Lighting & Hood Question ?

[Jets80]

My first attempt at live plants failed miserably becasue of poor lighting. I know I need to spend the money to upgrade my setup to accommodate more wattage. I currently have a 55 gal tank with two 24" hoods/light strips. Each light strip can only hold one bulb and I think the max wattage it can hold is 20 watts. I currently have one 15 watt grow bulbs in each for a very dim looking 30 watts of light. ( All the 18" bulbs I saw at the store were 15 watts, didnt see any stronger )

My question is this: Does anyone have any advice on how I can upgrade so that I could plant some low/mid light requirement plants? Im guessing I need to upgrade my light strip , then possibly the plastic hood to glass hood , and then some new bulbs, but what wattage? and how many bulbs? Do I go for a single hood or stick the the double set up?

Im hoping this upgrade could be done for $100 or less.

Thanks for the help.

[Timmain42]

Well, you could switch out your current lights with replacement power compacts from AHSUpply.com. I myself have just switched over a 55 from very low light (1.25 WPG) to very high (3.7 WPG) at a relatively low cost (went from 40W NOF to 110W PC lights).

Now, I gutted my old 40W, 48" hood, but you could conceiveably use the two 24" hoods if you wanted.

[Lauren]

Go to your local hardware store and see what they have in the relms of ballests. A ballest upgrade in your current hood could be the most cost effective way to go. While I've never done it, it seems easy enough to do. Upgrade to two 55 watt ballests/bulbs and that should be fine for low/moderate light plants.

[nursie]

Thanks to Jets80 for starting this thread! I have the exact same situation. Will adding 2 bulbs to the plastic hood covers generate enough heat to cause them to melt or be a fire hazard?
Or if you get replacement lights and put them ofer the cover...same question.

[Timmain42]

Nursie:

If you're going the power compact direction, you'll prolly want to refit the plastic in your existing canopy (the part the lights shine thru) with actual glass. PCs can heat enough to melt the plastic.

[fishstoreguy]

You would have to have at least 4 30W flourescents to do any good and by that time you could have bought a power compact strip for a little more and it would well be worth it. If you have a good algae eater like a bristelnose pleco you can leave your PC's on 10-12 hours a day and have minimal algae buildup. I feel power compacts are the best way to go and do work best with a glass top. Sometimes you can buy the hardware (plastic strips, hinges, and handles) seperately at a fish store and have the glass cut but a glass company for a little cheaper than an actual top kit. This also works well for irregular tanks. Unless you find a used light and real cheap glass top I dont think it will be sub 100$. Good luck!

[beviking]

The standard 55gal tank is 4' long. 2 2bulb shoplights (4 40Wbulbs) over a standard 55gal tank will give you enough light to grow lotsa' plants. Exactly how you get them to fit and make them look nice is the trick. At <$10 each (US), I think it's worth it. 4 bulbs@~$10 each=$40. $40+$10+$10=<$100 :D

[fishstoreguy]

yes 160W would kick butt, Shoplights are alot cheaper than striplights at the pet store, I would change the bulbs though and that can get a lil pricey but still in that 100$ range as beviking says.
A power compact of that size would be 260W but a heckuva lot more money so your best Watt for your dollar is the shoplights. I stand corrected.

[nursie]

Is it possible to put 2 regular fluorecent bulbs into a regular 24 inch hood? 4 20 watt bulbs would be 80 watts, which from what I read (maybe I'm wrong so tell me)...enough for low light plants. Those PC bulbs and light strips look rather pricey.
I didn't get the wood tank top that went with the base I have..now I get why they have them...so you can hide shop lights in them!!!

[fishstoreguy]

yea, thats thing with shoplights is hiding them. Thats why I like PC's especially the coralife with the aluminum casing. Very clean and small, A 55g is only 12" wide leaving little room for two sets of double tube lights. You would have to move a 4' light just to feed and clean and such. much harder under a canopy too. Plus if you get the coralife lunarlight you get those cool moonlight leds and can see your fish even in the dead of night. I'm also a big fan of actinic bulbs though I can't seem to get an answer on whether or not they help plants or not, but it's a 65W actinic so the light can't hurt and makes fish look pretty cool in the evening. I have a tank that is 24" wide and 24" deep so power compacts were the only way to get that much light on that small a top. there are plants that will grow in really low light. Anachris (elodea or whatever people call them seems to change from day to day) will grow on anything. and amazon swords or java fern and java moss are low light plants. Just depends on what you want. I have the wrong substrate but with root tabs and water column fertilizer plus lotsa light they are flourishing. Personally I think lights are the most important thing for aquarium plants. You can do everything else but with poor lighting they will still do poorly. 80W will put you at around 1.5W per gallon which is good for most plants to live. 2-2.5 or more will have them growing much better. one thing I learned is that the broader the leaf of the plant usually the lower the light requirements. and vice versa, long hair like leaf plants need alot of light. may not always be true but is a decent rule of thumb.

[Bmeasure]

The standard 55gal tank is 4' long. 2 2bulb shoplights (4 40Wbulbs) over a standard 55gal tank will give you enough light to grow lotsa' plants. Exactly how you get them to fit and make them look nice is the trick. At <$10 each (US), I think it's worth it. 4 bulbs@~$10 each=$40. $40+$10+$10=<$100 :D
This is an excellent opinion, and there is definately some merrit to it, BUT...

1)As Bviking stated, these cheap setups are very bulky and awkward looking, and really difficult (for the most part) to get them to look good. A planted tank is normally used to look peaceful, serene, and natural. Clunky, mechanical, "crap" on top of the tank really takes away from the look of the whole tank.

2)I have looked many times in the past at places like Lowes and Home Depot for strip lights to use on aquariums. I haven't personally seen any at less than about $18 each. These had the extra wide "flanges" used to reflect light from the bulbs. These are probably something like 8 inches or more wide, which means you cannot fit two of these over a 55 gallon tank (without major overlap). The double light fixture I have bought before was a 24" with no reflector at all for about $25 each (roughly). These served their purpose over a 20 gallon tank (with other lights added), but weren't nearly as satisfying as what I now use (explain later).

3)Bulbs for planted tanks (4' length) at my hardware stores (HD and Lowes,etc) are about $5 or $6 each, with only the most expensive being upwards of $10.

4)Another thing this answer didn't take into consideration was the cost of the wiring (not included in cheap strip lights), mounting hardware (except two or three screws (some don't even include this), and any additional features which make helpful additions to aquarium lighting (vent plugs, mounting brackets, water-resistant endcaps, etc.)

My Suggestion:
AH Supply Compact Flourescent Kits. You can get a 4 x 55w Kit (210watts) for $125 dollars plus shipping. I used this lighting on a 55 gallon before and had it suspended in a simple hanging wooden light fixture box 12" above the water surface. It was easy to move around, and put out enormous amounts of light. These fixtures can be viewed at www.ahsupply.com , so I won't go into detailing them. Basically they have the best reflectors around (increased light output), come with all the hardware, brackets, and extra stuff you won't even decide to use. They are also at great prices vs other CF strip lights. The only drawbacks are that you have to get something to mount them in. You can use a simple wood box, which is cheap and works fine (looks better than cheapo strip lights). After you buy the bulbs you like (just over $20 each (last longer than normal flourescent bulbs), build a simple hood, and buy the fixtures, I'd say you've spent $250 (including shipping). This should cover everything, including the spraypaint to color it to your liking. You will then have some of the most intense, non-bulky, efficient lighting you can buy, and you can upgrade your tank size without changing fixtures. Just for info, you can also go with just the 2 x 55 watt combo for $65 plus shipping. This will save you $60 dollars off my quoted prices and give you 2 wpg over your tank! Your choice.

[nursie]

I've got 30 lbs of fluorite to start with and plan to put some sand on it for a substrate. I was rather taken aback about the light cost...but am going to a fish club auction Sat and may be able to pick up a deal there. Hope to get plants too, and a nice chunk of driftwood.

[beviking]

...I haven't personally seen any at less than about $18 each. These had the extra wide "flanges" used to reflect light from the bulbs. These are probably something like 8 inches or more wide,...

4)Another thing this answer didn't take into consideration was the cost of the wiring (not included in cheap strip lights), mounting hardware (except two or three screws (some don't even include this), and any additional features which make helpful additions to aquarium lighting (vent plugs, mounting brackets, water-resistant endcaps, etc.)


I have seen 4' 2bulb shoplights routinely on sale for <$10 (granted I haven't been looking in the past couple months. Irregardless...the housing they come in (minus the "flanges") are 4" wide. Obviously 8" ones won't work. As for wiring, it has a cord and plug, what else could you ask for? Water resistant endcaps aren't needed if you have a glass lid. I won't argue the "additional features which make helpful additions to aquarium lighting"...they're <$10. :)

Good luck at the auction!!! Lots of good stuff!