Lighting Reccomendations

[Underwater]

I have a hagen 75g (48" x 18" x 20") and need to upgrade my lights badly. I have an old double flourescent on it now, I think it's 2 x 20W.

My tank only has water sprite and duckweed in it for plants.  I would like to get some more plants, like anubias and amazon swords, once I get some more light.

I'm on a very limited budget, and I don't want a full canopy, just  a strip light.

Can power compact be bought at home depot or only at fish stores?

I was leaning towards a 48" power compact either 110W or 2 x 65W.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[BigDaddy]

The only place you can buy a 2 foot "commercial" power compact is at the fish stores.

You can buy the ballasts and bulbs for a couple of compact fl. at Buchannan, Litemore, etc...  They carry the 55W bulbs, not the 65W.

Even at 110W, you'd still be in the low light range... but a lot closer to medium.  Your stem plants would be a bit leggy, and you could only have low light plants towards the bottom.

If you are on a budget, I'd get two double bulb NO fluorescent strip lights from Walmart and build a simple wood enclosure for them.  I believe some members have gotten them for less than 20 each.  Plus, 4 foot fluorescent bulbs are the cheapest of the bunch, since they are used so heavily in offices.

I'd feel more comfortable with 160W of NO fluoresent than 110W of CF.  The plants you've listed should be fine under those conditions.

[Underwater]

please excuse my ignorance, but what is a NO fluorescent?

[mseguin]

Normal output. I.e regular fluorescents.