Help with lighting.

[Piratechest]

Just got hoods in today. I have a 55g. The hood was a Aqueon 24'x12' hood with a single 15w t8.
I currently do not had enough light to support my plants I have growing.( from flourescent strips). Any ideas on how I can get more wattage? Or a cheap led panel I could stick on the hood. I have
Dwarf sag
Amazon compacta
Anubis
Crypt parva
And java moss
I can't think of a way to incorporate the flourescent strips I have now.

 

[Piratechest]

I'm currently looking at led strips on ebay. What colors would I need?
I'm just so confused. And it need to be on a serious budget.

 

[Masha]

Something to consider -
I have a smaller tank than you - about 23gallon with a single t8 tube. Putting a reflector behind it increased the light level significantly

I used this online light calculator to see what the difference would be:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AswmPrhGQOnKdDdIR3pIc1lQTmVqb3NRLVFvVDI0ZFE&hl=en#gid=0

I made a home-made reflector out of a length of PVC pipe cut in half and painted gloss white. So if you find you cannot afford LEDs, possibly 2 fluorescent tubes with a reflector behind them might help?

 

[Toad]

Go to Home Depot, Lowe's or Walmart. They have two bulb florescent strips pretty cheap, I got mine for around 15 bucks, and then the bulbs for around 8 or something each. Just make sure you get the right light spectrum in the bulbs.

 

[Mebbid]

Something to consider -
I have a smaller tank than you - about 23gallon with a single t8 tube. Putting a reflector behind it increased the light level significantly

I used this online light calculator to see what the difference would be:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AswmPrhGQOnKdDdIR3pIc1lQTmVqb3NRLVFvVDI0ZFE&hl=en#gid=0

I made a home-made reflector out of a length of PVC pipe cut in half and painted gloss white. So if you find you cannot afford LEDs, possibly 2 fluorescent tubes with a reflector behind them might help?

I wouldn't expect something line this to solve your light issues. There is just not enough light period with that bulb on that tank. A simple white painted reflector just won't increase your par by much.

Go to Home Depot, Lowe's or Walmart. They have two bulb florescent strips pretty cheap, I got mine for around 15 bucks, and then the bulbs for around 8 or something each. Just make sure you get the right light spectrum in the bulbs.

This isn't a bad idea.. but the lights do tend to look kind of ugly.

What budget are you planning on? maybe we can suggest some better options from there.

 

[Piratechest]

Well I only bought one hood, and the other next week. 40$ off drfostersandsmith. It's the all glass 24x12 I plan on getting the other one next week. because I am using plexi glass right now. Let's just say I'm on the cheapest budget. I have tons of low light plants. Ok one side I had a 10g hop on the plexi glass with 2 small blue white bulbs in it. And in the other side a 10 dollar flourescent strip from Walmart. Has been showing signs of growth for a month. So what can I do? I'm finding led panels on ebay for around 15 bucks in blue white for aquarium plant growth

 

[Piratechest]

 

[Mebbid]

Okay. What are you looking for with a planted tank? Medium light, low light, or high light?

 

[Piratechest]

Low light.
I have amazon compacta
Crypt parva
Java moss
Anacharis
And dwarf sag.
On the side with the 10g hood on it my amazon has actually began sending out a runner. And has grown significantly this week.
I also use oscomite root tabs and API leaf zone . I've added a few pics just to clear stuff up.

 

[Mebbid]

Well, you are succeeding in low light levels. If you want more you could possibly put bigger bulbs in the screw in spots but that is about it. The cheap led panels won't really add much at all to your tank

 

[Piratechest]

Well the 10g hood is coming off next week when I receive my other hood. Do you think it would be sufficient if I mounted the 24' led strip to the back of the tank? And only cut out enough of the background for it to shine?