# 30 gallon tank, I want med light?



## Bubblez (Jun 1, 2009)

hi!!! 

I have a 30 gallon tank, That has a hood which uses those tube lights.. right now it has a 20 watt 24" light in it, I should switch to a 60-80 watt 24" right? The question is are there even such things as 80 watt 24" and where? 

Ps. Is a 60 watt tube light the same thing as two 30 watt compact florecent lightbulb fixtures?


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## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Hey bubblez if your doing the Planted with co2/ferts jazz then 2.5-3 wpg is good so you would need about 90 watts or dual 45 watt bulbs but if not and your keeping low maintenance plants 1.5-2watts is all you need so duel 25-30 watt bulbs would work.

If you tank is Fish only then save power and get bright low wattage bulbs. Fish dont need alot of light to grow .

i find Compact Fluorescents alot brighter then Normal Fluorescent bulbs. most tanks come with t8 bulbs, t6 is a bit brighter and more efficient, and t5's are nice and efficient and you will need less wattage if your tank is planted.

The compact fluorescents are newer tech too so they will be brighter and look nicer. they will match the 60 watt tube. if anything i would still go compact if thats what you were thinking. also if u want natural and good for plants sorta deal get the 6700k CFL's.

i have a 65watt compact fluorescent fixture on a 20gal and it grows plants good but i dont use ferts and co2 which is bad lol.. i have algae out the wazzoo..


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## Bubblez (Jun 1, 2009)

hey thanks for the helpful reply! The reason I want higher watts without C02 or ferts is that I have baby tear I wanna grow, and I was informed It'd grow under medium light, which is 2-3 wpg, anything higher would require c02?


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## Bubblez (Jun 1, 2009)

Oh and the reason I want One high watt tube light instead of compacts are because the tank I have Comes with its own light thing and It only has room for 1 bulb... 

I have a smaller light hood thing that could go ontop of the tank but it wouldn't cover as much of the tank since it'd be from a ten gallon hood (but i can fit 2 cf there)


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

Anything over 2w/gal should have co2. If you want you can use Flourish Excel instead of co2.


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## riger99 (Aug 12, 2009)

*Quick Tip for Cheap Effective Lighting*

Anyone who's looking for a quick addition to lighting, check out the *GE Daylight 6500K CFL 26W*.
They are only about $7 and my plants grow like crazy with them. (I can only find them at Canadian Tire)
I'm using 3 of them (and CO2) in a 20 Gallon tank and the plants are growing very well!


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