newbie lighting questions

I'm a novice at the planted aquarium. I have a 30gal tank that has one
Hagen Aqua-Glow lamp, which is an 18", 15W, K18,000 bulb.

I've done some reading that suggest 1-2 Watts/Gallon for a successful
planted aquarium, which means I need 1-2 more 15W lamps, give or take.

Firstly: Is the lamp I have good? I've searched some FAQ's, but the ones I
read talk about bigger tanks than mine. What is a good Wattage for an 18"
lamp?

Second: Do I in fact need a second lamp to keep my plants? Can I acheive
more efficient lighting and healthy plants with just one lamp in my current
set up?

Third: What is the best way to add light to my tank, if I do need a second
lamp? Do I need to replace my hood? It's a Light-Glo. I was thinking that
I could cut it up, and somehow attach a standalone light to the top of the
hood. My tank is about 12"x24"x12".

Basically, given my tank, what is the best way to get more light into it?

thanks in advance...

G

When I decided to try up grading my lights, someone mentioned a Lights of
America fixture at Home Depot, around 75 watts in a plastic fixture. was
$20 with a $10 rebate. They use a double folded over tube, not the most
efficient or as good as fancy aquarium lights, but they worked. Two of them
worked fine on a 55 while I played around with CO2 and plants and decided I
liked it. I'm hooked and am saving money for a fancy top fancy expensive
lights ... or get the courage to build same.
Bob


"gdbjohnson" wrote in message
.cable.rogers.com...
I'm a novice at the planted aquarium. I have a 30gal tank that has one
Hagen Aqua-Glow lamp, which is an 18", 15W, K18,000 bulb.

I've done some reading that suggest 1-2 Watts/Gallon for a successful
planted aquarium, which means I need 1-2 more 15W lamps, give or take.

Firstly: Is the lamp I have good? I've searched some FAQ's, but the ones
I
read talk about bigger tanks than mine. What is a good Wattage for an 18"
lamp?

Second: Do I in fact need a second lamp to keep my plants? Can I acheive
more efficient lighting and healthy plants with just one lamp in my
current
set up?

Third: What is the best way to add light to my tank, if I do need a second
lamp? Do I need to replace my hood? It's a Light-Glo. I was thinking
that
I could cut it up, and somehow attach a standalone light to the top of the
hood. My tank is about 12"x24"x12".

Basically, given my tank, what is the best way to get more light into it?

thanks in advance...

G

Thanks. I went to my fish store to ask about it, and my tank poses a
problem because it is trim-less, so there is no easy way for me to lay extra
lighting on the top. My hood sucks as well, because the light is fixed into
it, and I would have to hack it up to get the light out to make it work.

I'm going to sell the hood I have now, get a trim for the tank, and a glass
top, and then get the mega-lighting system with compact fluorescent tubes.
gonna be expensive, but it's an itch I have to scratch. It seems to be more
cost efficient in the long run to just go big, rather than add small bits
over time:

another 18" tube will be about 44$, which only gives me another 15W for a
total of 30W.
whereas the compact lighting system will be 250$, for over 100W or so (kit
includes the bulbs). I don't need that much, but it comes with 2 tubes, so
I just leave one turned off. This gives me way more options, and I can sell
my current hood for a little bit back.
(BTW, these prices are in CDN)

-g

"Robert Flory" wrote in message
...
When I decided to try up grading my lights, someone mentioned a Lights of
America fixture at Home Depot, around 75 watts in a plastic fixture. was
$20 with a $10 rebate. They use a double folded over tube, not the most
efficient or as good as fancy aquarium lights, but they worked. Two of
them
worked fine on a 55 while I played around with CO2 and plants and decided
I
liked it. I'm hooked and am saving money for a fancy top fancy expensive
lights ... or get the courage to build same.
Bob


"gdbjohnson" wrote in message
.cable.rogers.com...
I'm a novice at the planted aquarium. I have a 30gal tank that has one
Hagen Aqua-Glow lamp, which is an 18", 15W, K18,000 bulb.

I've done some reading that suggest 1-2 Watts/Gallon for a successful
planted aquarium, which means I need 1-2 more 15W lamps, give or take.

Firstly: Is the lamp I have good? I've searched some FAQ's, but the
ones
I
read talk about bigger tanks than mine. What is a good Wattage for an
18"
lamp?

Second: Do I in fact need a second lamp to keep my plants? Can I
acheive
more efficient lighting and healthy plants with just one lamp in my
current
set up?

Third: What is the best way to add light to my tank, if I do need a
second
lamp? Do I need to replace my hood? It's a Light-Glo. I was thinking
that
I could cut it up, and somehow attach a standalone light to the top of
the
hood. My tank is about 12"x24"x12".

Basically, given my tank, what is the best way to get more light into
it?

thanks in advance...

G

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 02:27:50 GMT, "gdbjohnson"
bubbled out the following:

Third: What is the best way to add light to my tank, if I do need a second
lamp? Do I need to replace my hood? It's a Light-Glo. I was thinking that
I could cut it up, and somehow attach a standalone light to the top of the
hood. My tank is about 12"x24"x12".

A 12" x 24" x 12" tank would be 15 gal, not 30 gal

There are various options for you can choose from. Some options, in addition to providing light and heat. Others just provide light. Buy light bulbs, while the production will kill two birds with one stone.

Lighting is necessary for your fish and any plants you may have in your aquarium, but remember that lighting also adds beauty to your aquarium.The type and wattage bulbs that you use will depend on whether you have live plants in your tank. If you do, then you need 2 to 5 watts of light per gallon of water.