is wpg really accurate??

[GIMojo]

I mean, the recommended amount is like 2wpg but 3wpg is very good.

lights dont come in 50w. they come in 15w,20w,30w,40w. the 40w bulbs are quite expensive and i got myself 4, 30w bulbs. makes a total of 120w. I think my tank is around 70-80 gallons, so now i either have 1.7wpg or 1.5wpg.

if i buy 4, 40w bulb(which will get me into loans and prostitution) i still dont get 3wpg. so, how do tanks larger than 70 gallons get the light needed to keep very high lighted plants???

 

[greenmaji]

the wpg rule was devised back when NO florecent bulbs were the only option for lighting.. if the lights are CF or ODNO the numbers are a little higher then what is nessisary.
your 30 watt bulbs are 36" T-12 bulbs right? if you have read the 29gallon ODNO tread he was overdriving 2-24 bulbs in series.. well if you have a pair of the proper ballasts you could do the same thing.. (the electronic ballasts would need to be ratted to do 6foot bulbs though making your ballasts bigger) I know that a pair of WH7 will do this job.. maybe the WH6 would do it but it would take e-mailing Fulham to get the specs..
The spec to look for is "4 X F60T12".

 

[greenmaji]

BTW. I ment to leave you a link for the WH7.. oops..
http://www.prolighting.com/wo7elba12loc.html

 

[GIMojo]

i dont understand what t-12 bulb is lol.

great, another way to kill myself

 

[greenmaji]

T-12 is the diameter of the bulb.. T12 = 1.5" diameter

You dont do live wiring silly!

 

[Skyrmir]

T-12 is the diameter of the bulb. Overdriving your bulbs can be a great cheat for getting more light, but you have to be comfortable re-wiring your fixture. Outside of that you can probably order some of the higher end set ups premade. They get real expensive real fast though.

 

[malkore]

where are you buying bulbs that'll force you into street walking? Around here, I can get a 40watt tube from a hardware store for like, $10.