Low to medium lighting for a 16 gallon planted.

[Shane l]

Hey! I've had an old daro " flo- glo brightens fish colour/ helps plant growth" 15 watt fluorescent pink tube in my 16 gal for months but my plants seem to be dieing and the tank looks dark.

So I want to change this to 2x 15 watt fluorescent white light. Will thus work ?

 

[Iodizedfate]

How old is the bulb? Fluorescent lamps tend to shift color temperature with age, people advise to get new bulbs every 8 months or something like that.

With a 16 gal tank a 15 watt would put the tank at really low light. I think the upgrade to 2 x 15 watt bulbs would work but you need to make sure you get either full spectrum lights or lights make specifically for plants.

It's hard to tell how much light you would need without knowing what type of plants you have.

 

[Coursair]

I like to aim for 2-3 watts per gallon. 6,500K or thereabouts. Lots of other Kelvin ratings will work but near that value has the most useable light for plants and it's nice to look at.

You can also use CFLs. I use them on 3 of my tanks. Pics are on my profile page.