replacng light bulbs

[Dubby]

Two of these compact light fixtures used along with my current triple light fixtures would raise my watts per gallon from 1.44 to 2.9

With my watts per gallon at 2.9 would I be okey without a CO2 system? ( Now I have the opposite problem.)

As for replacement bulbs for my present triple light fixtures, I have found two possible bulbs made by Zoo Med. Both are T-8. They are both listed as being 25 watt....as opposed to my present 30 watt bulbs.
Tropic Sun is 5500K balanced full spectrum and sells for $6.99
Ultra Sun is 6500K high intensity trichromatic full spectrum daylight with a CRI rating of 98. They sell for $13.29

Based on what you said, the Ultra Sun would be the better bulb, but at twice the price. If I buy the two compact fixtures, should I still do the Ultra Sun or some combination of the two bulbs or would the Flora Sun be okey?

Bottom line is that I'm really not sure how many watts per gallon that I am shooting for in a 125 gallon tank. I absolutely cannot afford a CO2 system for this tank for another couple of years....not even sure that I want to go there.

I have another problem.....a 10 gallon tank that has been stored in the basement for years. I have it set up in my daughter's room and it looks great! However the light is so old, that I have to manually hold in the switch for 20 seconds to get it to turn on....thus no way to connect it to a timer and also only 15 watts...... I'm considering buying the mini-freshwater compact light fixture for it. It has two 9watt 6700 full spectrum bulbs. It's 9"x 5" x 2" and cost $30 I could fit two of them on the aquarium. One of them would give me 1.8 watts per gallon and two of them would give me 3.6 watts per gallon. I would be more than willing to get one of the $20 CO2 systems....might be a fun way to learn about CO2. A recent post mentioned that the watts per gallon rule didn't apply to aquariums that were less than 30 gallons. What would you recomment for this tank?

Ann from Vermont

I am not very familiar with the lights you have mentioned. Perhaps someone from your part of the world can help here.

I have heard rave reviews about the GE9325. Here is a link to a site that sells it Atlantic bulbs

With 2.9g/W CO2 would definitely benefit. You can make DIY CO2 units using old coke bottles, sugar & yeast for a few dollars.

If you are using the CF lights you will not need to have the normal ones as well. You dont want to suddenly go from low light to very high light conditions

On your smaller tank your choice of 2bulbs giving 3.6W/g looks fine. Here is a link to building a DIY CO2 setup CLick here

All the best!

 

[Lateral Line]

Those cf units you mention would sound the ideal thing for you to add to bump your lighting into the Good range.

CO2 is the next limiting plant nutrient after light. Certainly, if you up your lighting to 2.9 wpg, injecting CO2 will allow you to grow a lot more plants. It is not essential however, and as already pointed out, a DIY CO2 system can be built very cheaply. I probably could afford to use a bottle system, but have got into the habit of making my own, so continue to do so.

With good plant growth, as long as your nutrients are in balance, algae should not be a problem. Algae is almost always a sign of excessive nutrients, most often phosphates and nitrates. If you keep these under control, you should not have problems.

 

[Ann from Vermont]

Thanks to everyone for your ideas.

Dubbie, the GE9325 shown on the Atlantic bulbs site is actually a 9325 K bulb that is 55 watt , 20.7" long and looks to be a U shaped bulb with 4 prongs. I tried searching the site for an actual bulb called GE9325 and found nothing.

AS for the DIY CO2, it really scares me. I've read too many on line stores of these kind of systems exploding. I am a DIY type of person, but I don't want something that has to be monitored daily and that might explode.

I've been doing more reading on a site call wetwebmedia.com and have decided to replace my 6 bulbs with Zoo Med fluorescent bulbs. I'm going to order 4 of the tropic sun ( 5500k full spectrum ) and 2 of the Ultra sun ( 6500k full spectrum ). If I see no changes in my plants in a couple of months, then I'll have to try something else.

I do have another question.....If in a few months I decide to spend a couple hundred dollars....should I get the compact lighting and up my light from 1.44 to 2.9 or should I get a CO2 system. I can get a good CO2 system for a couple hundred including the CO2 canister. Then down the line I would want to spend another couple hundred to make it automatic ...however that wouldn't need to be done right away. Some of the stuff I've been reading makes me think that maybe CO2 would be more importannt than increasing the wpg. Naturally the plants wouldn't need as much CO2 if the wpg were'nt as high, but would it still help??

I am planning to buy one of the mini 6700 aqua freshwater lights for my 10 gallon tank. That will give me 1.8 wpg. Then I'm going to get this little Hagen natural plant CO2 system. It will give me a chance to play with the CO2 without stressing that I will blow something up.....and I can see for myself what it does. If it doesn't do alot, then I can get a second mini light which will increase my wpg to 3.6. It's much less expensive to experiment on a 10 gallon tank then on a 125 gallon!

One more question for if and when I do decide to get the compact light strips for my big aquarium. I would be getting the single light strips and putting them directing behind my present triple light strips. Now the double light strips come with a built in fan, but the single light strips do not. By combining one of these single strips with my own lights, will it get too hot? Will this cause a heat problem in my tank or a safety hazard in my home???

Dubbie, you said that if I got the compact lights, that I wouldn't need to use my own. But if I only use the compact lights, then I only have 1.5wpg. My own triple lights give me 1.44wpg. By combining them I get 2.9

Thanks, Ann from Vermont

 

[Dubby]

Dubbie, the GE9325 shown on the Atlantic bulbs site is actually a 9325 K bulb that is 55 watt , 20.7" long and looks to be a U shaped bulb with 4 prongs. I tried searching the site for an actual bulb called GE9325 and found nothing.
...........
AS for the DIY CO2, it really scares me. I've read too many on line stores of these kind of systems exploding. I am a DIY type of person, but I don't want something that has to be monitored daily and that might explode.
..........
Dubbie, you said that if I got the compact lights, that I wouldn't need to use my own. But if I only use the compact lights, then I only have 1.5wpg. My own triple lights give me 1.44wpg. By combining them I get 2.9

The 9325K bulb is the one I have heard rave reviews about. The shape is pretty much how CF tubes are built. By folding the tube they get the additional wattage.

The DIY system is unlikely to explode if you dont add valves but use different concentrations of yeast & sugar to regulate the flow. I have been using this for several years without a single mishap. Ofcourse, at the end of the day you need to be comfy using it

I misunderstood that the CF would give you all the light The CF does not generate much heat so you should be alright without fans.

 

[Ann from Vermont]

Dubby, You are so right about the shape of a compact flourescent. I didn't realize that. Just when I think I have this lighting thing figured out, I realize how little I really know.

I ended up getting the lights for the 10 gallon which will bring wpg to a 3.6, and that cheap CO2 system and a bag of florite. By the time I added some replacement tubes for my big tank, I was up over $200. Boy the little stuff adds up fast. So anyway, my lighting system will stay at 1.44 in my big tank for awhile.

I did print out the article you recommended on DIY CO2 and do plan to read up on it, along with the other articles the site references. While it does scare me, I'm beginning to realize that that is probably the only way I can afford to do CO2 in the big tank, at least for a couple of years. I'm sure I'll be back on line with DIY CO2 questions in the near future, Thanks again to everyone who has helped me figure out the lighting question.

Ann from Vermont