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My current lighting is a 17 watt 24" fluorescent bulb on my 38 gallon tank. The maximum capacity for my hood is only 20 watts. Is there anyway to upgrade the current hood to hold a 36" bulb and increase the wattage? The reason I want to increase my lighting is because I want to put a few more plants in my tank.

Another thing I was thinking about was creating my own strip light but I don't know too much about that. Anyone have good plans for making a strip light?

OR
should I just buy a completely new hood for my tank?

Hi,
Frankly, I would pick up a two tube compact fluorescent
hood. With that hood you can go as high as two 22 inch
long 96 watt bulbs which exceeds 5 wpg. The bulbs come
in 55,65,and 96 watt steps.

Frank


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

If you really want to do well with plants or at least have more plant options then you are on the right track with adding more light.

As for your lighting options, you could:
~ Go to menards and buy all the stuff you would need to make your own lighting. This would take a fair amount of creativity and know how on your part though.

~ Add a second normal aquarim light to the tank. This would only give you about 1WPG (Watts per Gallon)if you use 20W bulbs. {To grow most plants well you should shoot for about 2-3 WPG.}

~ Change over to a different style of fixture. Two of your best options would be either T-5 or Power Compacts. Power compacts pack a much larger punch and would probably be one of your best otions if you have the money for the lighting.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

I'm not sure, but I think you really want to know if you change the guts of the current hood, most like an all-glass plastic deluxe hood, that came with the tank when you bought it, so that you can keep that same clean look. If so this may help. you can retro fit a higher wattage of bulb but would not be cost effective as well as not being the safest thing to do because of the heat factor, melting of the fixture, shorting out, etc. However, All-glass has a High Output Compact Strip-Light which has the same look and feel as the standard fixtures. There sizes start at 24" to 30" at 55watts and 36" to 48" at 110watts, no lunar lights no real bells and whistles but they have 5 year warranty and 8000K bulb. I just replaced a 15watts light but needed to keep the original look of the tank setup. I works great fits just like the original except it a little deeper and 1/2" taller but fits snug over the opening in the hood. No fans how ever and that is a concern of mine but a fan is not that hard to DIY and there plenty of space. If your not concerned with the original appearance of the tank than shop around for the best deal on a dual power compact.

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