lighting help

[angelsj247]

im going to buy a better light today. right now i only have a 20" single tube on my tank- 15w.. i only have live rock in right now..
any suggestions? how many watts? do i need a day and night light? single or duble tube?
im very confused in this area.. please help
this is only going to be a 20 gal FOWLR tank. thanks

 

[TekCat]

for FOWLR you don't need really any special lighting. LR and fish don't care much for intense light. However if you going to upgrade to reef, then you need to invest in some serious lights.

PC lights (power compacts) should be sufficient for FOWLR. Don't worry too much about wattage, get lamps that provide more pleasing to the eye light ( some combination of 10K and Actinic)

 

[tanker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6970799#post6970799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TekCat
for FOWLR you don't need really any special lighting.
PC lights (power compacts) should be sufficient for FOWLR. Don't worry too much about wattage, get lamps that provide more pleasing to the eye light ( some combination of 10K and Actinic)

You do not even need PC lights. Just NO would be OK. Get some cheap lights at Home Depot.

 

[six.line]

Bear in mind that if you *ever* want to go reef with that tank, which might happen, buying PC/VHO/MH is an option to consider.

I agree with tek and with tanker who may or may not be married to Jennifer Aniston.

You'll be fine with NO for now. I suggest kicking the idea around for a few days and weighing cost/benefit out then deciding. Just me, though.

Good luck.

 

[MCary]

For $160 you can get a really nice 4 bulb T5 fixture. Oooh baby!

 

[TekCat]

All said above is true, one thing to consider is power consumption. The fancier you go with lamp setup the bigger your electrical bills will be.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6970959#post6970959 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tanker
You do not even need PC lights. Just NO would be OK. Get some cheap lights at Home Depot.

Totally Agree, you don't need even PC lights, however upgrading from Dome Depot lights will give you more choices on colors. I say this because I haven't seen any actinic lights in HD which bring out very pretty luminecent (sp?) colors.