Light Standards

[Electrobes]

Okay.. I want to make a DIY hood for my 10 gallon tank, but I went to walmart and saw the possibilities. The problem though is when on says it uses something like an example of 32 watts, but says its the same as have 100 watts of incandecent... what do we use when lighting the tank.. like if I want about 30 watts for the 10 gallon? My other question is is one spiral flourecent of 32 watts okay? thanks all!

 

[reefrunner69]

For figuring the wattage, I would use the lower number. That will be the PC wattage and you can compare that to regular PC aquarium bulbs and wattages.

? My other question is is one spiral flourecent of 32 watts okay?

Not being a plant guru, I'm gonna say probably, but I think you will lose some light due to the design of the bulb. This can be minimized with the use of a good reflector, but the bulb is still only gonna be a 4" bulb over a 20" tank. I might use two, centered over the center point of each 1/2 of the tank.

 

[d9hp]

I have two 19 watt bulbs over my 5.5 gallon tank. They screw into a double incandescent fixture. I am getting crazy plant growth.

 

[Electrobes]

Hey D9hp, did you buy the double incandecant fixture or did you have to buy two single ones and combine them? I was sorta looking around Lowes for a double, but couldn't really find one. The reason is that I don't want two wires powering the 10-gallon because of the single sockets. I am not a wiring guru so I am not even sure if there is a possibility of powering two single incandacent sockets to one cord. I guess it would just be easier finding a two socket-in-one-fixture or something. Thanks!

 

[loganj]

Yes, you can run several of the lights you're talking about off one cord. If you're not familiar with electricity, I'd find someone who is and get them to help me. It's not hard at all and you'll be able to do it once you've watched someone else wire it up.