# Walstad tank lighting



## mshi (Jan 12, 2007)

I have a 75 gallon Walstad "el natural" tank. I recently converted my DIY hood from tube to screw in CF's (got tired of dealing with bulbs not lighting/ballast issues). The hood was made with the fixtures that happened to be on sale at the home improvement store so the hood can hold up to 16 bulbs. I did add a fan and to provide room to open the glass tops the bulbs are high above the tank so the heat should not be a problem. The hood is enclosed and painted white on the interior so the light is directed into the tank. Any input on the number and types of screw in cf's that would provide good plant growth would be very helpful. This is a low tech tank and I don't want to dose with CO, ferts, etc.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

My first try with this would be to get in the neighborhood of 110-150 watts total lighting. Since your hood can hold 16 bulbs, maybe try 16 10watt bulbs. This will keep the light spread evenly. There's a 10 watt bulb my son uses over his 10 gallon that has almost perfect color, though I have no idea what the spectral output is and don't remember the brand (they were on the higher side for CF).

My opinion is that 160 watts would get the job done if you don't want to worry about dosing to keep up with high growth rates, but it may actually be a little on the high side for that size aquarium. Maybe it'd be better to start off with just 10 of the bulbs at first (or something to get near 100 watts) and see how that works for 2 weeks, then adjust accordingly.


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