T12 Bulbs

[Sheol]

Hello,

I'm new here and haven't posted much, but I plan to start a tank journal soon FULL of questions. CarmieJo has been really nice about answering a bunch for me already. Anyway, I inherited an 80-Gallon tank, and I am about to swap out the bulb, which is a T12 fluorescent 48" 40-Watt Coralife 50/50. My roommate (who I inherited the tank from) left some replacement bulbs in the shed, and I found a Coralife 10,000K bulb there (as well as more 50/50s) - would that be better? I can't find any CRI rating or Luminosity rating. The 50/50 spectrum is 6000K.

(The tank also has a 36" blue actinic bulb over it.)

I know the lighting setup in this tank is crappy, and I'm going to upgrade to Metal Halides soon enough (will be discussed in my tank journal), but for now I just need to know the best bulb to put in the current T12 fixture.

(I was reading The Conscientious Marine Aquarist and noticed he said that Vita-Lite bulbs are pretty good for this fixture, with their spectrum at 5500K.)

[Amphibious]

I'm not sure I can answer your questions definitively but since you have the bulbs you have the luxury of experimenting with them without the cost. Congratulations on inheriting a great tank

Welcome to TR.

[Sheol]

Thanks - since I wrote the thread I just decided to stick the 10,000K bulb in and see how it looks. I like it - less blue but brighter than the (who-knows-how-long) aged 50/50.

[CarmieJo]

I think the 10K is a good idea since you also have the actinic to give you the blue light.