DAMN LIGHT!

[Pointy_kitty]

i don't know what to do
i was just informed that there is no such thing as a 18" 40W light
my plants can't live with a 15W (which is what i have)
i can't afford to get a new light fixture with 2 places for bulbs (2 X 20W)
should i maybe get new plants
are there any that are bigger that can grow under only 15W?
i really don't want plastic

 

[Bol]

What do you mean by "bigger"?

Some forms of Java fern can grow pretty tall, but they don't have much "width".

Some of my Anubias Barteri gets large leaves (slightly larger than a tennis ball's diameter), and spreads pretty well horizontally (two plants can easily "fill" half of a 10g tank), but only get about 6" tall.

Green Hygrophilia grows pretty fast, and can get both bushy and tall.

All three of those grow well under very low-light conditions, especially the first two.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

What do you mean by "bigger"?

Some forms of Java fern can grow pretty tall, but they don't have much "width".

Some of my Anubias Barteri gets large leaves (slightly larger than a tennis ball's diameter), and spreads pretty well horizontally (two plants can easily "fill" half of a 10g tank), but only get about 6" tall.

Green Hygrophilia grows pretty fast, and can get both bushy and tall.

All three of those grow well under very low-light conditions, especially the first two.

i want something tall and "full" looking, not like those thin plants

 

[Pescado Guy]

20 watts on a ten gallon tank is pretty good. That will give you medium lighting.

 

[spottedbovine]

Can I just add something here, when I need more light I don't buy fancy setups from the lfs, buy the parts at a local hardware, just seal the base of the light fixture with aquirium silicone so the fish don't get fried

I just fitted a light to my 10g today, cost me R6 for the fixture and R20 for the ligght bulb, so for 4dollar/2.60 pounds you can have reasonable lighting

 

[Pointy_kitty]

can I just addd a couple of things?
why is everyone under the impression that i have a 10gallon?
its a 20gallon so i need at least 40W
that was the problem
i only have room for one light so i would have to go out and buy a new fixture and everything

i think the plants from my tank are pretty much toast
so i'm gunna chuck them and my neighbour is giving me some java fern, wisteria, and some sort of low light lily type plant
then i might go out and buy some amazon sword

whats a pound?
money wise?

 

[spottedbovine]

I am also of the poor kind , spend to much on fish B) . If I were u I would try and make a new canopy, and then start adding lights, I was thinking of making a hood outa mdf/masonite with a boxwood frame (cheap material) and sealing it well. make it a three month project

My lighting just rest on top of my tank (looks ugly), stopped using the hood as I couldn't fit all the lights in it, cant wait till next week coz I will have enough the to buy another 70W lighting and make a hood

sorry didnt say u had a 10gal, just told u bout my small tank

 

[spottedbovine]

pound=money from the UK

 

[Pointy_kitty]

pound=money from the UK

hahaha
well duh
i ment how much is a pound compared to a canadian dollar

and the 10gal thing wasn't directed to you personally

yeah, i'm thinking i would blow something up if i tried to make anything myself
i'm good with wood but when it comes to making my own fish hood.... i dunno ....

 

[spottedbovine]

ooops sorry, dont know what it would b in canadian, I am also bad with DIY just remember lots of glue and lots of nails, and if it still doesn't stay together u need more glue and nails.......lol

 

[Pointy_kitty]

ooops sorry, dont know what it would b in canadian, I am also bad with DIY just remember lots of glue and lots of nails, and if it still doesn't stay together u need more glue and nails.......lol

 

[Lateral Line]

>>>
I am also bad with DIY just remember lots of glue and lots of nails, and if it still doesn't stay together u need more glue and nails.......lol
<<<

I like that!

There is the approach to DIY that states hit it with a hammer, if it isn't fixed, you need a bigger hammer.

 

[sinistral]

I've been doing a lot of research on this very topic (how to get more light for less $$$) in hopes of converting my 29 gallon tank with plastic plants to a heavily planted tank. For that, I'll need more than the measly 20W that comes with my hood.

Here is a link to a site describing how this guy built his own 55W Compact Fluorescent hood. He includes some neat instructions for building your own canopy out of pine wood. The hood itself is cheap (few planks of wood, nails, glue, etc), and requires that you have the ability to build it. Problematically, the lights themselves can be expensive (AHsupply sells kits for one 55W compact fluorescent bulb for $42US not including the bulb itself (the bulb costs about $22US on that site as well ).

So, I'm still not sure if I have the temerity to do this, but Mustang5L5 posted a thread in the DIY section here about how he increased his light output for a total cost of less than $50.

Hope that's helpful! If you beat me to it (I figure it might take me the next 3-6 months to work up the courage) you can tell me how it goes

 

[Pointy_kitty]

I've been doing a lot of research on this very topic (how to get more light for less $$$) in hopes of converting my 29 gallon tank with plastic plants to a heavily planted tank. For that, I'll need more than the measly 20W that comes with my hood.

Here is a link to a site describing how this guy built his own 55W Compact Fluorescent hood. He includes some neat instructions for building your own canopy out of pine wood. The hood itself is cheap (few planks of wood, nails, glue, etc), and requires that you have the ability to build it. Problematically, the lights themselves can be expensive (AHsupply sells kits for one 55W compact fluorescent bulb for $42US not including the bulb itself (the bulb costs about $22US on that site as well ).

So, I'm still not sure if I have the temerity to do this, but Mustang5L5 posted a thread in the DIY section here about how he increased his light output for a total cost of less than $50.

Hope that's helpful! If you beat me to it (I figure it might take me the next 3-6 months to work up the courage) you can tell me how it goes

thanks
i'll look into this new "project"

 

[sinistral]

Hope it works out for you. There are so many different DIY plans on the web it can be hard to sort them all out. I'm still working up the courage to go to Home Depot and ask them to get me a F32T8 Ballast...