This may come off as a silly question, but does it matter what bulb I put in my fishtank hood. For example, my fish tank came with a hood. I'm pretty sure it has a 19 watt bulb. I've noticed that my plants are browning so I wanted to up the ante to a 30 watt bulb. However, on the back of the hood it says "24 in Fluorescent Aquarium Reflector 120 volts 19 watts 60 hz" Does this mean the hood can only take 19 watt bulbs? I don't want to buy a completely new hood if I can just toss in another bulb.

I'm not sure about that, but you could try getting a different type of bulb (or different plants). If you're using an incandescent bulb, then that's probably not providing enough light (spectrum-wise, not wattage-wise). I had to replace the bulb that came with my 5 gallon, and I got a flourescent bulb that said it provided the full spectrum that plants need (basically, it's equivalent to sunlight).

Maybe someone else will be able to answer your question more specifically. Sorry! I would assume that it couldn't take a more powerful wattage than it says, but that's just what I assume...

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Hello jta...

I'd suggest taking the old bulb to the local hardware store for sizing and get a GE aquarium plant bulb. Provided you keep low light plants, these bulbs will work well. You need to get a 6500 K with as many watts as possible.

The 6500 K comes closest to natural daylight at 5500 K. The bulbs are just a few dollars and will last about 10 months.

Above everything else, have fun!

B

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Low Tech Water Building Keeper