I know nothing about plants :p

[AyalaCookiejar]

Thanks! What does t8 mean, lol?

I don't think I'll use that other hood again since only one light works... Even with a single 20watt bulb, not all the plants would receive the same lighting because one side is dark and one is light, lol.

[aemaki09]

I'm not 100% sure actually. One of those things I've never bothered to look much into. It's just higher strength than regular flourescent. T-5 was supposed to be the best of the best strength wise but people are saying T-8 outdoes it now.
and thats as far as my research went lol
As long as I know it'll work for my tank that's fine by me!

Like I said, i have 15 watts over a 26 gallon and both plants and algea grow like weeds, so yours will be more than enough.

[MSG]

I meant using piece of glass to fit BELOW your "stock" hood.

The condensation from the evaporating water will probably short out your CFL light bulb in about 2-6 months if you're lucky.

I'm not sure if I would use that AquaCulture mini CFL bulb because they don't specifically list the Kelvin rating.

If you're trying to grow plants, any bulb that specifically states it's rated @ 6500K can be used as long as it fits in the socket.

Shouldn't cost you more than $1-$2 each if you look around.

[aemaki09]

Originally Posted by MSG

I meant using piece of glass to fit BELOW your "stock" hood.

The condensation from the evaporating water will probably short out your CFL light bulb in about 2-6 months if you're lucky.

I'm not sure if I would use that AquaCulture mini CFL bulb because they don't specifically list the Kelvin rating.

If you're trying to grow plants, any bulb that specifically states it's rated @ 6500K can be used as long as it fits in the socket.

Shouldn't cost you more than $1-$2 each if you look around.

They list the kelvin at 6500K
It's on the back of the box in what looks like a nutrition table does in food

[Sagat]

I forget the exact specifics, but:

T5: Newest fluorescent. Most energy efficient, by about 5% iirc
T8: Developed in the 80s
T12: Developed in the 30s

Interestingly, a web-search to try and refind the details I forgot revealed that t12s are no longer being manufactured as of the end of 2012