# I have a 20 gallon and would like a better light



## fubbotubo (Apr 10, 2007)

I have a bunch of plants in my 20 gallon GDR tank. I thought the lighting would be sufficient (its only a 15w aqua-glo light), but the plants arnt lookin very healthy. Im looking to buy a light asap to save these plants.

I just have a standard canopy that came with the tank set up. on the back there is a sticker that says: FH-20F-DX 24" FLUORESCENT AQUARIUM REFLECTER, 120 VOLT 60 HZ, 15 WATTS.

Does that mean the canopy can only handle a maxium of 15W?

i have another tank that has a 15w standard cool-white bulb in it and the plants are thriving. unfortunately its way to bright and not a very pleasing light to look at..

Any suggestions for a light? This store is nearby, are there any suitable bulbs?http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/tlist/bulbs/fluorescent.php?category_ID=192

thank you for your help!

KL


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

Yes that canopy with the hardware in it is only designed to drive a 15W bulb. because with florescent bulbs wattage increase also means size increase. (unless you're talking about overdriven bulbs. we will not touch on this) What you can do with your existing hood is to retrofit it with compact florescent bulbs. OR get a whole new light fixture all toghether. for a 20 gallon you would probably want to have a minimum of around 30W. Personally I push 65W over mine (was 130 but I had to scale back due to not having time to deal with a super high light tank) 
one of my preferred out of the box fixtures is the Coralife freshwater aqualamp. It comes with a 6700K bulb.

As I mentioned you can also go with a retrofit. the best ones are from AHsupply.com you're best bet is to shoot them an email and tell them what kind of hood you have (brand) and ask what they would recommend.


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