Lighting help

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Aspencer

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
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Location
Bend, Oregon
I have a generic 10 gallon, 20 x 12 x 8 with 3 swordtails getting ready to have babies. I have five plants, pretty new but thriving, Cryptocoryne wenditi, Cryptocoryne spiralis, Anaubias afzelii, and on I have not identifed yet but a low light type in a substrat of pea sized round gravel.

I have an old Odessa CF, 25 watt 50/50. I do not see any 20" fixtures to ugrade my lighting.

Anyone have any suggestions what I should do.
 
So, if my fixture is a 25 w double bulb 50/50, is my wpg 1.2 or .625?

I have the tank without a hood, just light overhead. I suppose having a hood reduces the light significantly.
 
A 10g is too small to adhere to the Wpg guidelines very well. That said, you should have enough light for the plants you listed.

Is your fixture a power compact (PC) fixture or does it use CFLs?
 
Is your fixture a power compact (PC) fixture or does it use CFLs?

It is a double 1/2" tubes that are almost 12" long with a fitting at the end.

My regular hood is a 8000 full spectrum 15w T8 18".

Is one better than another?
 
Are the bulbs U-shaped? Do they screw into a socket or do they have pin connections?

CFLs are cheap and make it easy to upgrade your bulb wattage. PCs are typically more powerful.
 
Are the bulbs U-shaped? Do they screw into a socket or do they have pin connections?

CFLs are cheap and make it easy to upgrade your bulb wattage. PCs are typically more powerful.

The odessa double tube has a 4 pin plug in.

If I upgrade my bulb wattage, do I need to upgrade the balast?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
 
The four pin bulb is a power compact. You will have to upgrade the ballast if you want to use a more powerful bulb. If you want to go that far, consider T5HO or LED lighting instead. They're more efficient and effective.
 
I need to clarify,

Which would be best for low to medium light plants?

1. Old hood with a 8000 full spectrum 15w T8 18 tube? If I upgrade, will I need a new balast and can it be installed in an Aeron kit hood?

or

2. Old Odessa fixture with a power company 25w 50/50.

Does having the light go through an opening make a difference?

I cannot find a fixture that covers a 20" tank. Any suggestions?
 
They do make T5HO fixtures for 20" tanks if you're looking to buy one... Here's a link to one I found with a quick google search.

I think it would be about the same light with either of the two fixtures you have if you don't replace any bulbs. You'll have less wattage with the PC light, but the reflectors are typically better on PC fixtures than your standard T8 fixtures.

Are you sure you have a 25w PC fixture? Looking online, the standard seems to be 18w, 24w, 27w, 32w, and so forth, but no 25w anywhere.
 
If you put that T5HO fixture on the tank, I think you would want CO2. Without it, you might grow a lot of algae. Even low and medium light plants will benefit from CO2 injection. The real benefit for you though is just going to be keeping C from becoming a limiting factor, which would give algae a big foothold.
 
If you put that T5HO fixture on the tank, I think you would want CO2. Without it, you might grow a lot of algae. Even low and medium light plants will benefit from CO2 injection. The real benefit for you though is just going to be keeping C from becoming a limiting factor, which would give algae a big foothold.

To me, keeping algae from getting a foothold is the big plus.
 
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