Eclipse F18T8 Natural Daylight

[richberstler]

Bought a hood for my 20 long and the bulb isn't clear what the wattage is. I'm planning on putting in live plants so can someone help? When I googles it, I get wattages for different sizes and they are all different. My best guess is it's 20W.

Im also curious if higher wattages will affect my fish which seem to prefer lower light.

[cocoa_pleco]

higher wattages wont harm the fish.

my hood has 20w bulbs, so yours is a 20w, enough for low light plants

[richberstler]

my hood has 20w bulbs, so yours is a 20w, enough for low light plants


So far I have (but still in my shrimp tank):

Ludwigia natans
Ceratophyllum dermersum (looks like the "Mexico" var)
Elodea densa (Anacharis), at least from the picture, could be Egeria densa. LFS just said it was Anacharis.


I am quite pleased with this paticular LFS where I got these. Each bunch was only $1.99. The only plant I can't find is the Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus, not any of the vars).

[cocoa_pleco]

sounds good!

[country_boy454]

Actually is the bulb 18" long or 24" long. If its 18" then it is a 15w bulb and 20w if its 24". My friend had this problem when buying new bulbs. He thought that he had 20w bulbs so assumed the 24" would fit. But it was 18" that he needed. That is on a 20gal tall tank.

[richberstler]

Actually is the bulb 18" long or 24" long. If its 18" then it is a 15w bulb and 20w if its 24". My friend had this problem when buying new bulbs. He thought that he had 20w bulbs so assumed the 24" would fit. But it was 18" that he needed. That is on a 20gal tall tank.

A 20 long is 30" wide, even though my tank is only less than 12" deep (after adding substrate) I still think I'm going to need a higher wattage? Or can someone tell me 20W for 20gal shallow might be enough for the plants I selected?

[cocoa_pleco]

it should be enough for your plants. if you would want more lighting, i recommend the HO T-5 from hagen. i have the 1x54w 48" model, and the 2x24w 24" model. it has extending legs to fit long tanks, the 24" model would be perfect for a 20g long, theyre about $100 on ebay, and $120 in stores for the 24"

[richberstler]

hmmm, i bought an actual hood because I eventually want to introduce Cardinal Tertas (and whatever is breeding in my other tank). The HO T5 looks like a complete lighting fixture, will it work with my hood? Maybe beginners ingorance, but I just assumed I could just replace the bulb if I needed to...

[cocoa_pleco]

you cant get a higher watt bulb for your current fixture, if you have the regular flat plastic hood with clear plastic screen the HO will work, i can get some pictures of mine for you in 5 minutes

[cocoa_pleco]

heres the 24" and the 48". the one with the wires are the extendable legs, wit the legs fully extended the 24" will fit a standard 33g or less, and the 48" on my reef will fit a standard 75g. you can adjust the legs to fit more or less, etc. the 48" does come in a double bulb format, but they only had a single on sale. the 24" is a double though

on the 55g, the front fixture is the HO

[richberstler]

you cant get a higher watt bulb for your current fixture, if you have the regular flat plastic hood with clear plastic screen the HO will work, i can get some pictures of mine for you in 5 minutes

Ah, that bites. Had I know that beforehand I coulda planned differently. I just assumed the light bulbs were the same as any light fixture in my house, any bulb will work as long as the threads match....

I think I'll just watch the health of my plants and hope my decision on easy plants only will work out. That really hurts cuz I really really wanted to buy some Cabomba and Bacopa. Both seem to require a high light source. Maybe once I get the other plants established I can see how they will work since the LFS sells them for $2 a bundle. I don't want them growing too fast (esp too high) anyhow...

Thanks for the info.

[cocoa_pleco]

IMO, cabomba can be low light. i had TONS of cabomba when my 55g was planted, any my 55g had .8w/g lighting. i had so much cabomba growing lush green that i had to sell some just to keep it from overtaking my tank.