Upgrading Lighting options

fish_4_all

THIS site offers so really nice options for upgrading your lighting to compact power flourescents. I have not done this myself, yet. If I ever do decide to get compact flourescents then this is where I will go.

Remember, when you are figuring your lighting, CPF are equivelant to 1.35x the light of normal output flourescents. In other words, if you have 10 watts of CPF then it is equivelant to 13.5 watts for calculations.

Follow the guidelines from HERE . Scroll down and input the dimensions of your tank to get an idea of what amount of lighting you need to reach the basic levels. This is only a guideline but it has been proven by many to work for both the beginner and the expert.

As my signature implies, all tanks are different. I have 2 tanks side by side under the same light fixture and can not grow the same plants in both of them. Different things will work for you but this is a good place to start.

And remember, pateince, patience and then a little more patience when you are about to give in. It will happen but you have to make it happen unless you are one of the very lucky ones, unlike me. ;)

Aquaticmoon

I use AH supply lights on a few of my tanks, and have to say that they are the best light set ups for the money. :o

dasmall1

Just so people don't get a misconception, AH supply sells DIY supplies to make your own fixture.

fish_4_all

Good point, they do NOT sell finished fixtures but do have finished hoods that you can put the fixtures into. I misunderstood your post last night, must have been cross eyed from being too tired. Read fixture as furniture, go figure.

Make sure to ask them a lot of questions to make sure you are getting exactly what you need and to make sure that if you want upgrade in the future you are getting what you need.

The link is in the stickies at the top of this section so we don't have to try and find this post again and again. :)