best light for lr

[morgan24]

i need to update my lihjting in my tank i have a 20gl fowlr just started not to long ago and i only have a 15 watt light what should i go to ? that is not to much money

 

[Wooster]

you should go to power compacts. and with a 20 gallon tank i would say you need at least 65 watts, if your tank is the standard rectangular shape i think that would be 24"X12"X16"? so a 1X65 watt fixture would be nice, or if you would ever want to have corals you should go to a 2X62watt light. a good company would be current USA i use one of their light fixtures and it has served me very well. the 1X65watt runs around 60-65 dollars on the net while the 2X65watt light runs for about 125-140 dollars. you could probably get away with having some soft corals with the 1X65 fixture but that is about it for those.

but the main thing is once you upgrade and add supplements to the water (if you have not already) for the rock you should see some very good corraline growth in no time because you don't get nearly as much growth with a 15 watt NO bulb as with the power compacts.

 

[RMPD109]

coralline algae needs no specific lighting. NO lighting is OK. The PC upgrade will help with some corals later if you go that route.

 

[morgan24]

thanks guys

 

[Jonathan G.]

if you have a normal hood with a regular bulb outlet... not the NO flourescents. then you could try these bulbs for a FOWLR, my buddy has used these bulbs on his smaller tanks for a while
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9870&N=2004+113179

 

[midiman]

Also try ahsupply.com for great retrofit kits. I'm using them on all three of my tanks.

 

[tinman]

try this place they have great deals on PC lights.

http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp

 

[morgan24]

thanks guys for all the help.. I found a 2-65 wt vho coralife really cheap that would that work good to?