View Full Version : Desk lamp over 10 gallon
Winnie
06-03-2003, 7:42 PM
A couple of months ago, I got the urge to set up a 10-gallon and was too cheap to buy a canopy, so I have one of those glass folding tops with an ordinary desk lamp shining into the tank.
What wattage of bulb should I use? I noticed some green algae today - first time I've ever had green algae in any of my tanks - lots of brown, never green.
Anyway, this is also the only tank that doesn't have flourescent light and so that got me wondering about incandescent vs. flourescent and all that jazz.
wetmanNY
06-03-2003, 8:10 PM
I have a similar setup at my elbow. I replaced the bulb with one of the new screw-in fluorescent bulbs with the ballast in the base. More light and cooler for summer. Less electricity too.
Ijust have a sturdy piece of glass for a lid and plenty of young Java Fern and various cryptocoryne.
Winnie
06-03-2003, 8:32 PM
Thanks, Wetman - I'll go hunting down to the hardware tomorry for one of them new-fangled jigs.
bizzy928
06-03-2003, 8:58 PM
What I suggest is buying a plant growing bulb.
Home Depot sells them. I believe they are halogen. They specifially say "for growing plants" (or something to that tone)
A compact flourescent uses less energy and produces less heat, but they are no good for plants.
You can't go wrong with a plant growing light.
I disagree that those screw in flourescents are no good for growing plants. I use them in all my tanks as they are smaller tanks (10 and 2 5's). I went away for 2 weeks vacation and when I came back I can barely find the fish as the water sprite has taken over the tank. They work great, produce less heat and save a lot on electricity in the long run. Plus they have a long life span. Halogens produce a lot of heat and light + heat tends to produce plants that are long and stringy, not busy and nice.
tricksterpup
06-04-2003, 4:57 PM
Ok, I have now seen power compacts that screw into sockets that are now 50/50 and high white light. (not sure what spectrum right now). But a LFS had a 50/50 in a MARINELAND HEX 5. IT was interesting to see, they had a nice variety of plants in the tank. So IMHO I think that you could run one of these above your 10 gallon with no problems and without any heat being produced.
jim
Tim Bo
06-04-2003, 5:37 PM
This is something that has only recently gotten my attention...screw-in fluorescent bulbs. I will have to give it a try. As of now, i have a 12 gallon with a halogen light hovering over that has given some interesting results in terms of algae and plant growth...I think I will remove the halogen stand and replace it with another stand after all the good things I've been reading about them. God I love this hobby...