Adding more light

J

jonathan03

AC Members
Feb 12, 2005
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I have a 38 gallon aquarium and I want to add some more light so I can grow some plants. I have a few questions:

1) My whole tank and stand has the light oak colored borders. Is is possible to find an oak colored sticker that will match that? If not, any ideas on how I can get the light fixture to match the stand and tank border?

2) What components are there to a floresecent light? There are obviously the ends that the lights go to, but is there anything else?

3) How do I ensure that the water doesn't splash all over the lights? Is it necessary to protect against this?

4) Has anyone used a specific link to make custom lights and had success? I'm looking for something that will look good since my aquarium is in the living room. Thanks for the help.
 
Check out this website AH Supply. You can get a retrofit kit or you can get a kit that has a wood canopy that might be a good match to your tank and stand. To protect the lights you need a glass canopy that you can get from your lfs.
 
What is the difference between the lights from AH supply and from all-glass http://www.all-glass.com/products/hoods/twintube.shtml They look to be about the same.

Are the kits from AH supply for repalcing the electrical components in an existing light? I have two single light strips for a 38 gallon tank. One is 30 W and the other is 20 W. Will the double kits from AH supply fit a single hood?

Will the light from all-glass fit in the hood for a single fixture? It doesn't give the dimensions or wattage of the light.
 
The all glass light is a standard fluorescent light whereas the AH Supply light is a compact fluorescent light. The compact (or cp) light provides more light in a smaller package. If you want to be able to grow a wide variety of plants you'll want around 3 watts per gallon (or wpg). It would be difficult to do that with standard fluorescent lighting.

The AH kit is designed to replace the inner workings of a standard light with CP lighting.
 
The All Glass triple tube strip is 75 watts (although on the back it says 81 watts). It's what I have on my 40 gal, and it works well enough for now, but I will likely upgrade in the future. If you want to grow plants that require high light, CF would be your best bet.
 
Here's another vote for AH supply if you already ahve an oak trimmed housing, as that seems to be a major issue for you. Yes, the AH lights replace the "innards" of your old light. Plus, they come with a groovy reflector that will help a lot! I am bad with DIY projects myself, so I simply went with a Coralife strip light when I wanted an upgrade. It is a compact flourescent and this style of light provides better or more light. Not sure how it works, but CF lights allow you to grow higher light plants with less watts per gallon. Next tank I get I will likely look into some retros from AH as I really want to use one of their reflectors.
 
I think I'm going to go with the 96 W kit from AH. Added with my other light, it will give 116 W of light. So a little more than 3 W per gallon.

This shouldn't be too much for swords and rotala right? That's all I have right now but I'm looking for some bottom plants as well. I'd like something to cover the bottom of the tank.
 
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