Troubles with Lighting

[Andos99]

My 50 gal tank right now is a pretty basic set-up powered by two 18" nutrigrow 15 watt bulbs giving me a total of 30 watts of light. My tank however is fairly densely planted and I don't feel that I'm getting enough wattage to my plants as they tend to only make it about 3 months on average before needing replacement. I feed them regularly with iron enriched "plant gro" with every pwc.

My question is....how can I add more light without spending a fortune. I can't find any 18" lights that put out more than 15 watts. Is there some way to rig up some compact florescents that put out more power? I'm not sure. Any comments would be great. Thanks.

 

[hashbaz]

There is no good way to get the light you need without spending quite a bit of $$$. Java fern is about the only plant that will grow well in less than 1.5 watts per gallon. I would suggest two 55 watt power compact bulbs/fixtures (at least $115).

 

[mattrox]

My tank is less than 1 watt per gallon and I have photos in my gallery. I have some swords that are kicking butt.

 

[malkore]

But you're the exception, not the rule mattrox I can name 3 people who've been able to grow a sword species with less than 1.5wpg, counting you.

But anyhow, hazbaz is pretty much right. You've only got a few options:
1. change ballasts in the current fixture to a bigger one, and overdrive your NO tubes
2. upgrade with a power compact retrofit
3. change the fixture out for a pre-fab power compact hood

First thing you have to ask yourself is how much plant related maintenance do you want to deal with? Currently you have no maintenance. If you bumped up to 2wpg, you'd need to add CO2 injection, purchase a wider variety of fertilizers, and you'd have to prune weekly. If you went to 3wpg, you'd be dosing ferts daily, and pruning twice a week, and wouldn't get by without CO2 injection.

For the record I have plants that I bought 16 months ago, still growing in multiple tanks.