# Full Spectrum CFL bulbs



## Teak (Jan 13, 2013)

Hi there,

Does anyone know where to buy full spectrum CFL bulbs, or is online the only option.
I would like to support a local store.

Thanks
T


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

We have bought ours at Walmart.


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## Sphonaut (Apr 18, 2011)

Home Hardware has Sylvania 6500k small & big bulbs.... thats where I bought my bulbs..


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

Your not going to believe where I found "daylight" cfl's that fit in hoods of 10 gallon tanks. Dollarama! Seriously. I'll take a pic of the tanks I use them and post.

Work like a charm and definitely te right price.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Any hardware store should sell them. I've bought from Walmart, Canadian Tire, Home Depot and Rona. GE and Sylvania are the 2 brands that I have seen a lot, but there are other brands. Just look for the "daylight" designation.


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## Teak (Jan 13, 2013)

Are daylight the same as full spectrum?

I see Walmart are selling actual 'full spectrum'

CFL 13W Full Spectrum at Walmart.ca


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

Teak said:


> Are daylight the same as full spectrum?
> 
> I see Walmart are selling actual 'full spectrum'
> 
> CFL 13W Full Spectrum at Walmart.ca


These are only 5000k and the daylight ones are 6500k. They are definitely different spectrum's. What are you using them to do. I think the daylight is best for a planted tank. We use our full spectrum bulbs for the wife's birds.


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

Exact same bulb as the $7.96 from Walmart for $2 at dollarama. Just picked up 6.


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## Teak (Jan 13, 2013)

aquafunlover said:


> Exact same bulb as the $7.96 from Walmart for $2 at dollarama. Just picked up 6.


Quite a saving that.

I am wanting to put them in a 10 gallon planted tank that is home to 3 ADF's


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

I wonder if they will grow plants. They seem fairly strong. I'll upload some pics once I take a few.

Maybe I'll do a plant test with a cheap setup to see what happens.


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

BTW, if you want to go the "true aquarium hobbyist" way I saw a bulb that is specifically full spectrum. The cost is about 15.99 per bulb. So if you need two, $32.00 + tax. I bought one of those and compared it to the $2 bulb from the dollar store and saw no difference, but it doesn't mean that they are the same.

I will try growing plants with the dollar store bulbs and give a more educated "real life" observation when I have time.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

aquafunlover said:


> I wonder if they will grow plants. They seem fairly strong. I'll upload some pics once I take a few.
> 
> Maybe I'll do a plant test with a cheap setup to see what happens.


Most fluorescent bulbs will grow plants unless the spectrum is way out of the normal range. Cool white, warm white, full spectrum, they'll all work, but some will bring out more colours better and some picky plants will respond to certain spectrum a bit better but all the plants will grow.


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## red_sir (Apr 30, 2010)

I use the $2 Dollorama 13w bulbs and also some 23w bulbs from Home Depot ($18 for 4), both work great when mounted vertically in clamp lamps.


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

Just hooked up 4 with a 20 Gallon. I really can't see how these won't grow plants. Will upload pics shortly. Also have a comparison of how 2500k fluorescents look to a daylight dollar store light. Surprising the difference.

This is 3000k on the right, $2 "daylight" bulb on the left.









Now visa versa









Now 4 dollar store bulbs


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## ncutler (Apr 26, 2010)

I've been trying to find flood light CFL daylights because I'm using just a regular lamp shade while some new coralife bulbs come for my actual fixture.

If you ever are not using a well reflective fixture, consider flood lights with reflector built in, I noticed a lot of the light is going elsewhere in my lamp shade fixture. Home Depot seems to have 13w CFL flood light daylight, few other places.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Also, the biggest problem with those canopies is that the most amount of light emitted with the "spiral" bulbs are on the ends, so if they are pointed down rather than sideways you get a lot more light.

And nculter, if you're going to CFL floods you should consider LED floods. I bought some Costco ones to try and although aesthetically they left something to be desired, the 12w LED's I tried were every bit as bright as my 50w Halogens with reflectors and dimmable, so much more flexible in usage then CFL floods. Those were <$20 a bulb on sale at Costco at one time, although they were 2700K which was what I was looking for. It looks like the "daylight" ones are quite a bit pricier at this point still.


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

I have a couple 24W LEDs I bought to play around with. Once I set them up I'll post pics. I ran out of time and haven't had a chance to finish that project yet. Hoping to finish this weekend.

Any ideas on a reflector/shade that is aesthetically pleasing and is as easy on the wallet as it is on the eyes?

PS the LED bulb was significantly more ($39.50) than the 4 x 13W fluorescents ($8) from the dollar store. 

I know the price variance will pay for itself eventually, but I am hoping the quality of light is also better.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

From my own experience (8+ years with CFL Daylight bulbs & 2 years with LED Daylight bulbs - 6500k), the CFL are superior for growing plants because they are a wide or full-spectrum bulb whereas LED are narrow spectrum lights. Plants seem to "like" a wider spectrum, at least that's been my experience. Even my citrus trees did great under 42w Phillip Daylights, but not as well under the 6500k LED bulbs.

Personally, I would stick with the Daylight CFLs, especially at $2/bulb if your intention is to grow your plants the fastest.


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

Cool & Surprising info. 

Thanks!

I smell a side-by-side comparison coming up


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

The LEDs were much lower wattage but fairly similar lumens. The price difference (compared to $2 CFLs) is another consideration.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

How long ago was this Anthony, or are you still using LED's at this point? I just wondered because I saw the same thing, the early LED bulbs seems to be narrow in spectrum but now they seem to have a better light spread and you can get a variety of temperatures, and the prices have really come down, in some cases.


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## Teak (Jan 13, 2013)

aquafunlover said:


> BTW, if you want to go the "true aquarium hobbyist" way I saw a bulb that is specifically full spectrum. The cost is about 15.99 per bulb. So if you need two, $32.00 + tax. I bought one of those and compared it to the $2 bulb from the dollar store and saw no difference, but it doesn't mean that they are the same.
> 
> I will try growing plants with the dollar store bulbs and give a more educated "real life" observation when I have time.


Okay, I bought some of those $2 bulbs and they are not working well at all. The light that comes off them looks great, but my plants are looking very sorry for themselves, and algae is starting to grow everywhere. I have just dosed the tank with some Flourish, on top of the tabs that have been in there for about 3 weeks. My Cabomba's are starting to go brown on the tips, my java fern is almost see through. Some other plants that I have in there that are lovely and pink in my big tank are also looking brown. In fact the plants were looking healthier when I had just 2 normal 2700k cfl's in the hood.

They are also unfortunately mounted horizontally.

Aquafun, how are yours looking?


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## Teak (Jan 13, 2013)

Big Tank pink things, (no idea what they are called)








Small tank pink things


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## aquafunlover (Jul 8, 2012)

Teak said:


> Okay, I bought some of those $2 bulbs and they are not working well at all. The light that comes off them looks great, but my plants are looking very sorry for themselves, and algae is starting to grow everywhere. I have just dosed the tank with some Flourish, on top of the tabs that have been in there for about 3 weeks. My Cabomba's are starting to go brown on the tips, my java fern is almost see through. Some other plants that I have in there that are lovely and pink in my big tank are also looking brown. In fact the plants were looking healthier when I had just 2 normal 2700k cfl's in the hood.
> 
> They are also unfortunately mounted horizontally.
> 
> Aquafun, how are yours looking?


Haven't planted yet, I keep selling the tanks and traveling before I have a chance. I'll run a test shortly. I'll do the following test:

24W LED vs 13W CFL vs 26W CFL.

Will update once I start the experiment. I will use the same substrate, tank sizes, and play around with the heights of the lights. I will document all data and parameters with stats and pics.

Teak,
Any more info on parameters that could affect the results you are showing? #Of CFLs used? Height of tank? Reflector type? Substrate? Length of time lights are on? Anything else that might be helpful.

Maybe there are no real alternatives to big $ grow lights 

Update to follow...maybe this weekend...

I need to figure out how to hang the lights before I run the tests. I don't want to use the ugly clip on lights I have right now as I have a multi tank showroom setup I'm trying to keep looking nice.

If anyone has nice cheap pendant type shades let me know. Otherwise it's off to Princess Auto or Home Depot.

Cheers.


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## Teak (Jan 13, 2013)

It's a small 10 Gallon
20"L x 9.8"Deep x 11.8"high

I had 2 of those cfl's mounted about 2" above the surface 
As for the reflectors, I covered those dull pieces of metal that are in the hood with tinfoil (yeah I know, really breaking the bank with that one)

Seachem Flourite Black (same as my 50 gallon)

Lights are on 10 hours


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