Bright enough light?

[FreshwaterTropical]

I have a fluorescent tube 15 w bulb over my 40 gallon tank. How do I figure out watts per gallon or whatever so I can know what type of plants I will be able to keep.

 

[BigJim]

To get the number of watts per gallon, you simply divide the combined wattage of your lighting by the number of gallons in your tank. At the moment you're definitely in the low-light range and you'd only be able to keep java moss, and maybe java ferns and anubias.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Uh oh big problem. I need a bigger watt light but it has to be 18 in. I believe is what my thing is now. How many watts is good for plants like amazon sword but still alright with lower light level plants?

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

It's actually 22 in. Long, 15 w. Can I get higher wattage?

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Do they even sell higher wattage light bulbs for this length or do I need to get a different light?

 

[D9VIN]

Nope. Gonna have to get a different light. What are the dimensions on your tank?

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

It's 40 gallon irregular hexagon! The top light spot on the hood with the light is 28x4 in. So realize I need a new light, can I get a brighter bulb or do I need a complete new socket length thing too?

 

[D9VIN]

The bulbs for your current setup only come in one wattage. You can find some reasonable 2ft setups on evilbay. I would shoot for 50-60 watts at least. A 2ft t5ho 2 bulb would give you 48 watts.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Ok thanks for your help.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

The bulbs for your current setup only come in one wattage. You can find some reasonable 2ft setups on evilbay. I would shoot for 50-60 watts at least. A 2ft t5ho 2 bulb would give you 48 watts.

What does t5ho stand for?

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Tell me what you think of this light? Enough wattage for the 24 in. Or what should I go for.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/7762/product.web

FYI I really don't have any experience in lighting, so teach me a little please!

 

[D9VIN]

T5 is the size of the bulb, yours probably has a t8 bulb, and ho stands for high output. T5ho is a brighter fluorescent bulb type. The t-number is a measure of the diameter of the bulb. T5's are pretty small, the tubes you see in most overhead lights are t8's or t12's. There are regular t5's, often referred to as t5no (normal output), but they aren't as common for aquarium lights.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

T5 is the size of the bulb, yours probably has a t8 bulb, and ho stands for high output. T5ho is a brighter fluorescent bulb type. The t-number is a measure of the diameter of the bulb. T5's are pretty small, the tubes you see in most overhead lights are t8's or t12's. There are regular t5's, often referred to as t5no (normal output), but they aren't as common for aquarium lights.

Ok thanks check out the website I linked above. Show me an example of something that would be good for my tank, please!

 

[D9VIN]

Yeah, that fixture would be good, and coralife is a quality brand from what I hear, but that actinic blue bulb isn't going to help your plants out, so you would need to replace it if you wanted both lights to benefit the plants. You could find a comparable fixture for about half that on eBay though. The bulbs in the coralife will be higher quality, but not ideal for plant growth.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Yeah, that fixture would be good, and coralife is a quality brand from what I hear, but that actinic blue bulb isn't going to help your plants out, so you would need to replace it if you wanted both lights to benefit the plants. You could find a comparable fixture for about half that on eBay though. The bulbs in the coralife will be higher quality, but not ideal for plant growth.

Ok thanks.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Is this good or not?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-48w-Ligh...ltDomain_0&hash=item2a166bb4f5#ht_1979wt_1057

 

[D9VIN]

Yeah, that is what you are looking for. Both of the bulbs in that one are 6500k, which is a 'color temperature'. In the most basic terms, it is the shade of light that you see that comes from the bulb. 6500k is generally the best for plant growth, but you can mix it up a little bit to suit your taste as to how your aquarium looks to you. 10000k bulbs are a bit 'bluer' in appearance, so if your aquarium looks a little drab or dark to you, than I would switch out one o the bulbs for a 10000k. But since you are effectively tripling the amount of light over your tank, I am sure it will look plenty bright to you. Here is a similar one i found:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24-T5-HO-Aq...Tropical-Fish-6500K-48W-Odyssea-/110752155766

That is from the seller I like, I have bought a couple things from them.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

The one from the seller you buy from. Looks good. What will it classify my tank light as. Watts per gallon???

 

[D9VIN]

It would be a little over 1 watt per gallon, but that is a very basic guideline. I would think it would give enough light for medium plants, but it is hard to say with an irregular shaped aquarium. How tall is it?

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

It would be a little over 1 watt per gallon, but that is a very basic guideline. I would think it would give enough light for medium plants, but it is hard to say with an irregular shaped aquarium. How tall is it?

18" tall. And amazon swords are medium light right? Any lower light plant should be fine also right?