JennDFK

I have a planted 55 gallon tank with a 48 inch light fixture. It has two end to end 20 watt, 24 inch bulbs (power-glo). The fixture is used and the lights seem pretty dim. When I turn them on in the morning it takes quite a bit of tinkering to get them started. The plants seem to be doing fine... but I am stocking rainbow fish and I wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions on lighting that would bring out their colors the best and provide good lighting for the plants as well.

In my 30 gallon hex I have a 15 watt all glass Aquarium preheat (that is what is printed on the light bulb). I know that everyone says that you need at least 1 watt per gallon... but my plants in my 30 gallon seem to be thriving... and the light in my hex tank seems much brighter than the higher watt bulbs in my 55 gallon.

What's up? I just don't understand this whole lighting thing.

Help!

Jenn

Butterfly

Bulbs get dimmer as they get older. Some people advise replacing the bulbs every six months. Usually I replace mine about once a year and I can tell a big difference. I get my replacement bulbs at Walmart or Lowes in the lighting dept. Their less expensive there than the LFS
Carol

JennDFK

Thanks Butterfly... I really do need new bulbs.

So how many watts should each bulb be in order to maintain low light plants and is there a specific type of light that looks softer in order display my rainbow fish best? The plants seem to be doing fine now (growing and sprouting new leaves) and yet I have a lot less light than is recommended.

mathas

If you're just replacing the bulbs rather than the entire fixture, look to the fixture for guidance. There should be a label or writing somewhere on it that indicates what wattage it supports. If it says 20W max, stick with your 20W bulbs.

JennDFK

I would consider replacing the fixture if it would provide better light for my tank. It was a free-bie.

I guess what I don't understand it the whole WWG thing. I have read such a variety of things from 1-3 WWG...

Since I have 2 20 watt bulbs does that mean that I'm running 40 watts (or .72 WWG)? or just 20 (just .4 WWG)?

JennDFK

I think the part that confuses me is this...

If I had a 48 inch bulb that was 20 watts as opposed to 2 end to end 20 watt bulbs that were each 24 inches long...The 20 watt short bulbs would be brighter? Does that make any sense?

mathas

You are running 40 watts.



Correct. All other factors being equal, two 20W bulbs should produce more light than one 20W bulb, regardless of how long any of them are.

JennDFK

Thanks, I figured that was the case... but for some reason I couldn't wrap my brain around it.


BTW do you know where to find the max wattage a fixture can take? I looked all over the dang thing and can't seem to find it...

mathas

This may vary by manufacturer. Do you have any idea who makes your fixture?

JennDFK

I can't find the brand on the fixture. There is a switch on the cord used to turn the light on and it says... UND. Lab Inc

JennDFK

Well I just googled UND and it appears to be just the manufacturer for the switch.

Reid

here is a link posted by mathas on a different thread that I think you should read (read what i4x4nMore wrote):

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lo...ighting-2.html

There is a lot of info on this post, I found it VERY helpful. Also he started a thread on fishlore that I found very informative that can be found here:

Color Temperature: Does it matter for a planted tank?

(thank you mathas!)

As for your light fixture, I would tear it apart and build a DIY light hood that suits your tanks needs. Even if you just tear the ballast out, and replace it with a different one that can support bigger lights.

Hope the links help! Cheers!

Butterfly

Frequently bulbs of a certain length only come in one watt size. For instance 18 inch bulbs are 15 Watt, 24 inch bulbs are 20 watts etc.
I found with my fixtures in order to get more light I had to add bulbs (2 -48in bulb VS 1- 48in bulb)
Is that confusing?
carol

harpua2002

Exactly.

Honestly, if you are open to the option of purchasing a new fixture, I would recommend Coralife's FW aqualight. Current USA makes a similarly-priced model, but it includes 50/50 bulbs (half 10000K and half actinic... more geared toward SW than FW). I used this fixture for a couple of years on a 55 gallon planted tank with Eco Complete substrate, and I was able to grow low to medium light plants with no trouble. It provides a lot more wattage than what you have now... 2 65W bulbs, for a total of 130W. Take into account that power compact bulbs put out a lot more light for the wattage than normal outputs, and you can see why my low light plants thrived with this light.

JennDFK

I'm not looking for lights just for the plants... I want my plants to be healthy... but like I said they seem to be doing ok currently... One thing I really want out of my lighting is lighting that will really display my rainbows and yet still provide enough light for the plants. From what I've read rainbows look best in subdued lighting. They don't, however, show all their color in my current lighting. Is there a way to get lighting that really makes the colors of the fish pop... and provides good light for plants. I fear that lighting that is too bright might wash them out. Does this make any sense?

Jenn

mathas

I may have missed this elsewhere, but what type of rainbows are you talking about? It's hard to suggest a specific bulb that might make a certain color pop when we don't know what that color is.

harpua2002

I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood your post. A new light fixture would really make your rainbows (and your plants) pop, but if you aren't into that I'd say that changing your bulbs could make a big difference as well. I'd look for some new bulbs in the 10000K range; they are more "white/blue" compared to 6700K (plant bulbs, they tend to look yellow), and that should help your rainbows look really nice.

JennDFK

A variety of rainbow fish... I didn't specify because I'm in the early stages of stocking the tank. Right now I have 1 parkinsoni rainbow and 2 goyder river rainbows. I'm going to get at least 3 more similar size rainbow fish.

No one misunderstood, BTW, I'm just trying to figure out what I want right now and not really sure how to express what I'm looking for. Lighting is very confusing to me... I just want a healthy tank that is pleasing to the eye.

JennDFK

You didn't misunderstand... I was just unclear... I'm still trying to figure out what I am looking for. Everytime I look at bulbs I'm just blown away by the number of choices. I just want a light that I can turn on and look at all the beautiful fishies... I am probably just over thinking the whole dang thing.

prairielilly

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I want the same thing, I do the same thing, and this thread has been really really helpful!

JennDFK

Thanks Prairielilly... it helps to know that I'm not alone in my confusion. Shopping for lights makes me feel about as confused as when I bought a computer... I just want something that I can turn on and not worry about...but it never is that simple is it

mathas

Assuming you are going to be sticking with your current fixture, the first thing I would suggest is to measure the diameter of the bulbs you have now. You will see a lot of fluorescent bulbs at stores/websites labeled T5, T8, or T12. The numeric portion of the T5/T8/T12 designation refers to the bulb diameter measured in eighth-inch increments. In other words, a T5 bulb is 5/8" diameter, a T8 bulb is 1", and a T12 is 1.5". It's helpful to know what you have, so you can purchase an appropriate replacement.

Once you have that info, it may be easier to suggest a bulb that will fit your current fixture and meet your other needs.

prairielilly

Actually that's kinda what I like best about it - the finding out, learning lotsa stuff - I love that this hobby teaches me so many things about ...so many things It's fun!

THAT'S what that means! thanks Mathas!

JennDFK

Well my husband went out yesterday and bought new bulbs... but now it seems that the fixture is on the outs. The lights blink on and off and just don't seem to want to stay on. I'm hoping the LFS will take them back so that we can get a whole new unit.

I've been on here trying to figure out the best lights... and my husband just decides to un-complicate things and just buy a dang light.
A little role reversal?
I thought men were suppose to be the over-technical types and the ladies were suppose to be the ones that just say the heck with it and buy something simple that will work.

Oh well it looks like my research is going to get used anyway...

joy1125

You may have to go online to get a decent replacement. It seems (around here at least) all the shops only sell cheap single strip fixtures.

I just got my new fixture delivered today. My problem was my 30g AllGlass hood came with a cheap 17watt single strip flourescent, that cast a hideous purple hue into the tank. I hated it, and any bulb (24inch) that I tried to replace it with, wasn't bright enough.

So I ordered a new fixture online and it was just delivered today. I stuck with the AllGlass brand because I wanted to keep it simple, and have it fit on my existing AllGlass hood . I bought a compact flourescent 55watt, 8,000k and I gotta tell you, I am THRILLED ! My tank looks GREAT !!!!! What a big difference. Nice bright natural light and best of all, no more purple !!!!! Yippppeeeee !!!!!!! It cost a hundred bucks, but is well worth it.

Most of the popular aqua sites have a nice selection (DrFosterSmith, BigAls, Petsmart, etc.) so see where you can get the best deal.

good luck Jenn !