Power Compact for 10G

i have 2x32W PC on my 5.5 Gallon. and how nice the HC is growing and filling in. Algae shows up but the gang consumes them in no time.. DIY Co2 and sometimes excel. Still does EI.

I could have swore I saw a used Coralife fixture last week on ebay, it was 20" and had 1 24 W bulb. They might not make them anymore, but you might check it out there.

I'd recommend gutting the the T8 strip light and putting a 36w PC bulb with AHS's reflector kit with the ironhorse ballast. B-R-I-G-H-T! I have the exact same fixture and it worked perfectly. Only thing I'd recommend is doing the ballast remote (under tank or on wall or whatever) instead of on the back of the strip light, because it interferes with HOB filter placement there.

www.ahsupply.com

Upon review, I'd recommend that too. Can't beat those AHS reflectors.

eyebeatbadgers said:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NIB-Coralife-20-1x28-28-Watt-Power-Compact_W0QQitemZ180095505034QQihZ008QQcategoryZ46314QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Click to expand...

That is a 50/50 bulb; not what you want for a planted tank. The 36w AHS kit is more expensive, but better. The coralife reflectors suck. I have the 130w (2x65w) and my 96w AHS is far brighter.

macclellan said:

That is a 50/50 bulb; not what you want for a planted tank.

Click to expand...

I figured I should have pointed that out, but I assumed the thread starter would have taken notice. Of course we all know what happens when we assume. Good eye.

macclellan said:

The 36w AHS kit is more expensive, but better. The coralife reflectors suck. I have the 130w (2x65w) and my 96w AHS is far brighter.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Can't beat a good reflector. I didn't realize how cheap those kits were. Think I might want one for my 10 gal now.

Yes, I knew right from the beginning that Coralife's 20" is 50/50. I might think about the 36W from AH Supply, however, I wonder if shipping to Canada will be expensive....

Here's some more info about the 20" Aqualight: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/50934-20-28w-sw-aqualight.html

you could always just get a 10 gallon incandescent hood and put 2 25W compact fluorescent bulbs in there
i have 2 10W cf bulbs in my 10 and everything grows, admitadly that's just some val, anacharis and java moss, but that's with just 20, if you put 50W in there i bet you could grow most things
just my 2 cents

Anyone know where to get the compact fluorescent 36W, 5500K bulbs? I need two of them and really hate paying AH Supply's prices! Thanks in advance. Sorry, didn't mean to horn in on the thread - could anyone that knows the answer just PM me to avoid cluttering up this thread??

Left C said:

Here's some more info about the 20" Aqualight: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/50934-20-28w-sw-aqualight.html

Click to expand...

I just got one of these to replace my 15w over my 10 gallon. You need to replace the 50/50 bulb though. I got the 28w 10000k one. So far I'm really happy with it.

HeathBar said:

I just got one of these to replace my 15w over my 10 gallon. You need to replace the 50/50 bulb though. I got the 28w 10000K one. So far I'm really happy with it.

Click to expand...

Hi H

When your 10,000K bulb gets old, goes bad or you're tired of it; check out the ADA 36w square pin 8000K bulb for your fixture. It's a very good bulb. It really brings out the colors, the plants pearl and grow very well. I wish that it was available in a 65w and a 96w PC version.

Sometimes a 10,000K bulb makes the red and burgundy colors in the aquarium look like a shade of brown. The ADA 8000K bulb really brings out these colors as well as the greens, blues and yellows. You should see a school of Cardinal Tetras under this light.

Left C

HeathBar said:

I just got one of these to replace my 15w over my 10 gallon. You need to replace the 50/50 bulb though. I got the 28w 10000k one. So far I'm really happy with it.

Click to expand...

So you think 2.8WPG is strong enough for most plants like HC?

trfjason said:

So you think 2.8WPG is strong enough for most plants like HC?

Click to expand...

Most plants ?? Yes. Hc ?? Yes. Will the HC be really short?? Eh, hard to say. I really think the AHS 36 watter would allow for short HC growth.