I need more watts!

FtwayneFish

Pump Paintball!
Dec 7, 2007
1,718
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Fort Wayne, IN
:idea: Hi folks. I have a 55gal hex with a perfecto top. and there is two spots for a light hood. the one is perfecto and is 18.5 and fits perfect. but it only has 1 18" bulb that i bought at a lfs and its only 15watts.

I put another light hood from my 10 gallon on the second spot to bring me to 60w and man that made a big diff. i cant imagine the 120w im supposed to have. so here are my ?'s

1. what do you guys think my watt # should be for a hex? mod planted and would like to try DIY co2.
2. whats the cheapest way to get more watts? a new hood is 34.00 @petco and then im still at 30watts.
3. Would foil or any other reflector on the 2 light hoods work?
4. Should i just gut the two hoods and try and fit 4 socket type cf's that are 15w each?

o and i think the rexgrigg is out too. outta my price range that is.

Thankyou for your help.
 
How tall is the tank? I agree, building a custom CF hood/canopy is probably your best bet.
 
Go to wal-mart and get a 2' grow bulb self contained, 8-10 bucks. If to much light shining out put tinfoil over the top...

What do they look like? hood style? or just clamp em?
 
Chances are, thats going to be a T12 fluorescent light, which will add maybe 20w to the tank.
 
which one is that?
 
which one is that?
I think he's referring to the 24" under cabinet lights that walmart sells.

I would check out the 24" shop lights, they're like 8$ each, you can put 2x20w T12 in each, and could probably fit two over your tank...
they might hang off the edges though..
 
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