joby

I currently have an eclipse hood that can house two bulbs. The recommemded wattage on the hood is 2 x 18W. I have gone up to 2 x 20W, but am afraid to push it higher.

My lfs guy, (who has been very knowledgable dispite some minor language barrier) suggested I switch out one of my lifeglo bulbs for a 20W actinic blue. He suggested this was a better balance for the plants and fish in my tank, and also said something about it "tricking" the plants into "thinking"they are receiving fuller spectrum. I did put a blue in, but now I am sceptical.

I also started injecting CO2 recently, so I really want to improve my lighting situation. I really want to upgrade for higher wattage, but not sure how easy or even if possible with the eclipse hood. Will I need to get a whole new hood? Or does eclipse sell upgrade kits? Can I just get what I need a my local hard wear store? Obviously I need to do some more research, but would love to hear from anyone who has experience with this, or anyone with ideas/advice in general.

Thanks!

eddtango

Hi again. I also have an Eclipse system on one of my aquariums. I used 1 Aqua-glo,1 Life-glo 2 and added another T5 full spectrum 14 watt bulb. The surface turbulence caused by the Bio-wheel will let CO2 escape to the surface,so I decided to take out my Bio-wheel filter and replaced it with a Fluval internal filter. I drilled the T5 lights on to the middle flap cover of my Eclipse hood. Though I think I can use some more light,I think the additional T5 helped a lot.

skids

Could you tell us which Eclipse hood? If you don't know the model, then at least the dimensions. There is an Eclipse 2 and a 3 which are the big ones but take very different bulb upgrade kits. I have a 2 and used a CSL SmartLite retrofit kit. It has a 1x 32W compact flourescent that is one 10K white and 1 blue bulb on same socket. I am really happy with it over a 30g tall tank. PLants growing well 8 months now (with liquid CO2 from Excel every other day and PMDD daily). Blue actinic bulb makes cardinal tetra look nice.

dennis

Actinic can make the fish look nice but does not do much for the plants/photosynthesis. If you want more light, I would suggest switching out the "guts" of the hood for a retrofit PC light. www.ahsupply.com has great kits that are super easy to install and th eowner is very helpful. I am sure he can help you find something that will fit into your current hood. I would suggest you either install a 1x36 watt if you want a high light tank, or 2x13 watts for a little easier, moderate light tank.

skids

It was my original intent to use the Smartlite kit and replace the blue/white bulb with a 6500K but I was lazy and the plants grew just fine depite it. So until it burns out I am enjoying the color and plants (java fern and moss, anubias nana, hydrophilla, amazon sword, baby tears and dwarf crypt) are all doing fine, in this low maint tank. I purposely wanted a low speed tank. Had to start dosing Excel every 2d because java fern was melting without it.

joby

Thanks for all the advice and links! Here are the dimensions of my hood 30.25"/12.75" (this is L x W) The hood is taller in the back part that holds the bio wheel. It measures 4.5" in back and 3.5" in the front.

I am interested in creating moderate - high light in this tank. I am unfamiliar with a couple of terms from the advice you have given, T5 lighting? Does T stand for tungsten? Is this a hard wear store purchase? Also PC lighting?

The surface agitation is very minimal as the water line sits above the outflow spouts. The side the CO2 diffuser is on is totally still. So I wonder if I can get away without changing the filter for the time being. I use the prepackaged filter cartridges, but remove the carbon first. There is alot of green algae building up on the front wall of the tank. Is this because there is not enough light in the presence of CO2? Lights are on a timer, and stay on for about 11 hours daily.

Thanks again for all your help!