# Question about new lights



## Yurtle (Jul 31, 2006)

I have question about moving to more wattage. Currently I have a 48 in. single strip with a "Eclipse Natural Daylight" 40W T10 (over a 55 gallon). I have been contemplating buying a 48 in. double strip for a while and then today I was picking up some IQF silversides at the local store and they had a 48 in. double strip on the clearance shelf. It was dirty and looked like a trade in. I looked at in and it had 2 VHO 110W bulbs in it but the panel on the back says 120V, 67W, 60 Hz. With my limited electrical knowledge I immediately thought that the bulbs in the light were far too much wattage for that hood. The sales guy agreed with me and said that it should have 2 40 W bulbs in it. But that is still more than the 67W that are on the back panel. I was abit confused but when the guy told me $10 for it I figured, hell I'll take it. I am wondering what wattage bulbs I can put in it? Am I limited to 67W? and is that total or each bulb. I don't really want too much more wattage, 2 40W would be good I think. Any help would be much appreciated.

By the way, I have a 55 gallon, I dose Excel, comprehensive and iron every week with my 50% WC. The tank has been planted for ~6 months and they do fine some grow faster than others but none have died, and only one algae outbreak in the beginning. 
I currently have about 2 of each of:
Coffeefolia (Anubias barteri v. 'Coffeefolia')
Crypt, Walkerii (Cryptocoryne walkerii)
Green Temple (Hygrophilia corymbosa)
Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus)
Nana (Anubias barteri v. 'Nana')
Wendtii, Green (Cryptocoryne wendtii)
Thanks again.


----------



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

your plants are low light, so that is good. The Hygro wouldn't mind the extra light I'm sure, tho

Post up a pic of your fixture, and someone will be able to help you much better I'm sure of it

Hope that helped


----------



## Yurtle (Jul 31, 2006)

Here are some pictures of the aforementioned hood.


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Unless it looks modified on the inside, it should be able to take 2 48" T-8, T-10, or T-12 bulbs. Since it appears to have a rocker switch, I'd say it is the model designed for the T-8 (it will still take T-10 or T-12 though). The T-8 bulbs would be the most efficient.


----------



## Yurtle (Jul 31, 2006)

So, 2 48 in. T-8 40 W bulbs (ex. 2800°K Flora-glo) would be ok then (80 total watts, although the fixture says 67 W)? Sorry I am a bit paranoid about overloading circuits and such. One more question, how much difference is there really between the spectrum of the aquarium specialty bulbs (i.e the aforementioned Flora-glo) vs. say regular bulbs from Home Depot (same temperature rating of course)? Are the speciality bulbs significantly better? Again thanks in advance for the help.


----------



## Plowboy (Apr 9, 2008)

Yurtle said:


> So, 2 48 in. T-8 40 W bulbs (ex. 2800°K Flora-glo) would be ok then (80 total watts, although the fixture says 67 W)? Sorry I am a bit paranoid about overloading circuits and such. One more question, how much difference is there really between the spectrum of the aquarium specialty bulbs (i.e the aforementioned Flora-glo) vs. say regular bulbs from Home Depot (same temperature rating of course)? Are the speciality bulbs significantly better? Again thanks in advance for the help.


Ill try to explian this the best I can with the little knowledge I have on the subject.

You will be fine with any 48 inch T8, T10, or T12 bulb. The amount of current carried by the wiring is completely dictated by the ballast. You could have a 9394353 watt bulb, but it will still only get 32 to 40 watts a 48 inch ballast is capable of putting out.

The K rating of a bulb is just a rough guess of a lights true color that doesnt take into account the different mixtures of visible light that can produce a certain K value. For example, a 6500k light could have one strong peak at 550 nm (green), or two peaks at 450nm (blue) and 700nm (red), or even have a mixture of the entire visible light spectrum. Here's a link that can hopefully explain it better than me. There are plenty of people that have succesfully grown aquarium plants with bulbs from Home Depot, Walmart, and Lowes with K ratings between 5000k and 10000k, but if your more comfortable sticking with a bulb made specifically for aquarium plants then, by all means, do it.

Hopefully that made sense. Its tough to explain stuff I only have basic knowledge in.


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Yurtle said:


> So, 2 48 in. T-8 40 W bulbs (ex. 2800°K Flora-glo) would be ok then (80 total watts, although the fixture says 67 W)? Sorry I am a bit paranoid about overloading circuits and such. One more question, how much difference is there really between the spectrum of the aquarium specialty bulbs (i.e the aforementioned Flora-glo) vs. say regular bulbs from Home Depot (same temperature rating of course)? Are the speciality bulbs significantly better? Again thanks in advance for the help.


Plowboy already answered this pretty well...I would like to add that a 48" T-8 bulb should actually be rated closer to 32W which is why I said it would be more effiecient in that fixture. It will be getting the maximum wattage it was designed for. T-10s or T-12s will still work fine though. You can usaully get plant bulbs or aquarium bulbs from Home Depot or Lowe's that will do the job for much less than a pet store or online. Even Walmart usually carries them...just be sure to swap them out every 6-8 months as they lose their punch over time.


----------



## Yurtle (Jul 31, 2006)

I understand now. Time to look for some bulbs now. Thanks a lot for your help guys. It nice to know there is somewhere I can go to ask all my aquarium related questions.


----------

