Thanks for the help with the lighting/plant problem. I know, now,
that I have way too little light for the plants. In my 55 gallon I
have two separate hoods that each have an 18" fluorescent bulb with
the standard two pins on each end. I have been searching for a
replacement bulb, but it seems that I would need something around 55W
each. I can't find a good site that explains exactly what each bulb
is. Actinic, 10000K, light spectrum??? I just want to have healthy
plants and fish. Can someone direct me to a site that would
explain some of this, or just give a quick rundown on what I could
use?
Thanks for any help!

The 10K and actinic bulbs are for marine aquaria. They produce
great colors but not much spectrum that plants can use. Assuming
you'ce got a freshwater tank, you want bulbs between 5000 and
6700 K. Most people say bulbs in this range are interchangable
as far as plant growth is concerned. Personally, I like the 6500K
bulb because it's more white (less yellow) and makes the
fish look great.

For more information (and a great supplier of lighting stuff) check
out Aquarium Hobby Supply http://www.ahsupply.com/bulbs.htm

-coelacanth


"werlax" wrote in message
om...
Thanks for the help with the lighting/plant problem. I know, now,
that I have way too little light for the plants. In my 55 gallon I
have two separate hoods that each have an 18" fluorescent bulb with
the standard two pins on each end. I have been searching for a
replacement bulb, but it seems that I would need something around 55W
each. I can't find a good site that explains exactly what each bulb
is. Actinic, 10000K, light spectrum??? I just want to have healthy
plants and fish. Can someone direct me to a site that would
explain some of this, or just give a quick rundown on what I could
use?
Thanks for any help!

Thanks for the help with the lighting/plant problem. I know, now,
that I have way too little light for the plants. In my 55 gallon I
have two separate hoods that each have an 18" fluorescent bulb with
the standard two pins on each end.

That is the standard lighting for a 55 gallon. I believe it's two 15 watt
bulbs, for a total of 30 watts -- not enough for most plants. The
manufacturers intentionally put very low lighting on their tanks, to prevent
algae. But if there's not enough light for algae, there's not enough light for
plants.

I have been searching for a
replacement bulb, but it seems that I would need something around 55W
each.

You can't just replace the bulb. You must replace the entire light fixture.
You have several options. You could go to ahsupply.com and buy an upgrade kit,
that will allow you to put power compact flourescent bulbs in your current
hood. You'll need a few tools, but you don't have to be an expert. You could
replace your current hood with a glass canopy. (Most pet stores, online or
off, have them. They are flat, hinged glass tank covers that you can sit light
strips on.) If you have a glass canopy, you can use all kinds of lighting with
it. If money is an option, you could just get a 4' shop light for a few bucks
from Home Depot, and sit it on the glass. The advantage with those is that the
bulbs are very inexpensive. You could buy the compact flourescent light strips
sold for fishtanks, which are very easy and very bright, but expensive -- both
to buy and maintain, since compact flourescent bulbs are pricey.

Whatever you do, measure the room you have for lights very carefully before you
buy. You want to make sure you have space for whatever you're going to put on
top the tank. Remember, filter intakes, etc., might eat up some of the space
on the top of the tank, so you might not have as much room as you think.

And if you have any questions, feel free to post them here. Getting enough
light over tanks is one of the biggest issues for planted aquariums.
Collectively, we've probably tried every combination of light, hood, tank, and
filter known to man. If you're not sure if something will work, ask -- someone
here has probably tried it! :-)


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Thanks for the help with the lighting/plant problem. I know, now, that I
have way too little light for the plants. In my 55 gallon I have two
separate hoods that each have an 18" fluorescent bulb with the standard
two pins on each end. I have been searching for a replacement bulb, but
it seems that I would need something around 55W each. I can't find a
good site that explains exactly what each bulb is. Actinic, 10000K,
light spectrum??? I just want to have healthy plants and fish. Can
someone direct me to a site that would explain some of this, or just
give a quick rundown on what I could use?
Thanks for any help!



I just switched from a full spectrum 6,000K 15w bulb to a 10.000K 15w
deep reef bulb (package said for fresh water plants too) to see what
changes it will make on my planted tank. Prior to this change the low
light plants I have were doing beautifully. Actinic light is very blue
light and acts like a black light to bring out the color of corals in a
marine tank. It can also be used to bring out color in fish. Not sure
how well it would do on plants tho. I am doing a little research with
the new light to see how well it would do with low light corals in my
salt water tank. If my plants do well than I will try it with corals.

Vicki

I think you need to have a hood that will accept 48", 40 watt fluorescent
lights. You can make a hood yourself. Spectrum is not all that important,
but the wattage is. Seems like you're shooting for 2 watts per gallon, so
you would need either 2 or 3 fluorescent tubes. I have a 70 gal with 5, 40
watt lights... CO2 injection becomes important at around 3 watts per gallon
and I have a pressurized system for my 70 gal. I got great plant growth
with my 37 gal/ 80 watt planted tank with DIY CO2. Your 55 gal is on the
edge of being too large for DIY CO2. Hope this helps?

DJay

"~Vicki ~" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the help with the lighting/plant problem. I know, now, that I
have way too little light for the plants. In my 55 gallon I have two
separate hoods that each have an 18" fluorescent bulb with the standard
two pins on each end. I have been searching for a replacement bulb, but
it seems that I would need something around 55W each. I can't find a
good site that explains exactly what each bulb is. Actinic, 10000K,
light spectrum??? I just want to have healthy plants and fish. Can
someone direct me to a site that would explain some of this, or just
give a quick rundown on what I could use?
Thanks for any help!



I just switched from a full spectrum 6,000K 15w bulb to a 10.000K 15w
deep reef bulb (package said for fresh water plants too) to see what
changes it will make on my planted tank. Prior to this change the low
light plants I have were doing beautifully. Actinic light is very blue
light and acts like a black light to bring out the color of corals in a
marine tank. It can also be used to bring out color in fish. Not sure
how well it would do on plants tho. I am doing a little research with
the new light to see how well it would do with low light corals in my
salt water tank. If my plants do well than I will try it with corals.

Vicki