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I need to upgrade my lights, however I am not sure what light I need.

The Tank is 55 Gallons and measures 48x13x20. It is planted not heavily but more medium heavy. The light I currently have is a single 48 inch bulb at 40 watts. I know I need a high output, but am not sure just what output I need. I can not afford to replace the entire lighting system but am looking to get a single bulb that will fit my needs.

Any advice is greatly welcomed.





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LL no matter what you do unless you replace the fixture you will always have a 40watt light whick on a 55gal tank will only give you less than 1wpg. If you are looking for more watts to increase your wpg, than you will have to change to a CF lighting system. If your question is what bulb should you use with waht you currently have than you should use a 40watts 6700K to 8000K bulb and replace it every 6 months as florecent bulbs loss there affectiveness on plants after that time. CF light bulbs should be replaced every 12 months.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Thank you Richie that is the info I needed. I do intend to replace the entire fixture in the future, but right now I can't, Probably in 6 months I will be able to but in the short term the 6700 to 8000 K bulb will work.

Thanks again.

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I have ordered a 40 watt bulb that has 9325K output. will this Be fine for about 6 months? (the amount of time I need to get the lighting system completely replaced?) I have added in a bunch of new plants Red Rubin Swords, Red Ludwigia, and Crypt Petchii. If this not enough light then Please let me know so I can correct it asap.

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I don't think the ludwigia and the sword would survive that for 6months. I'm not sure exactly what they require but have been told they need at least medium light and not too many plants do well at 1wpg of NO lighting. If you don't have alot to spend now then provided you have a glass top on the tank go to a hardware store or any store with a lighting/hardware section and pick up a double bulb shoplight. Get two 48w sunlight or daylight bulbs and set that on the tank. Usually you can do it for under $30 and it will give you 80w with just that fixture or if you cram your other fixture on there too you'll have 120w which is just over 2wpg. That might keep everything in good shape until you can get a better light. That's what I did until I bought a power compact fixture but by then I had four 40w bulbs in 2 shoplight fixtures covering the entire width of my 55. With pc lighting you could put two 55-65w bulbs in a single row over the tank. They perfectly fit end to end on a 4' length. However that still only gets you into what might be considered medium light and some would say it's still a low light tank at 2wpg. If you really want to grow higher light plants your going to have to go with something wider like a four bulb 55-65w fixture. Then noone can argue that we aren't into at least medium light.

Hi,
The easiest and least expensive way to increase your
wpg for that tank is to toss the hood and purchase a
dual tube shop light from the nearest Home depot, or some
similiar hardware store. I ran my 55 with a two tube
light for 7 years and the fixture only cost me $9 and some
change. Allowing for inflation, its probably between
$19-$23. While you are there, purchase two 40 watt bulbs
that have either DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT on the tubes.
That will give you a "tad" less than 1.5 wpg and should
do for all the low light plants and some of the medium
light plants. The Sword will grow, and the Ludwigia
may not or, it will loose any red pigmentation.

To use the shop hood, you will need to place a piece of
glass over the tank to set the light on.

By the way, I'd replace the bulbs annually.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Forgive me my stupidity, but I thought that by increasing the K it increased the light output with out increasing the wattage. This whole thing about lights is driving me Crazy.

I miss the old days.

When to put a light on the tank you set a table light over it...

Ok so maybe I don't. So what is the whole deal with K lighting vs Wattage. Please educate an old schooler.

As I was writing this, Frank posted.

In order to put the shop lights on will I need to add a center brace for the glass top? My tank doesn't have one. It is 48x13x20


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Most 55s do have a center brace. Odd that yours doesn't. Where did you get the hood for it? Most fit with that center brace. You could get glass custom made for it. Go talk to any stores in the area that might work with glass and you can usually get the pieces cut to the size you want for cheaper than it would be to purchase one already made. I'm not sure where you would actually find premade glass tops for a 48" tank with no brace.

K rating roughly tells you the color of the light the bulb gives off. Higher k rating means a whiter and eventually bluer bulb. Low k ratings such as below 6,500k are nearly all yellow and green light which doesn't really grow plants. K ratings over 10,000 are rather blue with very little green and small amounts of yellow and red. Also not usually the greatest for plants since there isn't enough red. On average anyway. There are some 18,000k bulbs specially produced for planted tanks that are actually very high in red and blue. They tend to tint the tank a purple or dark red shade. Usually anything in that k rating is nearly pure blue or actinic so you want bulbs around 6,500-10,000k. It mostly depends on your preference to how the tank looks as to what you choose. I like 8,000-10,000k bulbs cause the lower ones still look too yellow to me. Switching from a bulb below 6,500k to one within that range may increase the amount of light the plants can use but switching between bulbs in that useful range isn't going to have a noticeable effect. Reason to get bulbs that are labelled daylight or sunlight. These make the minimum k rating and have a full spectrum of light instead of just yellow and green like is found in shop or office lights.

Thanks Sham, The tank is an older one that I got used. I think it is about 8 or 9 years old. The hood came with the tank from what I was told, as it was one of those starter kits.

Thanks for your help guys.

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Jim, I have two tanks just like yours, 55 gal. same measurement & no center brace. I found a place on the net that sells glass lids for our tanks as well as for ones with a center brace. Our lids sell for $32.99. If I ever get one, this will be the place. Our tanks are older, but they are made stronger, therefore a center brace was not needed.

This is the site for the glass lid if you decide to get one some day: here

Well I have added a second hand 30 watt light strip to the tank, so now I have 70 watts total. I know its not what I need, but It will have to do for now. I am looking at a light strip that has 108 watts. Which will give me about 2 watts per gallon. Added to my 40 watt it will be close to 3 wpg. What do you think? Should I just get one that has the 150 or will this be a good solution to my problem.

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Fishkeeper - If your looking to for better lighting and you buying used light strips, why don't you look here

Aquatraders.com they sell the oddysea lights, they are inexpensive but not cheap. I use them and have not problems.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Thanks DJ I'll check it out, the 30 watt was a bargain at 5 dollars, course I had to get the tank they were selling too, 40 gallon bow front for 20. couldn't resist.

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hi guys just wanted to say thanks for your help. I have purchased a 130 watt light and am waiting for it to be delivered.

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