Aquatic Lighting...for 15, 20 gallons

[aquariumfishguy]

Hello, I kind of already asked this in another post but thought I would put this here too!

I have a few breeder tanks that are like 15, and 20 gallons but I wanted to focus on plants while no fish are in there (besides a few danios).

Anyway, I have a flourescent lighting system on all my tanks (besides one 10 gallon which isn't in use) and I was looking at the tube which says 20 watts. How much is this actually putting off?? And I had someone tell me this isnt enough lighting for the 20 gallon tanks and so I was wondering, what wattage flourescent tube SHOULD I have, unless of course that is exceptable...:confused:

PS: all I plan to have in there are Crypts and Amazon Swords...if that helps any! ;)

[odessa]

Crypts might do OK at one watt per gal.They won't grow fast but they will survive. The sword won't do well at all with that low of light. If you add one tube over the tanks you should be OK. I usually aim for three watts of lighting per gal.

[aquariumfishguy]

thanks but I'd really like a solution to the problem, hence, the reason I asked what wattage tube I need. ;)

[emoore]

I would have to agree with odessa shoot for 3 wpg (or at least 2 wpg). That would mean you need 60 watts on your 20 gallon. If you have a normal flourescent bulb you can't replace your 20 watt bulb with a 60 watt bulb (it won't fit on your tank). You have a few options. You could add more 20 watt bulbs to your tank or you could upgrade your lighting. I would recommend an upgrade and get a compact flourescent setup. You can get a fixture and bulb at your LFS or online.

[aquariumfishguy]

hmm....thats out of the question right now as I've just bought a years amount of fish supplies this past weekend. LOL :D

After all this time, I've never known that once you buy a lighting system, you have to keep that wattage tube. :confused: So I cannot have anything other than that 20 watt tube? Not even a 25, or 30 watt tube? :o

[plantass28]

Im not sure if your thinking of the color temperature of the bulbs or what, but usually most Standard Normal Output Flourescent fixtures only have room for one type of wattage bulb depending on their size. Mainly the lighting that comes with a tank is dependant on the size of the tank. For instance most 48" long tanks either come with 1 or 2 4foot bulbs which give off 40watts each or they come with 4 15watt 18" bulbs.

In order to get enough lite for your tank you will need to upgrade to either power compact, or VHO (very high output light). All of which can be pricey.

I am all for supporting the lfs when I can, (even though they rip me the F__K off!!) but I would recommend buying something like lights online. www.hellolights.com has some awesome deals on pc's and vho's.

Good luck with whatever you do.

BTW: I lived in Waterford for 6 years.

-Peace

[aquariumfishguy]

Ahh...well I'm not from Michigan, but I do live here now. :)


...and by compact, are you referring to those bulbs at the store which are screw-in flourescents? I saw those and wondered about them. I do have a hood for both flourescent and incandescent. ;)

[MrGoodbytes]

Power compacts do come in a screw-in variety, but I think he really means the longer variety that have pins on their end. You need a specific fixture for these, and they can get a little pricey, but likely not on a 20 gallon.
A 55W PC bulb would be enought for what you want.

Graeme

[DIYMatt]

I would recommend the screwin compact flourescent for the hood that has incandescent sockets. I have a couple of tens with that lighting and it works pretty well. You just have to buy the right ones, the only ones in stores I know for sure that work for plants are the 19W DAYLIGHT ones at home Depot. Other than that check at www.1000bulbs.com. Click on the screwins by wattage link on the left and look at the ones that list a Kelvin rating of 5000 or 6500. I prefer the 6500. These bulbs have worked well for me. The only issues I see is that because of the twist of the bulb, they aren't as efficent. Also, you will have light and dark spots with tanks that long and short beacuse the light is coming from one spot as opposed to a long tube. But, this is definitely your most cost effective solution to get decent plant lighting.

Actually, you can retrofit this setup into one of your exiting normal output flourescent hoods. PM me if you want info on that, because I have DIY'd that also.