Lighting upgrade?

Question

I have an Eclipse 12 system and was wondering if there are bulbs that will fit the hood with higher watts. Its a freshwater tank with a few Amazon swords in it. I want to get more plants but I don't think the 13 w bulb that comes with it is enough for any plants. Is there any cheap and easy way to do this?

Answer 1

I would think not because the light require the proper size starter and ballast and that is built into the hood. I would suggest you change the plants to some small cryptocoryne like C. williisii. They require less light than the swords and will stay small enough to fit your tank.

Best of luck!

MM

Answer 2

If it's an incandescent bulb, then you can just unscrew it, and put in a new one. Check out the fixture, it will have a warning about not using bulbs with more watts than such and such a number, which would be as high as you can go... Of course, if it's an incandescent bulb, it won't really be that good for growing plants anyway.

If it's a fluorescent tube, then you'll probably have to change the ballast, and end caps, and it'll be a bit of a mess. Some stores sell special high power light fixture replacements, with a funky two sided bulb, where one side is red, and the other is blue. Those might be pretty easy to install, but they would also probably be pretty expensive.

A cheap way to up the light is to carefully cover the inside of the aquarium hood with aluminum foil. This reflects more of the light down to the plants... just be sure it doesn't touch the contacts, or any wires.

According to the book Aquarium Plant Manual (ISBN0-8120-1687-4, really nice book) you could probably grow a few plants, of which I am listing several here:

Anubias Nana
Criptocoryne affinis
Bolbitis heudelotii
Microsorium pteropus (Java fern)
Vesicularia dubayana (java moss)

Answer 3

Well, your tank is generally small and you shouldn't need much more light for your plants/tank than you all ready have. The general equation for lighting planted tanks is 1-2 watts per gallon.
As long as you keep the light on for 10-12 hours a day your plants should have enough light to survive. Plants also need nutrients and carbon to grow and reproduce.
I just started using Seachem Flourish (nutrients) and Seachem Excel (carbon) just a few months ago (b/c I wanted a planted tank but never was successful). These products have kept my plants alive and they are growing and reproducing like crazy.
You might have to spend $20 for the both of them but your plants will be more green and happy.