Good lighting fixture for planted 10 gallon?

dinosue · 09-15-2009, 5:36 PM

I have a 10 gal planted tank and everything looks nice except ugly cheapo hood. I would like to get something decent for both look and plants. I am thinking about getting 24" nova extreme T5 for freshwater, but would it be looking funny since it is 4" inch longer than the tank? I don't understand why these companies discontinued smaller 18", 20" fixtures. I am open to any suggestion/recommendations. Thanks a lot for your help.

jpappy789 · 09-15-2009, 6:15 PM

I've always gone with the incandescent setups (using spiral CFL bulbs) because they're cheap and effective. But maybe thats too cheap for your tastes.

dinosue · 09-15-2009, 8:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpappy789

I've always gone with the incandescent setups (using spiral CFL bulbs) because they're cheap and effective. But maybe thats too cheap for your tastes.

Oh, wow. That was very helpful.

vampie · 09-15-2009, 8:30 PM

I use incandescent hoods too.. it's not the prettiest or most powerful system, but it's cheap and versatile.

I don't think they make 20" T5's, but they do make 20" CFLs.. uses 36w bulbs I think.

zzyzx85 · 09-15-2009, 9:23 PM

I just started a 10g planted tank and went with the 2 bulb incandescent fixture with 2 CFLs. Cost effective and works well.

Most of the 20" fixtures I've seen are way more light than I'd want for a 10g. Then again, I'm looking at the 10g as a low tech, low maintenance tank.

CrimsonBlush · 09-15-2009, 10:08 PM

I did the same thing....I got this hood http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...&ab=fish_fci5a and some compact florescent bulbs (make sure you get the DAYLIGHT ones and not the soft touch.) Total cost is around $25.

Slappy*McFish · 09-15-2009, 10:49 PM

AH supply retro kit here.

dinosue · 09-19-2009, 4:37 PM

Thanks all for your suggestions. I ended up getting this light
http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-...re-p/51102.htm

I have had the incandescent hood with 2x15W spiral CFL. I was a bit bored by the look, so after a long research, I decided to go with Odyssea PC light.
I know they have a lousy reputation, but it seems that they are getting better over time. Besides, all the lights that I found was either too big or too expensive.

Here are some pictures. I ordered a PC fixture with one 6700K daylight bulb (The fixture came with 50/50). They were shipped separately. I've seen lots of worrysome postings about their shipping/custom service issues, but I am local so I decided to take a risk. If worst comes to worst, I can just drive down. But surprisingly, they were very well-packaged and arrived on the very next day. The hood on the left is the one that I have been using.