Do i have enough lighting?

[Abu]

My 24" (19 gallon) tank is currently lit by a single 15 Watt Aqua-Glo fluorescent tube. This came with the aquarium kit, but i read elsewhere that lighting should be at least 2.5 Watts per gallon, so i'm not sure if i should upgrade. The tank certainly doesn't look as bright as the ones at the LFS and the fish colours are not as vivid (towards the front of the tank they look rather dull and only take on their true colour when towards the top of the water). Any thoughts?

Abu

 

[fishboy]

YOu could get one of those aqua mirrors. Those things make your bulb reflect 50% more light so the light will give out twice as much 8) HTH ;D

 

[Somonas]

Abu, do you have live plants?  If so, then the 2.5 watts per gallon applies... it doesn't really apply if you aren't growing plants.  

You can double up your flourescent tubes, but I imagine they won't fit in your hood.  You can always buy a double tube hood, or build your own.

then again 2 15 watt bulbs would only give you 1.58 watts per gallon.  which is at the lower end for growing plants... if you are serious about growing plants, you can invest in a Power Compact lighting system.  a 55 watt power compact would give you 2.89 watts per gallon, and you could grow anything.

 

[scrimman]

Yeah, if you're not growing live plants, don't bother with the added expense.  
You could also do a DIY hood like I had to. (power compacts are WAY out of my price range) They do sell 18" fixtures at WalMart (relax tinydice, I'm not talking about the fish section ), Home Depot, True Value, etc. Be sure to shop around a bit before buying!  I've noticed that some places sell the bulbs for cheap and gig you for the fixtures, and others do the opposite.
I used gro-lites I found at WalMart.  They're a bit heavy in the yellow end of the spectrum, but the plants have gone nuts.  

 

[Somonas]

Just wondering What are the specs on the Walmart 18" powercompact light (wattage, kelvin, lumens, PAR,PUR if possible)