hood lights

[terryeckel]

hi everyone, i have a 55 gallon tank with standard hoods and lights. the bulbs are 19 watt and i want something brighter. can i put a higher wattage bulb in the standard hood without causing an electrical problem ? if so, how much do you think i can up the wattage of the bulbs.

 

[dwayne.aycock]

You should be able to do what you suggest with no real problems. The better question is why are you doing this?
If you have live plants, the spectrum of color diffusion is a better question. What ever you do, you will need to keep an eye out for algae blooms. There are some plug and play LED lamps that fit into standard fixtures that are both more energy efficient and produce a lot less heat. They can give you the extra lumens you are seeking without drawing more wattage.

 

[terryeckel]

i don't have live planys. i'm just wanting the tank to be a little brighter. the tank is built into the wall so you can only see it from the front, i don't know if that matters but the tank just seems a little dark.

 

[Musicfreak]

I would suggest LEDs. I have some in the smaller tank that I have and I love them. I can change the color form white light to blue if I want. They put off no heat at all or at least that I can feel. I really like LEDs. The only issue is they can be expensive but for how long they last it seems you really get good use out of them.

 

[tamtam]

hi everyone, i have a 55 gallon tank with standard hoods and lights. the bulbs are 19 watt and i want something brighter. can i put a higher wattage bulb in the standard hood without causing an electrical problem ? if so, how much do you think i can up the wattage of the bulbs.

This depends on the max wattage your hood setup supports. For instance 1 of my hoods is rated for 20 watts. This means no matter what the max wattage I can get from a bulb I put in there is 20 watts. If I wanted it to be brighter I would have to get a new set up. It should say on your hood what it's rated for.

 

[terryeckel]

my hood says 19 watts. will a led rated at 19 watts be brighter ?

 

[dwayne.aycock]

There are a lot of choices to be found on ebay. I got a submursable light tube for around $40.00. It produces no heat and really lights the dark spots in my tank. But to answer your question, a LED would be brighter based on 3 factors:
the number if LEDs per square inch / more is better
the total wattage of the fixture / more is better
the length of the light / longer is better
I suggest you try ebay, there is a company in San Francisco that has good choices, fast shipping and reasonable prices.
Good luck.
Dwayne