How To Upgrade Lighting?

[Bokonon]

Hey, sorry if this has come up before, and for how naive the question is but I trust this forum much more than asking at the LFS.

Basically I have bought some plants for a 20g, and whilst some are coming along nicely some of them are looking a little bit sorry.
I reckon this is because the tank only has an 18w light, less than 1wpg when i should really be aiming for 2wpg or more. I want to go about boosting this but im not sure how.

Basically from what i understand, you can only get 2ft tubes that are 18w so just buying a better bulb is out of the question, so i need to either:
1. Mount another light + controller (which may be difficult due to limited hood space).
2. Or remove current light and starter, and buy a double one, running two 18w for 36w.

Am i missing anything or any other options here? What do you guys recommend?

Thanks guys.

 

[aly_starh]

Are they T8's or T5's?

If they are T8's you can put a T6 bulb in there which is 40% more effective than T8.

 

[Bokonon]

Sorry I should have clarified, the tank itself is 2nd hand so the light just came in it, but I reckon its a T8 considering its pretty low tech, and the bulb looks about that thickness.

Sneaky edit: Also its worth pointing out it doesnt have a reflector, again is this something I should buy, or could I DIY it with similar effectiveness.

 

[bobross]

If they are T8's you can put a T6 bulb in there which is 40% more effective than T8.

After reading that, I thought what a suggestion! So I went to 1000bulbs.com and started looking for t6's since All my of my tanks have T8's on them.

betta_246, where can you find a T6 bi-pin bulb?
These are the only ones I could find and google wasn't much help either.


I'm the same situation as the OP so I'm glad this topic got brought back up.
Bokonon, all of my tanks have the 'normal' hoods with 15w T8's in them with a white plastic reflector in them. Is that what your 20g is? I messed around with getting reflective tape like mylar. Also, Wal-mart sells these sheets of whats called a 'replacement mirror' for vehicles. Its sort of bendable with an adhesive backround. I cut that into strips and stuck it on the reflector of 10g planted.


If no one else beats me to it, I think a cheap option would be to build your own canopy. There are loads of plans on the internet and this forum has some good ones too. When I was dabbling with this idea, SuperColey had some awesome plans on building his canopy. Check'em out. Although I didn't build my own canopy, I was able to cram & retrofit these into the hood of my 30g tall. Which is the same dimensions as a 20g, except taller. Combining that light with API Leafzone & flourish excel made my crypts and java ferns work well for the time it was up.

Or you could go with this from Fosters and Smith..
But it requires a glass top.


Again, there should be bunch of options for you, hope I could help. I'll be watching this one.

BobRoss

 

[RadaR]

When adding more light you must be prepared to add more nutrients and more CO2 (and more flow in order to distribute these to the plants, 10x the volume of the tank turned over hourly) otherwise the plants wont grow and you will be plagued with algae. If you're not prepared to do this, then don't add more light. You will just get algae headaches.

 

[aly_starh]

This Website sells them:

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=328

so, just find the appropriate size, and a 'brushing set' is also needed. (£2.00 i think)

Good Luck

oh... and link is thanks to truckasaurus!!!

 

[bobross]

Awesome! Sorry for being naive here, but can't I just buy one of those & swap it with the normal 18" light bulb? I'm confused what a bushing kit is & what it's for exactly. I'm assuming it's something for t6 bulbs?


BobRoss

 

[RadaR]

I'm confused what a bushing kit is & what it's for exactly. I'm assuming it's something for t6 bulbs?

T6 bulbs are different diameters to T8 bulbs. Hence in order to fit into a T8 fitting, a brushset must be used with the T6 for it to fit.

 

[Bokonon]

Radar, yeah im wary of that, im currently already on 10x turnover and adding ferts, and should have no problems with rigging up some DIY Co2 if the need arises.

BobRoss, my tank is a pretty basic Rena 80, with a black plastic crappy hood with the light fitting screwed to that, so adding stuff to it might be a bit of a pain and I'd rather not have to remake a hood.

Betta, really like the idea of using a T6 actually, seems like it'd be the least hassle, and maybe adding a reflector to it will give me enough juice .

 

[Theplayboy]

Just wanted to say thanks for the answers on this thread. I was going to very costly upgrade my lights to T5 but i think ill just be using T6's insted now.

 

[Mikaila31]

You can do a DIY retrofit. Here are pics of the standard light I retrofitted yesterday. Cost about $20 and that includes the $10 for (4) 13 watt 6500K bulbs. You can fit the 18 watt ones in there too. If its a 20 long you can add another socket and run 3 or 4 bulbs total. I gave it moonlights last night too, but they aren't in the pic or fully finished yet.

I build my own too. I'll have a 2ft wooden one running in a day or two. I like the spiral compacts. They do a good enough job. Though the cover of the bulbs is not like the tubes I don't like paying so much for the tubes. And I always have to order them online. I use the 55watt power compacts on my show tank. Everything else runs the spiral bulbs which you can get from the home improvement store for a fraction of the cost.

 

[Mikaila31]

I'm confused what a bushing set is & what it's for exactly. I'm assuming it's something for t6 bulbs?

T6 bulbs are different diameters to T8 bulbs. Hence in order to fit into a T8 fitting, a brushset must be used with the T6 for it to fit.

You lost me here.... I can't figure out what a brushset is. Do you mean the endcaps? Because if that was the issue wouldn't scissors and electrical tape do the trick?

 

[Truck]

A brush set is basically a pair of washers which act as a physical waterproofing to stop the end caps getting water in them.

 

[bobross]

A brush set is basically a pair of washers which act as a physical waterproofing to stop the end caps getting water in them.

Alright, I think I understand what they are for. Call me stupid, but none of my tanks are directly exposed to water. They are all the same in sense of what hood or top they have. The picture that Mikaila21 posted is exactly what I have on all of mine. They all sit on top of a plastic top and light sits on a pain on glass & shines down into the water.

That's why I asked earlier if a brush kit was actually necessary. Since my ballast doesn't contact any water, I was under the impression I didn't need them. IF they fit into a ballast for a 18" T8, why can't I just switch them out(take out t8, replace with t6?)

Sorry, little bit guilty of thread hijacking myself here. When I try googling 't6 bi-pin' I get this.

Are they something that's not found in the US?

BobRoss

oh, btw Truck, that fish in your avatar is gorgeous!!

edit: after looking at the aquaessentials link, is it okay for me to use a 11,000K bulb?

 

[Truck]

The end cap contacts need to be splash proof which is why the brushings are needed. T6 tubes should be found in the US, and a 11000k bulb is fine, it will be a very nice white colour with a slight blue tinge that won't be noticeable.

Thank you for the compliment on the fish, more pictures can be found in my asian biotope setup in the planted journal section, I say asian although the fish pictured is from south america