Lighting & Top for 10g

[ocminpin]

I have a 10g tank I just set up one happy Betta in and realized the bulky plastic hood and little incandescent 15w bulbs don't do ANYTHING for his color.
Within the next few months I'd like to set up a lid of some kind (plastic with hinge opening or glass top) that I can set a light strip on.
I want to be able to grow plants also....
What would your suggestions be?
First on the lid.... (aside from Craigslist--- I'm looking) I'm willing to go to Home Depot and have glass cut... But how easily would i be able to get into the tank? I've seen glass tops at Petsmart with a hinge..

What light strip/light for low light plants and what type would I need for medium/high light plants?

Open to all comments, ideas & suggestions...
Thank you!

 

[jetajockey]

Hi ocminpin. Honestly the best thing you can do is quite simple, just replace the incandescents with daylight/full spectrum CFL bulbs. It'll give you more than enough light to be in the medium range and costs less than $10.

Just make sure that the bulbs aren't too wide to fit into the housing, but if they are you can just get some narrow ones that they make specifically for aquarium fixtures, they are found in walmart and most LFS.

 

[ocminpin]

Hi ocminpin. Honestly the best thing you can do is quite simple, just replace the incandescents with daylight/full spectrum CFL bulbs. It'll give you more than enough light to be in the medium range and costs less than $10.

Just make sure that the bulbs aren't too wide to fit into the housing, but if they are you can just get some narrow ones that they make specifically for aquarium fixtures, they are found in walmart and most LFS.

REALLY??!! Jeta you just made my day!!
Daylight/Full Spectrum CFL bulbs... There's no wattage right, just the daylight...
This is a general Top Fin hood...

 

[jetajockey]

There is varying wattage on the CFL replacements, I typically aim for something around 15-17 watts as the bigger ones are often too wide to fit into the fixture itself without modifying something. But as with any DIY thing, your mileage may vary.

You can grow most plants with sufficient lighting. The plant growth will not be explosive like it would in a co2 injected and regularly dosed tank, but the plants will still grow. I grow all kinds of high and low light labeled plants together with low-medium lighting and no co2 and rare ferts. They don't grow super fast, but I don't really want them to.

The hard part comes when you have too much light and not enough co2 and ferts to accommodate it, this is where you'll typically run into algae issues and whatnot. There's a potential for this when you step up to the CFLs, so you may have to act accordingly if you start having issues.

 

[ocminpin]

I'm so happy about this!
Jitterbug is quite the happy guy and this is my first time taking care of a betta right from day one.... So his home being his castle, he is on his way to being a very spoiled boy.
I started a plant thread so I can have ideas there.

 

[Coursair]

I use two 10watt mini CFLs from Petsmart on my 10g Mine are 5,500K I think. My next ones will be 6,500K or near that. Avoid Actinic and 50/50 bulbs.
Marineland, Aqueon and Zoomed all make mini CFLs

Careful not to exceed your hoods specs on wattage.

I have 2 Topfin tanks. A 10g and a 5.5. Both use CFLs.
My pics are in my profile. 10g Shrimp Jungle is my main tank.

 

[ocminpin]

I use two 10watt mini CFLs from Petsmart on my 10g Mine are 5,500K I think. My next ones will be 6,500K or near that. Avoid Actinic and 50/50 bulbs.
Marineland, Aqueon and Zoomed all make mini CFLs

Careful not to exceed your hoods specs on wattage.

I have 2 Topfin tanks. A 10g and a 5.5. Both use CFLs.
My pics are in my profile. 10g Shrimp Jungle is my main tank.

Thank you!!

 

[Coursair]

You can sometimes score good bulbs at Lowes or Home Depot also.

Here is a vid of my tank that uses CFLs

 

[ocminpin]

You can sometimes score good bulbs at Lowes or Home Depot also.

Here is a vid of my tank that uses CFLs

I live 5 min walking distance from Home Depot.. Should I look there first? Same thing, right?

 

[ocminpin]

I found this:

13-Watt (60W) 2-Pin Twin Tube Cool White PL CFL Light Bulb (1-Pack)

Does that work? Home Depot for 4.98
Then I'd need two...
Max hood wattage is 15.
I just saw this online.. I live around the corner from home depot so i may go look

 

[stan23]

I found this:

13-Watt (60W) 2-Pin Twin Tube Cool White PL CFL Light Bulb (1-Pack)

Does that work? Home Depot for 4.98
Then I'd need two...
Max hood wattage is 15.
I just saw this online.. I live around the corner from home depot so i may go look

Those won't work. They have a 2-pin base and you need a screw in base. I would take one of your bulbs to home depot and match the bases (there are multiple size screw in bases.)

Here's what they look like at Petsmart - couldn't find it online at HD but they still may have it.

 

[ocminpin]

Those won't work. They have a 2-pin base and you need a screw in base. I would take one of your bulbs to home depot and match the bases (there are multiple size screw in bases.)

Here's what they look like at Petsmart - couldn't find it online at HD but they still may have it.

OHH didn't even notice that!
I was suggested to stay away from 50/50 bulbs... Why is that and what are they?

 

[stan23]

I was suggested to stay away from 50/50 bulbs... Why is that and what are they?

50/50 means 50% daylight and 50% actinic so probably not the best for FW. 100% daylight would probably be better, something near 6700k.