[Jeffd17]

I have a thirty five gallon hexagon aquarium, with live plants which are okay, but they could be better. I have a strip light that came with the aquarium, 20" long, takes a 15 watt bulb. I have looked at ahsupply.com and saw their 13 watt retrofit for existing strip lights, I dont know if that would be enough. However, money is tight for me, is there a way to retrofit the strip light my self to have say, another 15 watt bulb in there as well? Does it sound feasible?

 

[Paul Higashikawa]

It really depends on your budget. AHS has more than just 13W retrofit kit for your liking; you can retrofit with a 36W kit or if you don't mind building the hood from scratch, then you can even opt for 55W kits. A 35gal hex is IMO tougher to light than a regular 35gal tank because of its unique shape. Regular lighting has a tendency not to penetrate to the bottom. Follow the 3W/gal rule as it is a pretty decent indicator for beginners. Choose bulb with kelvin readings from 5,000k to 9,000k. 6700k is pretty nice


Paul