DR's Power Compact Fluorescent Fixtures

[Peterstaud]

I was thinking of getting the drs forest and smith's brand Power Compact Fluorescent Fixture with two 36watt power compact bulbs.

First, has anyone had experience with these yet?

Second, I was thinking about using this fixture over an open-top 10 gal. Do you think that 2x36watt would be to much light?

[Momotaro]

I am not familiar with the brand, but I am familiar with your situation.

I ran the same amount of light over a 10G for a couple of months. It was a lot of light. It seemed to me to be too much light for my simple DIY CO2 set up. Things ran suprisingly well for a while, but started to crash quickly. Algae started to appear as it was becoming difficult to keep up with the CO2 and fertilizer demands the aquarium levied.

I would look to back off on the wattage, but that's just me!

Mike

[Peterstaud]

Would you think that 1 36watt Pc would get the job done with DIY co2 for high light plants(glosso, hairgrass)?

[Momotaro]

Trouble with PCs and 10Gs is finding a PC fixture that will fit without over powering the set up.


Mike

[Wasserpest]

Not sure what Mike means by that...

For a 10 gal, a 36W PC fixture should be great to grow demanding plants. For a little less maintenance, two 13W PC fixtures would work well.

I would not expect problems as long as you can supply CO2 and nutrients...

[Peterstaud]

oh so you think 1X36watt would be enough for plants like harigrass and glosso
I wasnt really sure and i thought 2X36 was way too much because it dosent seem like even amano would use that much light.

Also, I would get 1X36 and 2X13 from ah supply but i wanted to keep my tank and open top one.

[rustarific]

I placed an order for the 20" 2x36 watt DrsFS label CF fixture. The price is fairly inexpensive without even including the 20% off they're currently running on the DrsFS brand products. It's on backorder so I won't be receiving it for another week. I currently have the 1x36 watt AH Supply on my 10g. I should have ordered the 2x36 watt AH Supply kit. I have no issues with the kit, and I really like the reflector. The only problem is the uneven coverage of light which is causing all the plants in the rear of the tank to grow sideways. Hopefully the DrsFS CF fixture will give my tank a more even coverage.

[m3th0d]

I was going to get that very same fixture last week but I called them to make sure if it came with two 36's but they said it only comes with two 18's which equal 36W.

[SCMurphy]

It is two 36 watt bulbs in the fixture, just got mine today for a 14 gallon bowfront tank I've been waiting to plant. Two switches one plug, the key will be to turn off one bulb every now and again to let the green water subside that both bulbs will produce.

I also got the single 36 watt bulb fixture for a ten gallon tank. They are nice fixtures, I think they need more ventilation, I might end up drilling a few holes in strategic locations to try to help dissipate some of the heat. I might have to go back and order a couple more, I'm getting addicted to the open top look.