I have just recently aquired a 50gal long tank. But it didn't come with a hood. It only came with a lid that had a wire mesh type thing. Instead of buying a $72 hood from Big Al's or whatever can i use flourescent lamps???? I mean the type you use on desks. And about how many watts per gallon does it need to be??? I keep forgeting.....but i'd rather not spend that kind of money when i can use stuff i have around the house to light up the tank. Yes the tank will be planted. What do u think???? I may hafta use more than one lamp to light it up.
But i did use a 30watt flouresent lamp (2 15w tubes) to light up a 10gal open toped tank. The plants were sorta wimpy at first, but one of the three that was the farthest from the airstone and had the most light, went berserk. It had 5 new branches formed and just kept on growing. That's when i figured out how substrate and CO2 helped plant growth just as much as light.
Any opinions, advice, or comments are welcome.
But i did use a 30watt flouresent lamp (2 15w tubes) to light up a 10gal open toped tank. The plants were sorta wimpy at first, but one of the three that was the farthest from the airstone and had the most light, went berserk. It had 5 new branches formed and just kept on growing. That's when i figured out how substrate and CO2 helped plant growth just as much as light.
Any opinions, advice, or comments are welcome.
