Since I illuminate an aquarium with plants in it I kind of obsess on various types of lamps, their lumen output, and color temp. I checked my notes - I had a 4

Since I illuminate an aquarium with plants in it I kind of obsess on various types of lamps, their lumen output, and color temp. I checked my notes - I had a 40 watt CFL as an experiment in lighting a tank (I don't think they make 35 watt ones). The output was not that impressive, and it had a very warm almost pink color to it. After looking into it, it had a hardware problem, so I returned it and got a replacement. The output was mind bogglingly bright, and had the expected color temp. (still too warm for my liking). So perhaps you just got a bad one? If you want the equivalent lumens, just find a build that outputs 1600 lumens. The lumens from a properly functioning 32 watt CFL are 2112, so they put out more light than a 100 watt incandescent, but if somehow that wasn't bright enough, they make 40, 42 and other higher wattage ones that are even brighter. My local Lowes has a huge range, as does WalMart in their lighting area. Think about lighting in terms of desired lumens and desired color temperature (good bulbs list both on their box - crap ones don't) and you'll be able to find something that works for what you want that's more efficient than incandescents.