I have several penn-plax aquari lux lights. Some are 40W-48 inch, some are 15W-18 inch.

Question 1: Do I need a special lighting fixture to use the 40W narrow tubes?

I tried putting 1 into a fixture I have with normal fluorescent lamps, but it would light up in the corner a purplish color, but not the whole tube.And these are brand new narrow tubes and I have 8 of those, so I would love to be able to use those for my plants if at all possible.

I also have 20+ of the 15W -18 inch tubes that fit into the regular aquarium top fittings and I have about 15 of those light fixtures.

I hope I can use some of those for a set up to start seeds etc.

Any input greatly appreciated.