Light Bulb in a Petco 48" Light Strip Can I replace wit

[75galsalt]

I bought a Petco light with just one 32W regular floresent bulb in it.

I am wondering if I can buy a better bulb and use the same strip?

If the wattage on the bulb is more will it work in this strip until I can buy what I really want.

I have just a fowlr (want to give LR more light hoping something will grow) with a couple of soft corals

What type of bulb you reccomend to get more light or better light into the tank?

[dskidmore]

NO Florcent is NO Florecent.

Given the same length of bulb, it should be the same wattage. You may find bulbs that put out a few more Lumens (a measure of light) per watt (a measure of electricity usage) or put out diffrent light spectrums, but you can't increase the wattage without changing the ballast inside the fixture.

The color mix is really up to you. Lights that tend towards the bluish end are often prefered for saltwater tanks. The bulb package should have a light spectrum chart and a lumens rating on it. Find the bulb in the highest lumen rating you can find in the color you want.

[75galsalt]

OK, so the purchase of one may be of a difference than the normal buld that came with the fixture? I just do not want to replace one cheap bulb for a fancy package buld that turns out to be the exact same thing.

I do see a bulb at petsmart, that is 48" and is 42W this is 10 higher than mine, this would not work I hear you say?

[dskidmore]

Is that 42W is a compact fluorescent bulb? Is your fixture compact fluorescent, or does it take the normal shop light kind of bulbs? Is the ballast visible in your fixture, so you can tell us what it says on it? Do the terms T12, T8, T5, or CF appear anywhere on your fixture?

[75galsalt]

Originally Posted by dskidmore

Is that 42W is a compact fluorescent bulb? Is your fixture compact fluorescent, or does it take the normal shop light kind of bulbs? Is the ballast visible in your fixture, so you can tell us what it says on it? Do the terms T12, T8, T5, or CF appear anywhere on your fixture?

no it is not visable but i look at the bulb i am sure it is a reg floresent bulb -

i guess what i will do is hold out till i can get better lighting fiuxture no need to jimmy rig...

just got the skimmer so money seems to just flow into this thing....

thanks

[dskidmore]

Yeah, saltwater tanks can get pretty pricy. I made the "mistake" of fully researching and pricing out my ideal reef before I started, so my 75 gallon is still freshwater.

[pkremer]

I did the same thing...got a 30W bulb with my aquarium purchase, and thought I could get a better higher watt light for it. Unfortunately, I found that you can really only change the color spectrum, not the wattage. I found that a bluer light, for instance 50/50 actinic/daylight bulb is much more beautiful, but will not support corraline algae or corals. Then I did a little more research and ended up with an Orbit 192W lighting system that set me back another couple hundred bucks...my aquarium looks great, but I am still paying it off!!!

At least I filled in the money pit...after the initial setup, maintenance only costs a few dollars a month.

Paul