bluester2000

Hiya everyone,
I'm new to the site and the hobby. I recently bought a used tank, hood, filter, etc. Through my reading on the site I realized my setup isn't ideal. The 45 gallon tank came with 2 hoods, 2 light fixtures, and 2 18inch 15W bulbs, which is too dim for the 1 watt per gallon rule. Do any website or stores offer 18inch bulbs at a higher wattage?
If not, I'd rather not spend big $ retrofitting the fixtures, hoods, etc, so the cheapest alternative would be appreciated. THANKS ALL!

Tom

Welcome to Fishlore. I think there are some bulbs that you would be able to get that are 18" long and have a higher wattage then 15 Watts.
Tom

sirdarksol

Really the 1watt/gallon rule only applies if you've got plants. That would be "low light" for plants. If you do have plants, you're right, you're going to need more light.

I'm with you in the expense boat. I'm setting up a tall tank for my wife, and the top of the tank is pretty small, so my options were to not put plants in (not an option for me) or get better lighting. I couldn't afford the lights that I really wanted, so I ended up going with a compact fluorescent lamp in addition to the lamp that came with it.

jsalemi

I just did a quick scan of the aquarium guys and Drs. Foster and Smith websites (I'm bored ), and it looks like 15w is standard for all 18" florescent lights. It looks like you'll have to upgrade one or both hoods to get more wattage there.

bluester2000

Thanks for the info everyone.
I'll keep my eyes open for something greater than 15watts, but I doubt I'll find it.
So if I don't have any plants, it's not necessary to up the wattage to a 1:1 ratio with gallons? I might want to upgrade anyways because it's hard to appreciate the aquarium from distance.

sirdarksol

As far as I know, most fish would do okay with less than one watt per gallon, as long as they get some light. The standard lighting that comes with most tanks runs about .5-.75 watts per gallon. I have two tanks running with standard lighting and doing just fine.