My 30gal attempt, opinions, advice?

[rich311k]

You could get a twin 65 watt PC fixture. Get one bulb as 50/50 and the other as a daylight bulb. That would give you 98 watts of effective pc light. If you decide to go for it later you can change the 50/50 bulb out get another daylight bub and you have 130 watts. The 130 watts will grow just about anything.

 

[elliott_001]

Great, that seems like a sensible amount then. I will obviously look into this in more detail, but out of interest, how often do you dose your tank with ferts? Is it a case of when the tank needs it, or is it done every so many days?
Thanks for the help.

Edit: rich, didn't see your post. Thanks for the suggestion. I guess i will need to change my hood. Does this type of fixture require a seperate ballast?

 

[rich311k]

I follow EI and dose something everyday except one. I do get nervous and test every week just to be sure I have not gone over the top with anything. I also do 50% water change every week. If I know I wont be able to change water, I will skip dosing and just leave one 65 watt light on, to try and avoid an algae outbreak, until I can change water and start the weekly cycle again.

 

[elliott_001]

Sounds like a good system. So when replacing the hood, am i likely to just find the right hood for my tank with the twin fixture? Sorry, i havn't looked into the hoods and lights that much! I dont really know where to start! Im liking the sound of this though!
Thanks for the help.

 

[rich311k]

The pc lights come in strips that you can place on the tank with legs. if you go in my gallery you will see how it looks. Also check out Wolf's threads he has pictures of his.
They wont work with the plastic top you probably have. You will need to get a glass top they are inexpensive and you can buy them online if you wish. I belive Bigal carries them.
You can also go without a top at all. I do that but I have no children at home and my cats ignore the tank and my fish are not jumpers.
I have a USA satellite fixture which I like very much. There are several brands available.

HTH

 

[Lonewolfblue]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3781&N=2004+113765

 

[dskidmore]

There is also the light diffuser grid top option. It keeps jumpers in and cats out, but allows air to circulate. Once you start putting big lights on, the air ciculation is helpful for keeping the tank cool. Downside is that you get more evaporation with that cooling.

 

[elliott_001]

Right, i see. Thanks for the help. Funny, after all this time of having a plastic hood, i choose to opt for this open top set up 2 weeks before we are due to get a new kitten....lol! Im going to have to go for the diffuser grid, i think my rainbow shark would probably jump out of the tank too if it didnt have a lid on.
How much more electricity to these twin pc lights use?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I have 3 260W, 1 130W, and 1 65W fixture running all day and my power bill has only gone up like 25% more than normal. But power here is cheap too, so I'm not worried about the bill.