My 55g came with a couple 18" hoods. I think the bulbs in there are 15w? Reading these posts it looks like alot of people use MUCH more wattage than that. So, do I need to buy a couple new hoods or do the hoods I have take a higher wattage bulb?
Stupid plant noob question
- Thread starter pcnicholson
- Start date
plants range from 1-5 watts per gallon... so upgrading a bulb and getting some new fixtures wont make the cut...you have to look into retofits or a whole fixture... and i always recommend PC because they run cooler and are more widly used.. but the price also comes with it... but do a little research on your own and expect to get 2-3 watts per gallon to be able to use a pretty good amounts of plants... and the higher wattage you go the more you will need CO2..
WeeNee's right........also depends wht type of plants your goin to grow. the mistake i made was i started out with low light plants and later decided i wanted more so i had to upgrade. Do your research find out wht u want and can afford and go from there, in the long run will save u alot of money.
try plantgeek.org for ideas, and dont forget to check AC classified ads for people giving away or selling plants
try plantgeek.org for ideas, and dont forget to check AC classified ads for people giving away or selling plants
someone had givin me a link a while back saying that the watt per gallon thing is wrong...ill try 2 find it
ok here it is...
http://www.rexgrigg.com/mlt.html
ok here it is...
http://www.rexgrigg.com/mlt.html
Decide what kind of plants you'd like to keep and what kind of work you want to put into the tank before you make a purchase. With more light comes more ferts, CO2 in higher light, and faster growing plants as well as algae.
If you are just wanting to increase your plant choices a bit and not get into CO2 just yet, a 130w fixture will work. Even though your 55g has 2 fixtures now, a 48" 2x65w PC fixture should fit. 130w over the tank, if you have alot of plants, shouldn't make you need CO2. I had that over my tank for awhile without CO2 and just had minimal algae problems. My tank is packed full of plants, mainly stems though.
A 260w PC fixture will allow you to grow just about anything, but you'll need a fert schedule and CO2 (pressurized) with that fixture.
There are some T-5 fixtures that might work, but the wattage won't be much more than you have now, unless you get a fixture that is meant for saltwater and replace the bulbs.
You may be able to retrofit 2 65w kits into your existing hoods. Check out http://www.ahsupply.com. I can't help ya with that though because I'm not electrically inclined.
If you are just wanting to increase your plant choices a bit and not get into CO2 just yet, a 130w fixture will work. Even though your 55g has 2 fixtures now, a 48" 2x65w PC fixture should fit. 130w over the tank, if you have alot of plants, shouldn't make you need CO2. I had that over my tank for awhile without CO2 and just had minimal algae problems. My tank is packed full of plants, mainly stems though.
A 260w PC fixture will allow you to grow just about anything, but you'll need a fert schedule and CO2 (pressurized) with that fixture.
There are some T-5 fixtures that might work, but the wattage won't be much more than you have now, unless you get a fixture that is meant for saltwater and replace the bulbs.
You may be able to retrofit 2 65w kits into your existing hoods. Check out http://www.ahsupply.com. I can't help ya with that though because I'm not electrically inclined.