what watt tube light can i use for my tank its is a 40 gallon. Right now it has a 20 watt light but i would like it to be brighter can i use a stronger bulb or will be harmful to the fish
lighting
- Thread starter babytee_519
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I have a 15W on my 10 gallon, which is 1.5 W per gallon which isn't enough lighting for most live plants, I think...
I really don't think that 20W is nearly enough light for a 40 gallon, but I don't know that much about lighting. Hopefully someone else that knows more about it will toss in their 2 cents.
Edit: Just saw your 2nd post. You can do that, but doing so would kind of inhibit your filter from doing its job. You should have foam blocks in your filter which provide mechanical filtration (the trapping of larger particles). The only time that you really need to put anything over the intake is if you have small fish that could be sucked up into the filter. I believe you have cichlids, correct me if I'm wrong, so you really don't need to do that.
I really don't think that 20W is nearly enough light for a 40 gallon, but I don't know that much about lighting. Hopefully someone else that knows more about it will toss in their 2 cents.
Edit: Just saw your 2nd post. You can do that, but doing so would kind of inhibit your filter from doing its job. You should have foam blocks in your filter which provide mechanical filtration (the trapping of larger particles). The only time that you really need to put anything over the intake is if you have small fish that could be sucked up into the filter. I believe you have cichlids, correct me if I'm wrong, so you really don't need to do that.
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also i put piece of nylon over the intake to stop food from being sucked up is this ok to do i read that somewhere
did say anything about plants. as long as they can see the fish thats fine for some. i am guessing they just want it brighter.sophiecat22 said:I have a 15W on my 10 gallon, which is 1.5 W per gallon which isn't enough lighting for most live plants, I think...
I really don't think that 20W is nearly enough light for a 40 gallon, but I don't know that much about lighting. Hopefully someone else that knows more about it will toss in their 2 cents.
Mgamer20o0 said:
Yeah I know they didn't say anything about it, but I thought that I would mention it just in case. Just because they didn't say anything about live plants, doesn't mean that they may not want them or have them all ready.
The nylon over your filters intake should be fine, but you need to remember to check it every few days to make certain it isn't clogging up. Flourescent hood lights are generally made for only one size of bulb. I believe there are 3 standard sizes for 40g tanks so I'm not sure which one you might have. If your wanting to have live plants you may have to do some research on what plants you might want before you invest in more lighting. If you just use the light to observe your fish you may be able to just replace your current light fixture with a 2 bulb flourescent one which would double your light output.
thank you so much and yes i am just wanting to be able to view the fish and bring out there colouring. Right now the lid i have only allows for one light so i will have to look at getting a diffrent one. Can i just get a 40w to replace the 20w????
Hehe, I wish it were that easy. Actually a 40 watt t-12 flourescent bulb is 4' long compared to the 20 watt t-12 bulbs 2'.
not everyone wants plants or looking to get plants. i try to answer the question they have not guess maybe they have this other problem.sophiecat22 said:
like houd said nylon is fine i used to have some over mine.