Options for replacing standard lighting

[jslmsca]

Hi,

I'm a newbie to this forum and this hobby but am trying to get as much information before jumping in. I did a search but am not sure what my options are.

I have a standard 20 gallon tank with the standard plastic hood and inadequate lighting (F18T8/18"). I've searched high and low but cannot find anything with sufficient wattage that will fit not only the little opening in the hood but the 24" width of the aquarium.

I've read that some people have a glass top with a light placed directly on it. But this has caused cracking in some tanks from what I've read. I don't have the option to hang a light and I really don't want an open top. A "desk lamp" type setup behind the tank with a glass hood seems tacky.

What alternatives are there to getting adequate lighting with the standard tank? I guess some sort of "replacement hood" with superior lighting?

Thanks.

[Bonswani]

Hey man,
If you're looking to increase your lighting without switching bulb types, then the glass top method is for you. At the very worst, the glass top cracks, not the tank. By doing this, you can double your light output cheap and easily.

The other option is to switch light fixtures. Now this can get expensive, but looks bomb awesome. The most common fixture people seem to upgrade to is the t5 high output bulbs. Shaped a lot like your t8, the t5 will be skinnier but emit a larger amount of light and heat that penetrates deeper and just kicks butt in general. But again, I warn you it's expensive.

The cheapest and most ghetto option is my personal favorite. Compact flourescent bulbs, aka cfl's. Cfl's take up little space and can be bought at different wattages and spectrums allowing for minute light spectrum adjustments to be made just as easily as big ones. Most people will use the simple and cheap incandescent fish tank hoods that come all too often with cheap kits. These hoods have two screw in sections just like a regular lamp would have, just two of them. Most are rated to support bulbs up to 25 watts, but cfl's come in all wattages. In my area, the local stores just recently started selling 52 watt bulbs! In your case, you could buy two 26 watt bulbs in the 5000k temp range and have a bomb lit tank.

Some good words to learn would be:
Kelvin, which talks about light temperature.
Compact flourescent
incandescent
high output
lumens
PAR value


and other stuff.

Clearly I'm biased towards cheap, but at the end of the day, do what makes the most sense to you and your wallet.


Black Bone

[DaveK]

This comes down to how much money do you want to spend?

If you don't mind spending the money, replace the hood with a glass canopy, and get a 2 bulb T5 or T5HO that clips to the rim of the tank. They usually come with standoffs to keep the light a couple of inches off the tank.

At the other end of the cost spectrum is doing what Bonswani mentioned, use CLF bulbs. Since you has an existing fluorescent fixture, you would need to retrofit it for standard CFL bulbs, or get a cheep incandescent fixture and screw the CFLs into that.

Other alternatives would be to get one or two T5 retrofit kits, gut the existing fixture and install them.

All of the methods will work, but consider how good you are with DIY projects, and electrical wiring.

[Steve001]

So you have some suggested options. If you go the T5 or T5HO [ HO stands for high output] You should purchase T5 or T5HO's that are designed for planted aquariums. Another important consideration is CRI [ color rendering Index ] coupled with Color Temperature, Sunlight = 100. CRI will determine how accurately a light source renders an objects color. T5HO's can have low CRI. According to this sites info a CRI of 85, but still have high PAR [ Photosynthetically Active Radiation ] output http://www.specialty-lights.com/plan...tml#t5aquarium .
Some light sources have higher CRI along with good PAR; or instance.
http://www.planetbulb.com/products/5...cent--CFL.html. It has a CRI of 93.

http://www.eikolightbulbs.com/eiko_05622_sp50_955k.html

Don't be put off by personal opinions on whether a light source is ghetto or just not the latest and greatest. Just be concerned with the specs. of the light source vs what you can afford. Plants can do well in under many different lighting spectrums. Look at the plant growth here http://theaquaticgazette.com/2011/05...-amazon-river/
But also notice how the light renders the plants colors.

You might consider an open top tank.

[Hoppy]

From your description you have a black plastic top (hood) on the tank, with a small section of glass for the light to come through. If that is the case, you need to scrap that top and replace it with an all glass top, probably one with a hinge or a removable piece to allow feeding and minor tank maintenance.

A standard 20 gallon tank is 16 inches high. Unless you want to use CO2, and do constant tank maintenance, you should stick with low light, which, for that height tank, means a couple of T8 bulbs, or two screw-in CFL bulbs, or a cheap Coralife PC light, which you can often get very cheap on Craigslist. But, I don't see any listed for Calgary right now.

[jslmsca]

Thanks, guys. I've placed an order for a glass canopy. Although my tank is 16" high, I'm not opposed to maintenance. I'll be looking for something that clips to the tank.

According to Hoppy's PAR vs. Distance chart, I can get Medium output with a 2 bulb T5NO or 1 bulb T5HO setup. I plan on augmenting with Flourish Excel for now. I don't plan on a CO2 setup right off the start but probably will head that direction after some experience.

[dwc13]

Up until the recent past I had a Coralife 24" T5NO 2 bulb light fixture (using only 1 bulb) on the glass top resting over my 20G tank. There were slow-growing plants (various Annubias, Java Fern, Crypt Wendtiis) in the aquarium and no CO2 injection. The plants and fish were doing well so, of course, I decided to change things up.