Question:I figured out that the reason my plants keep dying is because my 20 gallon tank only has a 20 watt fluorescent light! So i went to my local fish store to get a 65 watt light (there were none in between 20 and 65) and it was $70! I know little about this kind of stuff so what can i get instead of buying a whole new fixture? Thanks
Answers:
you can change your light and use "low tech" plants. flurorescents tweek the light color spectrum so you can maximize your 20 watt with something heavy in blues for growing plants. fluorescents usually have have a "color heat" temperature measured in kelvins -- if you can finds someone in a pet shop that knows about lighting they can help you with it.
i have a 20 gallon with a 15 watt light and its heavily planted -- i think i have about a 9000-10000 k light and low light plants work fine.
here is a list of plants you should be able to grow no problem --
http://plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php...
http://plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php...
if you want high light plants they usually come with co2 demands as well -- you can grow a "low tech" aquarium no problem -- it just won't look like the high tech ones.
sing it with me:.EBAY! ( they sell it all!)
http://diy-aquarium.com/do-it-yourself/l...
what type of fixture is it power compact, T5, traditional flourescent?
Power compact bulb will only have one end looks like 2 bulbs stuck together. If you have one of these get a 50/50 bulb with a daylight and a "pink" or plant light. If you have a single flourescent (2 ends on the bulb) try to find a higher intensity bulb, the box should indicate that it helps plants grow. The only disadvantage here is the color sometimes is not as "pretty"
Any of these bulbs in a 20 inch should cost between 15 up to 35 dollars, 70 is ridiculous, at least here in Florida.
Best bet, brand new fixture about 130 watts total power, power compact. Corallife makes excellent , reasonably priced fixtures.
Hope this helps
Use a bulb that is designed for houseplants or aquarium plants. It has more to do with the wavelengths of light that the bulb produces, not the wattage.
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