FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi folks,

I've been self-employed for a year now so I have a fair amount of disposable income for a change, and I'm looking at potential upgrades to my CP lighting setup. My plants are sitting on a metal rack and each shelf can accommodate fluorescent tubes up to 29.5 inches (75 cm) in length. Currently, each shelf has two 24W, 24-inch T5 fluorescent tubes (one focusing on red and one on blue). The starter unit for each pair of tubes is called the Hagen GLO T5 HO Twin Light Electronic Light Starter 24W.

I've spent several hours browsing the internet and haven't come across any more powerful fluorescent tubes of the same length. I can buy identical starter units from the Hagen GLO range at something like 39W and 59W, but those fluorescent tubes are much longer than 29.5 inches so they wouldn't fit.

Essentially, I'm wondering if anyone is aware of 75 cm fluorescent tubes that are more powerful than 24W, and whether I'd be better off investing in them or just extending the daily running time on my current lights.

I have a Hagen 24W Glo on my aquarium. I believe the bulb color on those is 18000K. Typically wattage relates to tube length, and may also factor into ballast limitations. For bulb improvement look for a more effecient tube... example: 24W at 900 Lumens each is... 35 lumens per watt... terribly inefficient, and happen to be the stats of the tubes that come in that kit.

I don't run the standard tubes, I have a pair of GE 24W T5 6500K @ 1750 Lumens each... that's 72ish lumens per watt, twice as efficient as the previous tubes. There are even tubes that are upwards of 90 lumens per watt. The more efficient, the more costly... at least in my experience.

Hope that helps a little bit.