# lighting a 10 gallon



## Ownager2004 (Apr 18, 2006)

What is the best(read cheapest) way to light a 10 gallon up to 3 watts/gallon or more. Also I dont want the light source to look like an eye sore like my current set up(see my post in the welcome section for info). All of the flourescent strip lights I have seen only seem to have single bulbs for a 20" tank. And the other types of lighting that ive seen are out of my price range and wouldn't really fit my tank that well. Is just putting 2 20" flourescent strip lights on your 10 gallon tank the best way to go?

thanks


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

There really isn't a best way to go. First, it depends on how much light you want, and that depends on what kind of planted tank you want. You could do a non-CO2, low light tank or a pressurized CO2 high light tank, or anything in between. Once you settle on what kind of tank you want, you can pick the wattage range most appropriate for that kind of tank. If that is 30 watts, then two 15 watt strip lights would, of course, do it for you. But, an AH Supply, dual 13 watt light kit, with either a DIY enclosure or one of their pre-built enclosures might work even better because the AH kit reflectors are so good. Check this out at http://www.ahsupply.com/twox.htm


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

get one of the two bulb incandescent hoods and add two of the 20 watt 6500K compact fluorescent screw in bulbs.


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 18, 2006)

so your saying get one of these and I can just screw in two 20w CF bulbs right out of the box? If so that would be great.

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h106inchood.htm

thanks

also I realized this should be in the equipment section now.. sorry


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## Leopardess (Mar 14, 2004)

If you want 3wpg or more, I would definitely do the www.ahsupply.com kit that is 36w. I have two of them and would certainly buy more. THey are cheap, relatively, and have great reflectors. Plus, they are made to be retrofit right into your existing light enclosure. You just gut out your old 15watters and slap in the new light.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

retro fit a normal 10g light strip with a 2x13 (lower light) or 1x36 (you can grow glosso) AHSupply kit.

I run 1x36 over my 10g that has a minimal planting of crypts.


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 18, 2006)

The 1x36 one did catch my eye, but i dont have much experience with electronics. And I dont have anything I can solder(sp?) with. Can I retrofit mine with some screwdrivers and some pliers? How easy was it to retrofit?


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

Yea. that'll get you close to 4 wpg. for cheap!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Ownager2004 said:


> The 1x36 one did catch my eye, but i dont have much experience with electronics. And I dont have anything I can solder(sp?) with. Can I retrofit mine with some screwdrivers and some pliers? How easy was it to retrofit?


You don't need to do any soldering at all to install an AH Supply kit. You do need to drill a few small holes, screw in some screws, use wire nuts to attach a few wires, after cutting them to length and stripping the insulation back about a half inch. It is a pretty easy job.


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## Ownager2004 (Apr 18, 2006)

Oh alright I can handle that 
thanks everyone


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