Help!! Problem of lighting for a 10G

[bynna]

First of all, it's great to see so many fish nuts at BA kanata today. Hope everybody got what he/her needs!

Alright, so I got the all-glass 10g combo that's on sale at 19.99 today. It's my first tank, and my plan is to set up a moderate-planted-with-some-active-fishes tank. Based on all the research I've done, I know that I need about 30-45 watts for lighting.

Now, here is the problem: the 10g has a incandescent hood as showing in the 1st picture. It's designed for using tubular incandescent bulbs. For the budget reason, I was planning to screw in 2 compact fluorescent lamps into it. After checking at home depot and canadian tire, the highest wattage of 6500K CFL that I can find is GE "energy smart" 15W spiral.  But as soon as I carried 2 of these back home, I realized that they are too big for the hood. In order to screw them in, I have to take off the plastic thing that covers the bulb from below which I feel unsafe because of exposing the bulb to the open water. Plus, the surface of the bulb will directly touch the reflector which again I feel dangerous.

So which bulb I should get to achieve my WPG goal and be able to fit into the hood? And for any of you who bought this tank today, what's your choice of lighting? Thanks!





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[BigDaddy]

Those 15 W spirals are fine.  Remove the rubber seal, as the ballast of the bulb will pretty much cover the socket entirely.  As far as the bulb touching the reflector, it isn't an issue, as a fluorescent doesn't get nearly as hot as an incandescent, which is what the hood was designed for.

I've run the 15W bulbs on my 10 gallon in the past with no issues at all.

If you are really concerned though, run to Dollarama.  They have 9w and 13W Sunbeam CF bulbs there that will fit the hood and are not a spiral but a linear bulb.  Also, the ballast on them is a bit smaller, so you may be able to use them with the rubber splash guard.

[bynna]

Thanks, BD. It was quite frustrated that I thought I was going to be stuck there. hopefully the 2 15W will give me enough light to grow some medium light plants.

[bynna]

Ran to the Home Depot today. The philips 15W 6500K they are carrying has a smaller size of spiral tube which can perfectly fits into the hood. So problem solved!