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I am trying to have a moderatly planted tank. I have 36 Bowfront, that has been cycled and has a canister filter. I have eight platies and four gouramis, and one guppy. the substrate is the normal pebble based. I have some liquid fertilizer and some gravel bed supplement. The next thing I want to add is a good light buld. my concern is that will it be to bright for the fish that I have, is that common problem or am I just worring about nothing and where are some credible places to search for lightbulb information? Thanks
36 gallon tank: 8 Various cory Cats, 2 Gold Gouramis, 8 Various Platies, 1 German Ram, 2 Fantail Guppies
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| Most lighting setups aren't going to be too bright for fish - I'm running 40 watts over a 10 gallon and they are just fine. How many wpg were you shooting for? You can use normal fluorescents, compact fluorescents, or the newer T5 bulbs for your tank. These days I like using compact fluorescent bulbs because of the inexpensive nature of incandescent hoods and the fact that you can put out a whole lot of light using just a few of these small bulbs. I'm sure other folks will weign in as well.
In the Mountains Of the Mountains For the Mountains
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well I really don't know how many wpg I should shoot for 36 gallon. any suggestions?
36 gallon tank: 8 Various cory Cats, 2 Gold Gouramis, 8 Various Platies, 1 German Ram, 2 Fantail Guppies
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| Depends COMPLETELY on the plants you want. Your tank has a huge potential, try to go for 2-3 wpg. That should give you a broad range of plants to choose from. www.plantgeek.net Search this site's Plant Guide and choose the top 10 plants that appeal to you. Don't be intimidated by the care needed for it. Here's a good list of common plants you could try: Amazon Sword (Echinidorus amazonicus) Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus) Java Moss (or any other moss) (Taxiphyllum sp.) Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum/submersum) Anacharis (Egeria densa) Now, for the lighting: I presume your hood has a normal T8/T12 flourescent bulb. If, you're like me, buy two 10 gallon incandescent hoods. Remove the incandescent hoods from the hoods and fix them into the 36 gallon hood. This should allow around 100 watts to play around with. Go ahead and buy some compact flourescents at your local hardware or home department store. Be sure to buy the "daylight" bulbs and look in the tiny print for the wattage. You'll need around 4 20 watt bulbs to give you 2 wpg. But, if you're not like me, buy a twin bulb hood. Then you can go from there...
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New Member
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so when I went to the pet store I started look around at the special light bulbs, the first thing I went to were the simple ones that would fit my hood, they were specialized for freshwater plants, yet the watts were so low, aroung 20 watts. so i dont understand what I should do with upgrading the light fixtures!?!?!
36 gallon tank: 8 Various cory Cats, 2 Gold Gouramis, 8 Various Platies, 1 German Ram, 2 Fantail Guppies
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Don't buy bulbs from a pet store. They will have a lower selection and ridiculously jacked-up prices. Instead, hit your local Home Depot, Lowe's, or small hardware store and check out their fluorescent lighting section. I guarantee you that you'll find a variety of bulbs in higher wattages that will fit your hood. And they'll be a lot less pricey than the pet store bulbs. ;)
In the Mountains Of the Mountains For the Mountains
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 Posted 11/18/2008 9:36:39 PM |
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