Hey guys, I've been researching a while now and about to take the plunge to get a 10 gal starter kit. Do you recommend getting a single strip flourescent or a incadescent hood? I know the flourescent is 15w, while the incand. can get 2 10+w screwin bulbs. I read alot how people have the screw in bulbs, is that what is generally better than a single strip flourcesnet? I'll be planting low light plants mostly, but want to leave room for experiementing, etc. Thanks.

On my 10 gallon I have one of those hoods built for 2 incandescent bulbs (came in the 'deluxe' kit), but I've replaced the bulbs it came with with 2 mini-flourecents from walmart.

The new flourescents seem brighter than the old bulbs, but I haven't had them in long enough yet to see how they affect everything in the tank.

i agree with ackar. in both my 12 and 10 gallon tanks, i have an incandescant hood with compact flourescant bulbs you would use in a lamp or something. in both, i have about 3.5 WPG, and the plants look nice. im saving up for an incandescant for my 37 gallon, so i can do the same.

With the day glow screw ins are the color of the lights yellow or more whitish?

With the All Glass Aquarium Mini Compact Bulb and the "Lights of America"
(walmart brand) they look pretty white. I have one of those cheap 10g deluxe walmart kits for a snail tank and put one of each of these formentioned bulbs in the incandescant hood. I just have java moss in it for the snails to have fun with but they do pretty well. The packages say 6500k natural daylight bulbs on them. They look extremely more white than the 6700k bulbs I have in my other aquariums.

Matt

depending on the amount of light you're planning on needing for the tank, there are even better options for pretty cheap bright lights for a small tank. how heavily will it be planted? will you inject CO2? what kind of substrate and fertilizer are you planning on using, if any?

if you are planning a high-light tank, then home depot carries daylight compact fluorescent screw-ins that are 15w, 19w, and above. the beginner line kits that i've bought usually have a hood that can handle up to 20w bulbs (although most aquarium bulbs are lower than that). that being the case, if you get 2 x 19w bulbs, that's 38w of cf light in a 10g tank. pretty darn good. the best part is that they're not as expensive as two normal 15w daylight fluorescent tubes, and give you more light. I've seen the 15w daylight compact bulbs on sale for $5 a pair here at home depot. that's a steal.

if you plan well, your first tank can be a spectacular success whether low light no CO2, high light diy or pressure CO2, or med light with or without CO2. if you're planning on getting easy, low light plants, then lots of lights would be counterproductive, causing algae outbreaks on the leaves of the slower-growing low light plants (anubias, etc). on the other hand, too little light in a tank that's got fast growers, ferts, and CO2 can give you results that are just as ugly. IME, one side or the other is easier to master first, and then you can start experimenting with "medium" light levels in order to satisfy the needs of both low light and higher light demanding plants.

i write all this to encourage you to enjoy the brainstorming period before planting the tank so that you know exactly how to please the plants and the fish that will inhabit your tank. planning a new tank is my favorite part of the whole process... browse lots of photo galleries, look in aquarium books and magazines, pay attention to names and demands of the plants and fish you like, and if you can't find that information, by all means ask around (that's why this forum is here). once you make a plan, execute it.

in any case, i've rambled too long. best of luck!

Oqsy