Tank lighting

[Sweety]

I have a 25G tank which has a 25W T8 tube fitted but some of my plants aren't doing so well so i've spent the afternoon modding the marina hood so it'll take a 15W tube aswell My 25W tube is a normal tropical tube but also for plants now i'm not sure if I should get another tube the same or go for a tube designed for plants.
I'm planing on putting the lights onto times & am thinking of having the 25W tube comming on at 9am-9pm & the 15W tube comming on at 11am-7pm so it's a bit more natural for the fish

[MatsP]

Plant tubes do help a little bit, but it's really not very much difference. Just go with what light type you think looks good.

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Mats

[Sweety]

Thanks Mat the 15W one i'm using at the minute has a real yellow look to it & I don't like it as it even make the black gravel look slightly green saying that it does make the plants look very green. I'll have a look tomorrow when I go for a new tube but don't want one with the red/pink glow as I find it looks very fake plus my cardinal tetras look a bit washed out under that type of tube

[MatsP]

B&Q sell 840 [4000K colour temperature] spec tubes that are pretty well in the white range - I haven't checked for 15W tubes tho'. If you order from www.lampspecs.co.uk you can (probably) get a 860 or 865 [6000/6500K] spec tube, which is "cool white" [it's strange, cool colours have a higher K rating than warm colours - but that's because we call red/orange/yellow colours "warm" and bluer colours "cool", but blue shades are higher Kelvin rating, because if you have a hot piece of metal or some such that emits light, it needs to be hotter to be bluer...].

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Mats