Preferred Bulbs!

[MentalBase]

I have a std. 55gal. tank (4' x 1' x approx 20" tall) and I was wondering which is the best bulb to substitute into the factory lighting fixture.

I know this isn't recommended, but funds are tight! The tank isn't heavily planted at all, but there is a moderate to heavy fish load in the tank at the moment which I am overfiltering to compensate. This will soon change if I can finid some1 to trade my 8-10" Tinfoil Barbs & 13-14" common Pleco with.

Currently, I have just planted 2 ex-large Swords and thats it. Though Loh has kindly shipped moss all the way to the states for me, that is the only likely plant addition I will make in the near future. The two fixtures across the top of the tank are 24" long each. Your basic std. factory tank hood. The only 24" bulbs I've seen (full spectrum), are 20 watts. I'm no aquarium expert, but even I know that the combined 40 watts of light is no where near enough for a 55 gallon tank!!! Any advice will be gladly appreciated!

Thanks,
John

[ruyle]

John,
If funds are tight, I would substitute two 4-foot double shoplite strips for the existing canopy and suspend them over the tank. This would give you about 3 watts per gallon of light which is more than adequate. Suspending
them above the tank's surface allows you to attenuate the intensity of
light. When funds are not so tight, check out http://www.ahsupply.com for compact fluorescent lighting: two 40w or 55w kits would give you
great lighting!

For the shoplights, just use Philips daylight bulbs, or one Chroma 50 and
one daylight.

[MentalBase]

Thanks for the info and the great link, but I'm just looking to substitute the actual bulbs - if possible. See, strip lighting without a hood is not an option due to my little buddie - Blue Lobster! He loves to climb the airline and heater! I know, they love to dig also, but the plants I have are so big he is overwhelmed!

I was just loking for low light conditions - around 1-1/2 watts/gal. which is really all Swords need if 'm not mistaken. The problem is I don't even know what wattage my factory hood/light strip is... And I was just gonna try putting in a full spectrum, 40 watt if possible. I guess what I'm really asking is:
Can u switch bulbs/wattage? Like in your home, if a certain ceiling fixture isn't bright enough with a 40 watt bulb, you can insert a 60 or 100 watt bulb. Is this feasable in an aquarium? Specifically, a factory hood/light strip? Perfecto brand, I believe.

Thanks for any assistance...

John

[ruyle]

John,
Check out the "Overdriving Lights" topic in this forum. Perhaps you could
simply overdrive the lights to get what you want.

[FC]

Hi John,

It depends what you wish to achieve for your planted tank (cum fish keeping). If you wish to have a decent good plant keeping, you will probably be better off doing at 1.5 watts/gallon or more.

Most plants, given higher light (and the right water conditions), produce more vibrant colours, more colours, denser/lusher growth, etc. Couple this with the right plants combinations and placements, that is where this hobby lures with its magical, mystic pictureque.

If you want to keep planted for the long haul, you should be prepared to part off some funds to get the right setup. It's definately worth the while. You need alot of patient in this hobby to be successful.

As Bill suggested, go and get a 4 feet flourescent lamps when you save enough. Given your narrow and medium ht tank, 2 pcs of the 4 footers should be adequate. Get the tri-phosphor one with 6500k. Save a little more for a electronic ballast (that powers the 2 tubes), you will love it.

Next, you should consider seriously for a CO2 injection system. Get a 5 litre CO2 tank and a CO2 reactor.

Have fun.