Just Basic Questions?

[Lady10Godiva]

For lights on my ten gallon I just use the cheapie walmart hood that takes 2 screw in bulbs. It gives me 30 watts but the covers over the bulbs get dirty so they have to be wiped off a lot.

[~firefly~]

My heavily planted tank (with low and medium light-loving plants) is only lit at 1 watt per gallon. Everything grows slowly but it's healthy enough.

If you're not using CO2 I think it might be overkill and you'll suffer with algae problems.

[KevinVA]

Yeah XD I know what you mean. I don't know. I'll check around.. I need something that can supply 3 watts per gallon for a 10 gallon tank. That's all I know.. If someone can recommend a correct wattage bulb that'd be good for plants with medium lighting requirement that'd be fantastic. Bulbs confuse me, just looking at all the different kinds makes no sense.

3w/g is on the high end of medium. You could make due with 2w/g, if need be.

That being said, you could go high w/ some measure of style and get this for $40: http://www.ebay.com/itm/T5-Dual-20-6...item43b1b0b833

Or, you could go high on the cheap and get a 40w (smaller if you can find it) 6500k bulb from Walmart (pack of 3 = $12) + a clamp-on fixture from lowes for about $8.

[Carapar56]

Honestly I'm not too worried about price for this. I'm paying my father back in house work and other chores so the link you sent me is fine. Now how do I know which bulb to use? O.o Do I use fluorescent? Or? Bulbs are so damn confusing.

[Carapar56]

So I've decided on this fixture http://www.ebay.com/itm/T5-Dual-20-6...item43b1b0b833 But I haven't been able to find replacement bulbs that fit. Like every 18" bulb I find is way over 6500k or its a T-8.. Ugh someone help T-T

[KevinVA]

The same seller sells replacement bulbs for that unit. That's the exact unit I have for my 10gal and he's who I purchased additional bulbs from.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-T5-Light-...item43b0e0c68c

When you order from that link, you need to tell him what spectrum bulbs you'd like.

As for your previous question, fluorescent is the way to go. They produce less heat, require less energy and I'm not even sure if they're capable of producing 6500k spectrum light... Maybe they are, but if they do, they're impossible bulbs to find.

[Carapar56]

Thank you XD that's exactly what I was looking for. Alright well i'll see if I can order them tonight and maybe sometime tonight or tomorrow go to my LFS and get the new substrate.