lighting help

[forsaken]

so am i having 100 watts or 26 watts actaully being put on my tank

 

[sostoudt]

so am i having 100 watts or 26 watts actaully being put on my tank

it could be either, but its more likely 23 or 26 watts
did you read your package, what does it say. does it say 100watt equivalent or something like that or 26=100. that means its actually 26.

 

[forsaken]

alright thanks so just to be completely clear, i need a bulb that is 100=100watts

 

[sostoudt]

alright thanks so just to be completely clear, i need a bulb that is 100=100watts

at a hundred watts it probably wont have the equivalence rating, because i dont think they will be targeting the normal public, but every package is different. the only advice i can give you is look all over the package if there is a more then one label about the wattage, then its probably the lower one.

i would probably recommend two bulbs that are 30-50 watts for your tank, since you dont just want all the light concentrated in one area, you want its spread out across the tank.

your gonna have to walk on your own here since, these arent marketed for your application and other mfk people cant be in the store with you.

 

[AKlass]

I personally think the wattage per gallon rule is crap. I use a 175W metal halide in the center of my 125gal with no refelctor. All my plants are in the center and are medium- high light plants and they grow great. Also just because the light is bright doesn't make it better. Lumens measures green spectrum. Plants use a different spectrum of light to grow particularly red and blue so a full spectrum light is something you want to get.

 

[sostoudt]

I personally think the wattage per gallon rule is crap. I use a 175W metal halide in the center of my 125gal with no refelctor. All my plants are in the center and are medium- high light plants and they grow great. Also just because the light is bright doesn't make it better. Lumens measures green spectrum. Plants use a different spectrum of light to grow particularly red and blue so a full spectrum light is something you want to get.

like all rules theres a point where it breaks down, people usually cut it off after 100 gallons.
have fun with this equation it scales better, it puts you at moderate to high lighting(closer to high).
watts=22.65 x Gallons^0.46

btw i dont recommend it for smaller tanks it breaks down at the lower end .