Wpg

Kasakato said:
Low- 1-2WPG
Med- 2-3WPG
High- 3+ WPG

Yes a desk lamp will work fine. But taking it apart will be hard. This is because you need the light clip, the bulb, the quick start, and the ballast.
Mister Smarty Pants, what is ballast? :bowing: Also, why would quick start be necessary? :dive2:
 
dave76 said:
I have a 29 gallon. I built a canopy and used a glass cover and put two standard light fixtures mounted in the top of the canopy. I put 13w spiral CFL bulbs rated at 13w each but outputting 800 lumens. It is almost equivilent to a 60watt standard bulb. I have had friends use these to grow indoor plants with great success. I decided to give it a try and after 3 days I can already see the difference in my plants. Course I have more plants than you do. I only spent around $30 dollars total on the light fixtures and bulbs. Not to mention that they will save me $ in the long run on my electric bill. HTH. Oh btw my tank now has a nice yellow hue that really shows off my fish's colors.
Its neat! I'll figure something out to ensure survival of my plants. I love the way they look in my tank! :dance: I suppose I won't be adding any more plants until my lightings are sufficent.
 
:D :D I own it all to AC and its members.

A ballast is like a transformer. It will convert the 120AC power line to what ever the light needs. A quick start will let you use the light on a timer. This is because normally you need to hold down the switch to give it a kick start. But a timer only gives it a short blast. A quick start will use that small burst and will turn it into a stinger current that will turn on the light. But this only happens in fluorescent and compact fluorescent lights.
 
The links Kasakoto listed show some very good options. That would put you right where you want to be. Also, I'd feel free to add more plants as soon as you get more lighting. Unless you are seriously shading a plant it doesn't matter how many you have in there. The more the merrier.
 
Kasakato said:
A Red Melon needs med-high light. And right now you have below low. So no, it wont really by ok. You can try, but it may not happen.

wat r u talking about???

those plants can live under that lighting for a while, the wont die, they just wont grow.
 
:look:
Thanks guys for your all feedback. Gman, interesting comment. I suppose you have a planted tank of your own. Can you share your experience? :idea:
I came up with an idea. I'll use the lighting I had from 10g on my 29g along w/ its own lighting. I'll set the 10g lighting directly above where the plants are. It'll be interesting to see how the lighting looks when I've got it all set up. 10g lighting has 15 watts and 29g has 17 watts so that would give me 32 watts total right. Now... would this be sufficent to promote some plant growth and keep them healthy? :dive2:
 
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