what type of light should I get for my hood I shop at Petsmart normally but I got the hood at Petco it's an Aqueon aquarium black 24" fluorescent deluxe full hood so what type of bulb should I get for it that would aid me in growing plants?

 

I'm kind of in the same situation as you. I have a twin reflector that holds two t8fluorescent bulbs and would like to just replace those with bulbs that grow plants. Any suggestions are appreciated. My fixture is 36" long

 

Cost of replacement bulbs of fluorescent is high, I prefer led lights, they are energy saving and have long lifespan. In fact, there are many Cost-effective led lights on ebay such as populargrow.

 

After doing some more due diligence the best replacement I can find is Zoo Med Ultra Sun Trichromatic and the Zoo Med Flora sun Fluorescent bulbs. I'm wondering if anybody has experience with using the bulbs and if I used 1 of each would I get good growth from low to medium light plants.

 

I have multiple low light tanks that are growing very well under Zoo Med Ultra Sun 6500K T8 bulbs. Best price I've found has been online (Drs. Foster and Smith).

I've tried other bulbs but prefer the color and results from the Ultra Sun. The Flora sun might have been good for plants but I personally didn't care for how the fish or plants looked under the bulbs so I changed to Ultra Sun

 

Thank you for your reply, I'll be ordering these today. I might try one of each. I'll kick that around a bit.

 

I thought the Flora Sun was too dI'm and ran towards blue/red tones, while the Ultra Sun light appears more yellow and brighter to me. Both were very effective in growing low light plants. I suggest replacing bulbs annually if possible

 

Do you think 2 ultra sun will be too bright? My fixture can hold 2 bulbs

 

Do you think 2 ultra sun will be too bright? My fixture can hold 2 bulbs

How deep is your tank?

 

17"

 

I think 2 bulbs would be ok on a tank that deep. One bulb is fine for my 10 gallon and 20L but not as strong for my 29 gallon tanks. Growth is faster in those tanks with 2 bulbs.

Try 2 and see if it results in too much algea

 

Aqueon has a full spectrum daylight that advertises 8000k I'm wondering if those would be any good.. Hmm

 

Cost of replacement bulbs of fluorescent is high, I prefer led lights, they are energy saving and have long lifespan. In fact, there are many Cost-effective led lights on ebay such as populargrow.

The thing is I am unable to order on eBay and can't afford to pay a hundred dollars which is what most of the stores near me want (minimum) for LED lights at least not at one time I'm on a limited budget but can buy the Fluorescent bulbs at a time that's why I was asking about Fluorescent and not LED.

 

Well I ordered 1 zoo med ultra sun And 1 zoo med flora from Amazon for like 11.00 each can you order from there? I will update in a few days when I receive.

 

So I received both bulbs and installed them, Bbarb27 you were right the ultra sun's are great and very bright and the floura sun are more blueish/green but it seems my plants like them so I will use them both for the time being.

 

If I can find them in a store near me I'll get the Ultra sun's since people are giving good reviews on it Thanks.

 

I think the plants utilize parts of the light spectrum that aren't as visible to human eyes, which is why plants probably flourish under the Flora sun, even it if doesn't look as appealing to us

 

I recommend Hagen Life-Glo 2 bulbs.

 

If I were to get my light bulbs at a hardware store like Home Depot how much light would I need 6500 k?

Also would 5000 k bulbs work?