Can I replace my current light tube with a higher wattage?

[super pig]

Hi all,

I have 2.5ft big boy light casing with 2 X 20watts pink light. Thought of using it for my planted tank. Is it ok if i get a higher wattage light tube to replace the current one? do i need e-ballast (sorry, i don't even know why we need e ballast).

Please recommend me what brand of light to get or can i just buy it at LFS?

Thanks.

[jason6142004]

how big is your tank? i am using a 36watt PL for my 2ft tank.. the number of watts also depends on the type of plants you are having. pink light is not recommended for planted tanks. white ones are more suitable. e-ballast? i dont know...

[jacian]

A higher wattage light tube will be of a bigger size, you will need to check if it can fit into your lights set. Ballasts are required in the lights set to regulate the electric current. E-ballasts are better as it improves the lamp efficacy.

[super pig]

Hi,

My tank is 2.5ft X 1.5ft X 1.5ft. So i thought of getting at least 2 X 20watts light tubes.

Enough?

[jdlim]

I use a rule of thumb of 2 watts / gallon for my planted tank.

So your tank is 40 gallon i.e. 80W.

My final wattage for my tank is about 1.5W/G I think. Of course, the optimal wattage would depend on a host of parameter such as water depth, density of plant etc.

Ballast is necessary to regulate flow of current in the tube, if not your tube will fail in short time due to excessive buildup of current. E-ballast is basically is a more complicated ballast (electronic) also to regulate flow of current, but it increases the frequency of the current flow. This translates to better efficiency for you.