Me being the dummy. I would like to plant my new 40 gallon hex. It is about 22 inched deep. It had standard fluorescent lighting 15 watt 18". What do I need to get?
Lighting for dummies?
- Thread starter Bethany1979
- Start date
DAVIDFBT
Extinct? Since when?
You could retrofit: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1760906#post1760906 If you aren't handy with tools, then you should just get a ready-made light fixture. You could also try ahsupply.com
or you can save yourself a ton of money by heading over to home depot or lowes and buying a light fixture there that will give you the amount of light you want. its a whole lot cheaper than retrofitting or buying a light from an aquarium place
That sounds better, but what should I get????
I keep reading about lighting and watts per gallon and it's all BLAH BLAH BLAH. :help:
Depending on what plants you want to grow, the average is 2.5 WPG (watts per gallon)
so that means you'd need 100 watts of light to grow just about any plant.
You can always go down, but preferably not below 1.4 or 1.5.
Right now you have .375 WPG
Of course, when you up the lights, you up the algae in your tank.
To get rid of algae you have to supply the plants with enough co2 to outgrow the algae. (Or get a very good cleanup crew)
The plants will quickly use up the nutrients from fish waste, and then you'll need to use fertilizers in your tank (ecocomplete soil, flourish liquid)
Basically upgrading lights = $$$
Unless you use DIY co2 and cheap ferts like I'm planning on doing.
so that means you'd need 100 watts of light to grow just about any plant.
You can always go down, but preferably not below 1.4 or 1.5.
Right now you have .375 WPG
Of course, when you up the lights, you up the algae in your tank.
To get rid of algae you have to supply the plants with enough co2 to outgrow the algae. (Or get a very good cleanup crew)
The plants will quickly use up the nutrients from fish waste, and then you'll need to use fertilizers in your tank (ecocomplete soil, flourish liquid)
Basically upgrading lights = $$$
Unless you use DIY co2 and cheap ferts like I'm planning on doing.
you want (to start simply) between 1 and 2 watts per gallon. you have a 40 gallon tank, so you want around 80 watts of light. there are a lot of fixtures at home depot and lowes that will give you close to that (a little less is ok). this will keep you from needing to get into things like co2 while you are still learning. you will need to look at the tags to find out the length of the light fixture (measure your tank to find out what will fit) and to find out what the wattage is for the fixture. the tags should tell you if it holds 2 32 watt bulbs for example. that fixture would be fine if its not too long (longer than your tank is wide).
DAVIDFBT
Extinct? Since when?
Actually, I saved money by retrofitting as opposed to buying a cheap light fixture. To build a canopy with lights that let me go to 3 WPG, I spent only about $25. To get the same amount of light with strip lights would have been $40.
:dance:Yay, someone is speaking my language! So, would this be fluorescent fixtures?