Light examples

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new2betas

Aquarium Advice Addict
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Can someone show me some examples of the types of bulbs I need in my tanks for low/medium plants, please? One of my 10g have the original bulbs that it came with, so I am sure they are not meant for plants. The used 10g that I just got have these really bright bulbs on them (not frosted either). I would just like to see pictures/names of the types or brands of lights that I need to be looking for for a low/medium plant tank.
Thanks! :D
 
Do your hoods use normal incandescent screw in bulbs?(hopefully you do as thats the easiest way to upgrade)
If so you can pick up some Compact Florescent screw in bulbs to replace those. Most are spiral and they are not as good as the "U-shaped" bulbs but they will work. Most will tell you that you dont want the normal "soft white" or "warm white", you need a "daylight" bulb. Daylight is normally considered a 5000K-6500K(k=Kelvin). You want prob 30watts total for a minimum on a 10g using spirals, so that would be 2 ~15watt bulbe. You go by the real watt of the bulb not the "compares to a 75w" or "same light as a 75w", ect.. GE makes spiral daylight bulbs in 15w,20w and 26w, can be found at Walmart cheapest. Also Walgreens has Feit Electric spiral daylight bulbs in 13w/18w/23w and are cheap 4 bulbs for $10. The U-shaped ones are hard to find in daylight, I know at least 1 person having success w/ a normal soft white 2700k U-shaped bulb, but most would say to get daylight.

So you can buy a new hood of find a used one that uses the incandescent bulbs for pretty cheap then just replace the bulbs like stated above

If you have tube fluorescent bulbs then they are all the same watts depending on the length(should be a 18" 15w T8 bulb). So you basically are stuck, you can overdrive the light, search for "ODNO" to find info.

Or you can buy a new fixture, there are many brands and options(not as many for a 10G).


For cheap and DIY ODNO is an option for a flourescent hood, the most you get is ~2x the rated watts at 4x overdriven.

Or in my case I did not know about ODNO till the other day, I had a flourescent 15w tube hood. I did a little project where I took out the tube and replaced/rewired for 2 normal light bulbs. I used "aluminum reflective tape" and some 44oz cups to make an OK reflector. Cost ~$20 and now have 2x 20W GE 6500K spiral screw in compact flourescent bulbs.

Heres a pic of mine:
img_881814_0_341b8af7f68e814e9ffd2ded7f1fcaae.jpg
 
Do both your hoods have 18" long fluorescent tubes? If your not sure post a pic of the underside of both hoods

Put it this way, on my stock 15w fluorescent lighting the Java moss, crypts, java ferns grew in my tank. Now they are not going to grow fast but they will grow. Anubias is another that should grow.

Other plants tend to need more light, especially small ones that people use like carpet/grass in the front.
 
Here are pictures of my lighting. The first picture is my newer 10g lighting and the second picture is of the used 10g lighting that I just got a few days ago.
They both have the warning on them not to exceed 25w. both have bulbs in them about 4"-6" long.

On my newer tank the lighting lifts off from the hood. On the used one it is all one built in piece.
Hope this info. helps.
Thanks!
 
They both have the warning on them not to exceed 25w. both have bulbs in them about 4"-6" long.

Yeah these are the hoods that you can just buy bulbs for, so your in luck. The bulbs that are in there suck for plants.

Now does it say 25w per bulb? or total? Take the bulbs out and see what watts they say on them maybe that will tell you if its total or each socket.

Edit: I found this one, they are basically all the same, it says 2 25w bulbs so its 50w total
All-Glass 20" Incandescent Economy Full Hood Black


Personally I would go to Walgreens and get a 4 pack of Feit Electric Daylight bulbs for $10 and you have all new lights and should be OK to grow some plants. They have 13w(60w)/18w(75w)/23w(100w) bulbs in those 4 packs. I would get the 18w bulbs to start as that should be close to medium light so you hopefully dont have algae probs and should not have to use ferts or CO2. The 23w ones may not fit in the hood, I know the GE bulbs are bigger and people say the 26w bulbs dont fit(too big around)

Heres the link for the bulbs:
Daylight 75 Light Bulb | Feit Electric | Walgreens
 
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SpeedEuphoria -
It says 25W total. Thanks for your help! We have Walgreens near here so I will try that route first. Thanks again!! :)
 
I dont know 25w total doesnt make sense to me, check the bulbs you have in there. The ones I find online are at least 15w each or 25w each
Incandescent Bulbs | Pet Solutions
AGA Incandescent 15 watt Aquarium Light Bulb - Aquar Lights and Bulbs at Arcata Pet Supplies


I'm pretty sure its 25w each socket max(the pic says 25w lamp/bulb max, as in each side), check the watts of the bulbs that are in there now, they should be 15w each or 25w each.

Personally I would not hesitate to put 2 20w bulbs in there.

OH make sure that you have a little room where the new bulb goes, AFAIK they should fit(at least the 13w ones), please check, possibly take a string and measure the circumference of the current bulbs then figure out if the new ones will fit.
 
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I took the bulbs out and can't find anything on them. But, your're right, I started thinking about it and you can't divide 25 by 2 so that makes no sense... but the hoods clearly state 25 W Maximum...but maybe it does mean per bulb...
 
"Use lamp rated 25 watts MAX" to me means per lamp.

Measure with a tape measure or string how much room you have from the bulbs to the reflector, and bulbs. The newer one or the pic on the left is the one I'm most concerned about, the other one looks like most I've seen and I think only the large 26w GE bulbs are a prob to fit. Then measure the bulbs you want to buy just to make sure they will fit. I think my bulbs are ~2.4" in diameter, the ones you have now should be 1.75" dia, I think those Feit bulbs are a little skinnier then mine. you might have to make a spacer(wood/metal/hard plastic) to give you clearance on that new one, looks pretty flat to me.

Your going to have to take that plastic cover thingy off of that one hood also. Its faded anyway so its not helping anything.

Oh do you have a timer for the lights? now would be a good time to get one or 2 of those also. 8-12 hrs a day.
 
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"Use lamp rated 25 watts MAX" to me means per lamp.

Measure with a tape measure or string how much room you have from the bulbs to the reflector, and bulbs. The newer one or the pic on the left is the one I'm most concerned about, the other one looks like most I've seen and I think only the large 26w GE bulbs are a prob to fit. Then measure the bulbs you want to buy just to make sure they will fit. I think my bulbs are ~2.4" in diameter, the ones you have now should be 1.75" dia, I think those Feit bulbs are a little skinnier then mine. you might have to make a spacer(wood/metal/hard plastic) to give you clearance on that new one, looks pretty flat to me.

Your going to have to take that plastic cover thingy off of that one hood also. Its faded anyway so its not helping anything.

Oh do you have a timer for the lights? now would be a good time to get one or 2 of those also. 8-12 hrs a day.

Oh geez this is getting confusing. I have no idea how to make a spacer. Those plastic pieces are on there with screws....so I just unscrew them and take the plastic completely off?
No....I have no timers.....how much do they cost and are they absolutely necesarry. Can't I just turn them on for 8-12 hours a day and then turn them off?
 
Measurments -
Used tank lights (pictured on the right) bulb is 4" in diameter and there is about 1/4" clearance from refractors
Newer tank (pictured on left) bulb is 4" in diameter and there is about 1/2" clearance from refractors....
 
Be careful about the screw-in flourescent bulbs. Almost all the ones I have seen are rated to be used in a LOW humidity area. That lets out being used in a high humidity area such as a fish tank. I have a set on one of my 10g tanks. One bulb lasted less than a month before burning out due to moisture.

If at all possible: go with full length flourescent tubes. You're better off.

For conversion kits see: AH supply company Compact Fluorescent Lighting Kits
 
Are timers absolutely necessary? No. Are they very handy, especially when you decide to go out of town for a few days or have plans that interfer with when you should be turning the lights on/off? Extremely. Most timers are only $10 - $20 and will save you major headaches, and your plants will appreciate the consistancy in their lighting schedule.

As long as you have either a glass canopy or the deluxe hood between the bulbs and the aquarium water, using the screw in compact fluorescents should work just fine. Many have dones so with great results.
 
As long as you have either a glass canopy or the deluxe hood between the bulbs and the aquarium water, using the screw in compact fluorescents should work just fine. Many have dones so with great results.
I agree, they should work fine ic there is something between the water and bulbs. Heck People even use egg crate for a lid and have 3alum round work/heat lamp type fixtures w/ these bulbs w/o issues.

I got my timer from Walmart for ~$4-5, you dont need one, but they are nice to have as purrbox mentioned. One reason is consistency, mostly consistent 8 -12 hours a day. Like for me currently using consistent 10hrs a day, I think if I do 12hrs I may have an algae issue, I havent tested it yet but I have green on my heater, wiped it off and was back in 2days, doesnt appear anywhere else.
 
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Did you try some new bulbs yet? Did they fit?
I bought some from walgreens the other day. The balasts on these Feit bulbs are smaller and in general the bulbs are slightly smaller than the GE's that I'm currently using. They only had the 13w(60w) and 23w(100w) bulbs and no sign of the 18w(75w) bulbs. I'm pretty sure that the 23w bulb is basically the size of my 20w GE bulb. The color looks near identical to my eye so they should work OK.
 
Did you try some new bulbs yet? Did they fit?
I bought some from walgreens the other day. The balasts on these Feit bulbs are smaller and in general the bulbs are slightly smaller than the GE's that I'm currently using. They only had the 13w(60w) and 23w(100w) bulbs and no sign of the 18w(75w) bulbs. I'm pretty sure that the 23w bulb is basically the size of my 20w GE bulb. The color looks near identical to my eye so they should work OK.

I haven't gotten the new bulbs yet, as there isn't a walgreens in my local area...I have to drive about 20-25 minutes to one and haven't gone out that way recently....but they are definitely on my shopping list, as I would like to get them before my tank cycles and my shrimp come in....
 
Well since its not close, maybe its a good idea to take the hood with you and test fit in the store, take the hood that has the lease clearance.
 
Well since its not close, maybe its a good idea to take the hood with you and test fit in the store, take the hood that has the lease clearance.

The bulbs don't come in that plastic you have to cut open? I am not sure they would let me do that at the store if they are....if they are just in those slide cartons they probably would let me. The one with the least clearance is my newly acquired tank...the one I am cycling for the shrimp....picture on right, with 1/4" clearance. Do you think I will find something I can use with that clearance? My other tank (established 10g) has a clearance of 1/2".
 
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