Enough light?

[Wrench]

Hi all, quick question about my lighting. My plants in my 55g are all growing rapidly and have great color, but som, mainly my anacharis and cabombas tend to seem a little on the sparse side. Could this be due to not enough light and they're growing upwards to reach what little is available? The tank is equipped with 2 x 20" bulbs that came with the hoods as a package deal with the tank. They're not full spectrum I know for sure. I dose the reccomended amount of Leaf Zone once a week. As stated above, the tank is stocked with anacharis and cabombas, along with a crypt and some swords. I have absolutely no algae problems. Should I go with higher wattage, full spectrum, or both? Someone pointed me in the direction of a Phillips FD40 bulb a while ago but haven't been able to find any locally. Can you guys offer some lighting suggestions or other ways to grow these plants a little fuller? Thx

[djlen]

The tank is relatively tall so the light has to penetrate 18 - 19" of water depending on how deep the substrate is to reach the plant's bases.
I don't know of a stem plant that will grow much at all, with the wattage you are providing. I have 2 55s, and will tell you from experience, that a 2X55 compact fluorescent kit will help a bunch to solve your problem. You probably have a glass hood with two plastic lighting fixtures that go on top of it with one bulb in each, correct?
If that's the case, you want to 'retro-fit' each of them with a 55 watt CF. This will give you a moderate lighting situation which will grow many, but not all plants.
Here's where many of us go for these kits:
www.ahsupply.com/
I can all but guarantee you that you will not be very successful with anything but the lowest light-needy plants with your present set up. You can step up in wattage from the 2X55s, and will have a greater degree of flexibility in plant options. I find that wattage OK for my purposes.

Len

[Wrench]

I've got two smaller hoods over the tank, with not nearly enough light. Each hood houses one 20" 15w bulb. Besides that conversion you posted, what are my options? Could I buy another hood with 2 48" full spectrum bulbs and have good luck?

[djlen]

They can be retro-fitted easily with a 2X55 light kit that will work fine for many types of plants. Check the site I linked you to above for them.

Len