David593

I have a 55g that had hold two 18" bulbs. When i went to the fish store I only saw 15w lights. I bought them not knowing it was not enough. I only have 30 watts total in a 55 gallon! where can i find the right lights. I bought some that were called tropical sun...

Amanda

If it's a standard hood, 15 w is really all that's available.
You'd have to upgrade the hood to get more WPG.
I'm having the same dilemma right now.

David593

darn, so no plants for now? I really wanted plants and I cant afford to upgrade the hood and add extra lights at the moment.

David593

but out of curiosity, what would I need to upgrade to, where can i find it (links would be great) and how much would I be looking at?

Amanda

Depends on what type of plants you want to keep.
Low, moderate, high light plants.
I'll try to find some links for you.

David593

thanks. man, well maybe in a year or two...

Amanda

Here's a double light hood:


http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...17&pcatid=3817

David593

lol I was just looking at that. So thats about 150 dollars after purchasing lights. all for plants? maybe ill go fake...

Amanda

I have fake right now also.
I'm going to be purchasing some java fern tomorrow though.
That is a very low light plant.

David593

ya. hmmm well fake plants aren't too bad. I don't really need the benefits of plants anyways. I have a bubbler and will be doing fine keeping toxins down. I guess I'll do that, maybe buy a few plants just to see if it can possibly work, though I doubt it will.

agabr123

java ferns would work, they don't need very much light, and i think moss would work too

Amanda

If you want to try low-light plants, java fern is the easiest to start with (so I've heard).

David593

i have a java fern in my ten gal that is growing rapidly. Then again i do have 1.5w/gallon in that tank.

Amanda

When it begins to spread, just take some & plant it in your 55. See how it does.

cerianthus

Why dont check Craigs to see if can find 48" Dbl Flo/PC/T5 light strip before buying new.

In any case, you need get Glass Canopy to use all these light strip. T 5 is most space efficient but search type of bulbs available.

PC should be available w/ 260W total output (even some w/ 192W or 220W) but again look into see if plant light bulb is available (4 x 65W at 6500-6700K Day bulb).

There are double and even Triple Flo Strip where you can use either T8 or T 12 light bulb (40W ea). Should be able to find these light bulb for plant w/o difficulty. For Triple Strip, try to use T8 bulbs since 3 T12 is somewhat packed and hard to install/remove bulb.

Hope you can find some on CL w/o spending a lot!!

David593

good idea. Haven't thought of that which is weird considering the fact that i got the tank from graigslist in the first place. I'll look. thanks

Fla_Larry

as to resolving your lighting issues you might wish to also look into the often forgotten "poor mans" aquarium accessory stores for some decent light fixtures, Both Lowes & H.D. for around 28.00 will get you a basic 2 bulb fixture, 44.00 will get you a really nice polished chrome one, Bulbs in the 6.00 - 7.00 range for t12's and T8's 4500k - 6500k range

Glass hoods are cheap at any of the LFS or chains around 17.00 - 30.00

David593

interesting. Never thought about it.

Nothing wrong with trying to get a cheap deal!

dancerhas

I'm kind of in the same predicament as you right now. What I want to know is why This is 23 dollars and This is 105 dollars. Price gouging anybody?

Wyphy

Different design purposes.

The cheapo light doesn't have an on/off switch, the reflector is basically 160* or so and will scatter light over a very large area, has general purpose light tubes, probably warm white, doesn't have any venting as the lamp area is exposed.

The Perfecto has waterproof on/off switch, a directional reflector to focus light into the tank, has lamp tubes designed for aquariums, and is vented so the unit can sit directly on top of a glass tank lid,

I'm not saying it's completely justified to have such a large price difference, but the specifics, or non-specifics, of each fixture change the costs.
Nothing wrong with getting a less expensive 'shop light' and replacing the tubes; you don't necessarily need a switch, a timer works fine.
Also, look at the volume; Big home improvement stores do much more volume than even the biggest discount aquarium stores. More volume means more production, equals cheaper cost.

dancerhas

I agree that those extra items do not justify such an astronomical price difference. I think it really comes down to supply and demand...like Prescription drugs that are 100 dollars for a 30 day supply.

I was under the impression that neither of those strips came with bulbs.... If that is so, then the types of bulbs would be irrelevant because you'd be choosing your own in both scenarios.

Wyphy

The aquarium light comes with lamps, says so in the description.
The shop light, not sure; I've never bought any, but I thought that they usually did. If it doesn't, add $10-$15 for lamps.

cerianthus

H/D or other similar store should have strip w/ skirts to direct light toward the tank. Can even spray the skirt w/ chrome/aluminum paint to reflect more lights to tank.

I used to have tank viewed from all four sides. Built wood cap for tank with slilding windows and hung painted household light fixture w/ skirts fom ceiling. Left the top opn to release heat. the reason i did this is to see flowing of aquatic plant above the water.

Since have sliding window, no need to remove the cap when perfoming routine maintenance but able to see plants flowers. Whole thing would cost pretty much around $100 and weekend time, maybe little bit more depending on what kind of glass /acrylic you use/wheels on window for easy gliding, etc.

David593

I agree with dancerhas that the price difference just seems too high. I dont think and on and off switch and a reflector is worth 80 dollars (difference)

It just doesn't seem right... That's a huge difference, and all for plants? Personally, I guess I wouldn't buy one unless price went down.