Im not sure what to do...

[Ellenquacker72]

Right now in my ten gallon tank I have two 13watt 6500k clfs which seems to do an adequate job with my moneywort and java fern. But soon I will be upgrading my tank to a 20g, and I'm thinking the 19w fluorescant aqua glo tube I have in there isnt going to cut it. I'm not allowed to order any new fixtures through the Internet, and my local petsmart doesnt stock any new hoods. And if I did buy a new hood, should it be cfl compatible, or a double strip fixture... Or something else... I'm just don't know, I'm quite new at this Any suggestions? Can you buy a more powerful fluorescant strip bulb that fits a 20g high?

 

[Rush03]

19W should be fine for low light plants. Depending on what you're trying to grow, I would buy a double strip fixture; let's you grow more. And yes, look into T5HO lighting.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

What exactly is T5HO lighting? What does it mean from a fish keepers point of view?
I'm going to try and go find an aquarium store which might sell the double fixtures. Fingers crossed!
What would I be able to grow in 19w except java moss&fern?

 

[Rush03]

It means the diameter of the bulb is 5/8. HO means high output. I believe this translates to more lumens compared to a normal output. This means more light.

Anubias will grow in low light. Try plantgeek.net and look in their low light section.

 

[mudraker]

Anubius and crypts are also great lowlight choices.

 

[Coursair]

There are many kinds of Mosses. You can do a lot with low light plants

I just got my first Crypts. Eager to see how they do.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Could I really grow those plants with only 19w? That's less than the gallons in my tank! I always have heard that it's something like 3w per gallon. I had a hard time getting java fern to grow with 15w un my ten, and this 20 is a lot higher, so I just can't imagine 19w doing the job... But I'll try it and see how it works out is anubias a floating plant that I can have for my gourami?

 

[jetajockey]

Is it a 20H or a 20L? T5ho is really the way to go.

Petsmart carries an aqueon brand T5no, which would be an upgrade at least. If price was the major factor I'd just go with CFL bulbs though. I have a basic screw in fixture over a 29g with 2 CFL bulbs and it has around 10 different species of plants growing in it just fine.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

20 high ......

 

[Johnstamos003]

Had lots of problems with light needy plants in my 20 high. Got some T5 lighting and saw improvement. I think I have two 18 watt bulbs in the fixture. Do not really need if all you have are low light plants, in fact my low lights are on the verge of being discarded for algae - I did not really provide them with adequate shade from the extremely brighter lights.

 

[Coursair]

I'm using screw in CFLs on my current tanks. But my largest are only 10g. But working fine so far. Also I see lots of used fixtures for sale on various planted tank forums. Craigslist also.

 

[mudraker]

I also use screw in CFL on my 30gal cube with excellent results. Just make sure you buy ones with a 7500K or higher rating and get full spectrum or natural daylight, not white or soft white.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

The 6500k cfl bulbs seem to be working very well, they're 13w each. And I'm not able to order anything online, so I guess I'm going to gave to see what's available at my lfs next time I'm up there! Thanks for all your input guys!

 

[Coursair]

This is my 10g low light tank before it became a jungle.


View attachment 46283

CFLs can work well

 

[Ellenquacker72]

Yeah, they really are great... That is what is making the whole upgrading thing frustrating! It was hard enough to get my ten set up, and now it's like I'm starting over!