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I am using 1 24" 20 watt Coralife Colormax bulb on my 29 gallon and though it makes the fish look nice, the tank is too dark for my taste. I know that i need to increase the wattage on my tank for more lighting but i don't want to spend the money on a new light fixture at the moment. Can anyone recommend a bright and eye pleasing 24" inch bulb for my tank? I have some Java Fern and Water Sprite as my only live plants but they have been slow to grow. The fish are Tiger, Rosy and Gold Barbs. Thanks!!!

The 24" bulbs all pretty much give off the same amount of light. I recently got the Coralife Aqualight for freshwater, 65 watt, 24" fixture for my 25 gallon, I took it back though and traded it for the 30" fixture to fit the top of my tank better. If your tank is 30" long, I'[d recommend the 30" fixture as well. The bulb is the same size, the cover is just longer. The 24" cost me $120 CDN, to upgrade it was $20 more. I also got the feet so it would sit above the glass. Your plants are fine in the amount of light they have, you will want to think carefully about upgrading, more light may mean more algae. There are steps you can take to prevent it, higher plant load, CO2 injection, using Flourish Excel.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

Has anyone used the Life-Glo 2 bulb by Hagen?

Last I checked the Life-Glo 2 wasn't available in 24", I looked for my own tank. The flora-glo or the aqua-glo are both good for the 24" hood.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

Yes it is. I was just looking at it in the Drs. Foster and Smith catalog.

Yikes! I'm sorry and so stupid! I checked the Hagen site to see if they manufacture them and it's crazy, some of the bulbs are in inches and some are in centimeters! How crazy is that? I would have tried the life-glo 2 if I had really payed attention. I would say go for it.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus