Let There Be Light!

[Man of fish]

I currently have 1 24" bulb that's 8,000 K 17 watts 120 v and 60 hz. My tank is 19" deep x 13" wide and the light isnt giving off enough light to reach all the tank and to allow my plants to flourish. I have an aqueon (all glass aquariums) 30" deluxe lighted hood and am just looking for a bulb that would be a bit brighter, reach all through the tank, and help my plants grow out a bit more.

 

[shelaghfishface]

do u have reflectors?
if not try some tin foil behind the bulb or some white plastic (that wont melt) a simple wipe when cool might make a diff too

 

[Man of fish]

Yea there's reflectors built into the unit.

 

[wirralbull]

add more tubes. i think wattage is directly related to lenght in flourecent tubes so at a guess, lumen output could not be greatly increased with a different bulb. generally different tubes are just diff kolor temps. no expert but it you cant fit a longer tube just add more.

 

[Man of fish]

I can't add more either.........

 

[Man of fish]

Still looking for what type of bulb would be better
Even though I have reflectors I'm going to try the foil idea anyways just to see. Maybe if I added an LED strip on both sides of the main bulb?

 

[DrRob]

Without taking apart the hood and changing you over to a T5 system, the highest light T8 tube I can see available is a 1300 lumen tube.

How easy is it to take the hood apart? If you can get to the fluorescent controller you may be able to upgrade to T5.

 

[Man of fish]

Whats a fluorescent controller? Looks pretty easy to get apart.... How much cheaper would it be to change it over vs. buying a new unit?

 

[LongS]

Have you looked at the sticky topic about light upgrades in the DIY section? It may just be worth a quick look to see if it could be useful.