Lighting upgrade

[two11devan]

I am planning on upgrading my tanks single 20 watt aqualife flourescent bulb with a pc setup. This setup will most likely be a 36 inch fixture with (1) 10,000 k and (1) actinic bulb. Do i have to acclimate my fish to this new lighting set up? I do not want an algae bloom, nor do i want to stress out my fish. I have heard about starting out with 3-4 hrs for the first day and increasing untill back up to the desired period of lighting (12hrs). If this is the way to go, how much should i increase the light dailey untill i reach the 12 hr period? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Guest]

For a FO setup, I don't think you would stress them out that much. However, if you want to be on the safe side, you can do what you stated, and increase 30 min per day, until the full time is reached....

 

[fishfreek]

Another thing to watch is the temperature of your tank. What wattage PC's are you going with? 96W PC's are 36" and are substantally hoter than a 20W florecent bulb so thats alot more heat going into your tank.

As far as algae bloom you might have some as your going to have a huge upgrade in your lights intensity.

 

[two11devan]

the lighhts are going to be 24inches each....will that make a difference? they are 110w i think

 

[loganj]

You have the 55w bulbs...you can also get 65w bulbs in this length although I doubt there is really much difference in them. Where a NO bulb gets slightly warm, a PC will blister your finger after it's been on for a while. I'd keep a close watch on temp for a few days.