Lighting 11w -> 18w

At the moment I'm using a PL 11w fitting in my tank. Its giving me about 1w per liter at 10000k.
Is it possible to simply plug a PL 18w bulb, or will the current ballast not run it?

If not, can I modify my ballast to run PL 18w tubes?

 

Excuse my ignorance here Ruan, is the Ballast not built into the globe?

 

Not the PL bulbs.
1W per L is already a lot. Why not just change to a daylight bulb?

 

Correct the PL has a seperate ballast. Its already at 10000k.


I really want a super dense plant habitat. With proper CO2 and "more" lighting it will happen so much easier.(and you know how it is with us guys, the more the better). The 18w is almost the same size as the 11w.

 

10000K is not going to help you much. If you put in a 36W 10000K bulb and I use a 9W 6500k bulb I would most
Likely still have much better growth than you.
You see 10000K peaks a lot in the blue spectrum and almost nothing in th red.
These bulbs are normally just used to cancel out the red look that grow bulbs give.

High light with CO2 is normally at 1.2W per gallon. I guesse you are close to 3W per gallon.

 

Okay cool, so I got my info mixed up a little. So you reckon, I should go down to 6500k with the 11w tube?

That makes sense. I know Louhuis makes a quality 6500k pl11 tube, just a bit expensive.:wondering:

 

Yes, you should still be more than Ok.

 

Thank you.

 

I agree with Vis. The 10,000K globe in my opinion also stimulates algae. (All the research I've done shows this, but everyone on this forum believes otherwise). I've taken out my 1 x 10,000k globe... and bang... algae gone!

 

I'm on it.
LOL, the little 11 liter tank could really do without algae, theres little enough space as it is. :bigsmile:

So 6500k would be the best spectrum to look into?

 

Zoom, I disagree with you. I have run for the last 4 years all my tanks with 10000K.

When you solved your algae, you also run one bulb less, changed your dosing, did a big water change ect. No solid proof for the 10000K bulb being the problem.

This is one of my tanks that was running 20000K at that moment.
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=511

And I even had my anubias bloom.
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=1890

This is my current tank under 10000K(Scape sucks I know - Waiting for plant shipment)






It is only on this forum where I have seen people discouraging others from using 10 000K. Very rarely does it happen on international servers. They encourage mixing bulbs.

 

Max, I won't argue with you there. What I will say is that if you go and read that thread (ask the professor: Staghorn Algae), you will notice that I am experimenting a bit.

I've had no algae GROWING for the past 4 weeks. And from about last week, all traces of algae is gone. So what I have done now is kept the fertlizing the same as I have been doing the past 4 weeks, and I've turned the 10,000k back on.

IF the algae doesn't come back, then I will know I had the wrong fertilizing dosage in the beginning.
IF the algae DOES come back, then I will change the 10,000k to a 6,500k globe.
IF it doesn't come back then, then I will be able to catagorically say that the 10,000K globe was responsible for MY algae.
IF it does come back, then I will know that I have too much light in my tank overall.

It will all take time and patience.

Regards

 

Max but you do not run just 10000K?

 

It might be that 10000K gives you a smaller margin for error. Thus with low tech/ No co2 it might have a different effect. I always had Co2 supplement.

I am currently running on my tank
150w MH 10000K
150w MH 20000K
54w 10000K T5
54W 6500K T5 bulb(New since last week, replaced a 10000K)

 

Mmmm Ok, have you compared the growth rate between a tank with the 10000K only bulbs
and one with 5600K bulbs?

Your tanks must be very bright

 

I haven't compared, but I haven't seen a difference in the last week since I have added the 6500K T5 bulb.

It is pretty bright, but I am used to a reef tank. My first tank was a reef tank.