How many watts?

**cyberjoe** · 23rd Nov 2002, 22:43

Hi I just came back from Pet safari store and ask them how many watts do you need to light up a 4ft tank? Right now im just using a 30W Philips daylight lamp is this enough. the guy told me i need more that that. is this true?

Im thinking of buying another lamp pls advice me before i go tomorrow and buy again. I know some poeple they just used ordinary lamp and it works for them is this true? [

]

**ryan** · 23rd Nov 2002, 22:49

it depends on what kind of plants you intend to grow...
and the height of your tank...

personally i feel that the ideal amount for a 4 feet tank is around 200+ watts...(for the plants i like[

] )

i'm using 184 watts for the tank i'm starting...

oh and what do u mean by ordinary lamp? tubes? holder?

**PeterGwee** · 23rd Nov 2002, 22:55

Go for the 3Watts/gallon for highlight plants...If you are into only low light plants..1.5 - 2 watts/gallon should do. If your tank is 2ft deep and above..might be better to go for MH.

**cyberjoe** · 23rd Nov 2002, 23:07

What i mean is i just used does ordinary daylight lamp from the hardware store. and i just buy a fish tank holder which means my lamp is not does specially for plants but its just an ordinary philips 30 watts tube.

I think from your advice i will increase the lighthing for my tank if I will follow ur formula wow 200 plus watts really is very bright.

I will take a picture of my tank and show u. my tank is a bit special size its a 4x1x1 a bit low bec os space problem. I've just redesign my tank and started allover again.

hey thanks for the advice.

**Simon** · 23rd Nov 2002, 23:30

joe, those normal tubes u referring to r daylight tubes..applicable to FL &amp; PL light tubes. There r specialize light tubes for planted tanks by Arcadia, dennerle and a few other brands, but expect to pay more for those. like for instance, the normal Osram daylight PL tube works wonderings, though it is not specially made for our purpose. simple becoz some of them believe that at certain colour temp (kelvin) the plants will thrive better. but oso the spectrum of these tubes is imprt (dun ask me to explain abt it, coz I dunreally understand it) at certain colour temp. say from 5000-8500k the colour will be whitish, while below 5000k is yellow and 10000k is bluish

**cyberjoe** · 23rd Nov 2002, 23:36

oh I see. whoa another investment

ok lor will go and buy. so the fromula on how to get the right wattage is 2watts per gallon is it?

**ryan** · 24th Nov 2002, 00:00

in my tank its about 5 watts per gallon...
plants doing just fine![

]

**sherchoo** · 24th Nov 2002, 00:18

Go for the normal daylight (6500K) as explained by Simon. I would recommend 2~3W/g for FL/PL lighting depending of what plants you have. 5W/g would be an overkill and it's risking an algae attack in the near future (Ryan, no offence but I would be very careful if I were you).

Your tank is about 30g which means you can try adding 2X30W FL lighting. With increased lighting, your CO2 would also be another factor to control.

**hwchoy** · 24th Nov 2002, 00:26

cyberjoe, maybe speak with Chan from Nature Aquarium as he does customising. You need to plan how the light will be installed over the 4ft and to ensure they are well distributed, unless you purposely want to create dark corners. Problem with FL/PL tubes is their coverage, it stops abruptly at the two ends.

**eggz** · 24th Nov 2002, 00:55

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On 11/23/2002 11:30:08 PM

the normal Osram daylight PL tube works wonderings, though it is not specially made for our purpose.

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Hi Simon,

You mean the Osram daylight PLs are better than other PLs like AEC or others?

I went to NA today coz one of my PLs kaput already, it's a AEC one. Chan said that the recent batches of AEC PLs have been a bit lacking in the quality department. According to Chan, the Osrams are 6000K, but the AEC's are 6500K.

I've had my PLs for almost 6 months now, do you think I should just change all my AECs to Osrams? For my tank size (4x1.5x2 ft) , I have 3W/g with 6 X 36W PLs, but glosso doesn't do well....

eggz

**hwchoy** · 24th Nov 2002, 01:34

eu gene, I find my new AEC PL tubes (18W) turning dim compared to my older Philips (36W), both housed in the same light housing. I'm not planning to replace with AEC in future.

**sherchoo** · 24th Nov 2002, 01:44

eggz,
Juz hold on to your AEC tubes till they go kaput or they run out of lighting power. No point changing it now (waste $$$). Another good tube to use (IMO, better than Osram) would be Philips PL tubes. They are of coz more ex and not easy to come by. If you want you can keep some spre tubes till you need to replace the AEC tubes.

**Allen_1971** · 24th Nov 2002, 10:31

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I will take a picture of my tank and show u. my tank is a bit special size its a 4x1x1 a bit low bec os space problem.
----------------

Joe,

Given the low height of the tank, its unlikely that you will need as much light... most of us recommend about 3W/gallon, but thats cause we typically have a depth of 1.5-2ft for the light to penetrate.

Even if you wanna go for 3W/Gallon, you do NOT need 200W!! Your current tank size asuuming no gravel is only 108L... which is about 26G. Meaning that for 3W/G you only need 75W total. If you have a choice of lighting, I would go for 3 tubes flourescent. Gives you a more even coverage.

**Simon** · 24th Nov 2002, 10:42

eggz, yes.. Osram is much much better than AEC.. saw the diff when I change 2 tubes, my once neber bubble so much 4ft, suddenly changed

if the tank is shorter than 2ft, say 1.5ft.. FL will do the same, plus FL is said to give better coverage compared to compact light (PL)

FC · 24th Nov 2002, 11:06

Yes, FL light has more even coverage where PL is more focus. I am using both of them to have more room for play.

For FL light, you may look for the Philip 865 for extra bright (&gt;85 lm/watt) and higher colour quality (&gt;85). For casing/reflector, get the &quot;single lamp&quot; reflector and place 2 tube in. This will increase intensity and save space.

For PL light, get it from NA. Take the one with Osram light.

**eggz** · 24th Nov 2002, 11:25

I did get an Osram to replace the busted AEC. I notice my plants are not bubbling as much as before, that's why I was thinking of replacing the other AEC PLs with Osrams.

Well, as long as they're still growing....I'll give the AEC's a few more months and see.
Need to save some $$$ for Christmas presents [

]

Sherwin, Hwchoy: the Philips PLs are better than Osrams (or others) in terms being more lasting? i.e. They don't fade as much over time? I think Chan doesn't sell them...

eggz

**loupgarou** · 24th Nov 2002, 12:28

MH are cheaper in the long run, you only replace the bulb in like 2.5 years..

consider your lighting over a 2 year period.

**hwchoy** · 24th Nov 2002, 12:48

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On 11/24/2002 11:25:43 AM
Sherwin, Hwchoy: the Philips PLs are better than Osrams (or others) in terms being more lasting? i.e. They don't fade as much over time? I think Chan doesn't sell them...
eggz
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my 9 months old Philip still brighter than the 2 months old AEC

**eggz** · 24th Nov 2002, 16:22

Hi Chris,

I'm actually seriously considering a MH light but worried about the heat. Getting a chiller as well would be just too much money. You're able to keep temp between 27-29C with a MH?

eggz

**lorba** · 24th Nov 2002, 16:30

Hi all, was at NA just now and choosing between Osram and AEC. According to chan, AEC is 6500K and Osram is 6000K. So is still Osram still better, or is it not the determining factor?

If Osram is much better, think i will buy it instead of AEC. 36W PL for AEC is $10 while the other is $15.

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