Light Wattage Question

[Sasha]

I have a 46 gallon tank that came with a 25 watt (36 inch long) fluorescent light. i really wanted to have live plants and searched around for a stronger light with more wattage. I looked at Petco, Petsmart and serveral website but the highest wattage I can find is 30 watts. Petco sells a 30 watt fluorescent light that's says it promotes plant growth and I was thinking abou getting that. Would that light be good enough to grow live plants?

 

[Great Lakes]

Sasha, you really want 100 - 120 watts of light over your tank for good plant growth, not to mention improved viewing.

Two ways of doing this.

1) have a hood/canopy that you can install multiple flourescent lights in.

2) Buy a compact flourescent fixture that mounts on top of the tank.

GL

 

[mrV]

I have a 46 gallon tank that came with a 25 watt (36 inch long) fluorescent light.

Hmm, isn't it 30W? Because:

25W = 74,2mm (~ 29 inches)
30W = 900mm (~ 35,4 inches)
36W = 1200mm
and so on (for T-8 and 1 inches = 25,4mm)

How long is your tank and how heigh? If you can only keep 25W tubes, you need at least 2 of them to grow some plants - plants that don't really need so much light. If you want to grow more plants, you need 3-4 of them, that is 75-100W total. Reflectors increase amount of light too.

You can't find higher wattage, because wats also mean how long that tube is.

 

[Bol]

mrV,

For some reason, the All-Glass light that Sasha has is labelled as 25w, even though it's 36" long.

Petco sells a 30 watt fluorescent light that's says it promotes plant growth and I was thinking abou getting that.

I'm guessing you're talking about the Hagen "Aqua-Glo" bulb (since it's Petco). If so, personally, I wouldn't bother. I bought one, and found that not only is the All-Glass tube brighter, but the plants seem to do marginally better with it than with the Aqua-Glo.

Would that light be good enough to grow live plants?

It can be (I've done it), but your selection of plants that will grow well is limited.

 

[Sasha]

I've looked almost everywhere for a light with a higher wattage and can't find one anywhere. The most I've seen is 30 watts, but that isn't high enough to grow live plants. The tank is 3 feet long and 19 inches deep.

If anyone has any ideas on where to get a higher wattage light, I would greatly appreciate it!