Hi all.. I'm finally getting back into my plants after a long hiatus
and was wondering if there are other sources of light that I can use
that are :

1) Cheap
2) Not the Sun
3) Don't require 10Kw to run monthly

I've got a 50G (48"x13"x??high) skinny tank as my LFS calls it and the
standard light that came with the tank only has a 40W flourescent bulb
in it which I realize puts me in the 1w per gallon range. I've currently
put a second fixture from another tank on which has another 20W flo. in
it making a total of 60W.. I'd like to be in the 100W range as a
minimum with the proper light "color" to ensure minimum algea growth, etc.

Are there any lights that I can buy from Home Depot or similar that can get
the job done with a minimal $$ investment for now.. I looked at some of
the websites besides what my LFS told me and all options are over $100
just for the fixture and some of them are more for the bulbs on top of that.

I can't afford to run out and spend around $200 on a light fixture at this
point but would like to keep my plants that I do have from croaking on
me (in my tank -- I've been keeping several plants in my kitchen window
in a small pail where they get indirect sunlight for the last 8 months
after a few fish chewed them up good -- those fish are no longer a threat)

Anyway, if there is some sort of light that I can get at HD or equiv
that can be mounted over the tank, etc that would be fine.. I'm even
fine with building my own lighting system from parts if that's what it
takes.. and perhaps a visit to my local electrical supply house..

Any comments are appreciated!

X-addict

In article , LeighMo wrote:
Are there any lights that I can buy from Home Depot or similar that can get
the job done with a minimal $$ investment for now

Get a 4' shop light or two. They're really cheap, and work fine.

Will I run into any reflection issues if I place a piece of glass
between the water surface and the shop light (or whatever I get)
to ensure that no water gets into the light fixture.. Or am I
being too cautious..?

X-addict

Look at the compact fluorescent retrofit kits at AH Supply, too. You can
get 110 watts into your existing hood for under $70. It's not that tough;
I've done it myself and I'm an idiot.

http://www.ahsupply.com/

kush

X-Addict wrote in message
thlink.net...
Hi all.. I'm finally getting back into my plants after a long hiatus
and was wondering if there are other sources of light that I can use
that are :

1) Cheap
2) Not the Sun
3) Don't require 10Kw to run monthly

I've got a 50G (48"x13"x??high) skinny tank as my LFS calls it and the
standard light that came with the tank only has a 40W flourescent bulb
in it which I realize puts me in the 1w per gallon range. I've currently
put a second fixture from another tank on which has another 20W flo. in
it making a total of 60W.. I'd like to be in the 100W range as a
minimum with the proper light "color" to ensure minimum algea growth, etc.

Are there any lights that I can buy from Home Depot or similar that can
get
the job done with a minimal $$ investment for now.. I looked at some of
the websites besides what my LFS told me and all options are over $100
just for the fixture and some of them are more for the bulbs on top of
that.

I can't afford to run out and spend around $200 on a light fixture at this
point but would like to keep my plants that I do have from croaking on
me (in my tank -- I've been keeping several plants in my kitchen window
in a small pail where they get indirect sunlight for the last 8 months
after a few fish chewed them up good -- those fish are no longer a threat)

Anyway, if there is some sort of light that I can get at HD or equiv
that can be mounted over the tank, etc that would be fine.. I'm even
fine with building my own lighting system from parts if that's what it
takes.. and perhaps a visit to my local electrical supply house..

Any comments are appreciated!

X-addict

In article , kush wrote:
Look at the compact fluorescent retrofit kits at AH Supply, too. You can
get 110 watts into your existing hood for under $70. It's not that tough;
I've done it myself and I'm an idiot.

Does anyone have a suggestion for what name of bulb to buy to get my
~6500K light color? Is that something I might find at HD or would I
be better off getting it at the LFS? Their prices are always what I
think are high for lights.. I'd much rather buy them at HD if possible

X-addict

HD in my area didn't have the "exotic" bulbs as the sales rep said to me I
would have to special order them, and 10 at that. I went to a lighting
distributor, they were more than willing to help me get a bulb after I told
them that HD said I'd need to special order a box of 10


"X-Addict" wrote in message
hlink.net...
In article , kush wrote:
Look at the compact fluorescent retrofit kits at AH Supply, too. You
can
get 110 watts into your existing hood for under $70. It's not that
tough;
I've done it myself and I'm an idiot.

Does anyone have a suggestion for what name of bulb to buy to get my
~6500K light color? Is that something I might find at HD or would I
be better off getting it at the LFS? Their prices are always what I
think are high for lights.. I'd much rather buy them at HD if possible

X-addict

On Thu, 05 Dec 2002 00:09:42 GMT, X-Addict wrote:

In article , kush wrote:
Look at the compact fluorescent retrofit kits at AH Supply, too. You can
get 110 watts into your existing hood for under $70. It's not that tough;
I've done it myself and I'm an idiot.

Does anyone have a suggestion for what name of bulb to buy to get my
~6500K light color? Is that something I might find at HD or would I
be better off getting it at the LFS? Their prices are always what I
think are high for lights.. I'd much rather buy them at HD if possible

X-addict


I found 6500 k T-12 bulbs at the local Home Depot for around $3
each. They are a nice color.

You also should look at the AH supply kits. www.ahsupply.com You
could be a 2 x 55 watt kit and bulbs for ~$120 and it will be the best
money you have ever spent.

In article nk.net,
X-Addict wrote:
Hi all.. I'm finally getting back into my plants after a long hiatus
and was wondering if there are other sources of light that I can use
that are :

1) Cheap
2) Not the Sun
3) Don't require 10Kw to run monthly

I've got a 50G (48"x13"x??high) skinny tank as my LFS calls it and the
standard light that came with the tank only has a 40W flourescent bulb
in it which I realize puts me in the 1w per gallon range. I've currently
put a second fixture from another tank on which has another 20W flo. in
it making a total of 60W.. I'd like to be in the 100W range as a
minimum with the proper light "color" to ensure minimum algea growth, etc.

The best bang for the buck IMO is 4' 30 wat fluoros. C50 if you
want to emulate sunlight, SPX65 if you want it a bit bluer
of wide spectrum gro lux if you can tolerate the pinkish hue,
or mix 1 grow lux with 3 c50 or spx65...

90% of all tubes made are 40W 4'; there's an economy of scale there.

While compact fluoros are great they'r real pricey. Of you could
get a cheap ( 100) mercury setup from a hardware store and rig it
up. They actually work quite well.




--
Richard Sexton | Mercedes Parts: http://parts.mbz.org
http://www.mbz.org Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org
W108, W126 Mercedes Classifieds: http://ads.mbz.org

Will I run into any reflection issues if I place a piece of glass
between the water surface and the shop light (or whatever I get)
to ensure that no water gets into the light fixture.. Or am I
being too cautious..?

No, what you'll get is a white deposit on the underside of the glass from
mineral deposits that you'll want to clean weekly with very warm
vinegar and a scouring pad. No reflection issues though.


--
Richard Sexton | Mercedes Parts: http://parts.mbz.org
http://www.mbz.org Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org
W108, W126 Mercedes Classifieds: http://ads.mbz.org

Richard J. Sexton (At work) wrote...

While compact fluoros are great they'r real pricey...


But they last longer. I think the usual recommendation is to replace your
standard flourescents every six months and compact flourescent every
eighteen months. It takes a few years, and they're a little harder to find,
but...

kush

"You can't have everything - where would you put it?"

On 05 Dec 2002 23:04:28 GMT, oSpam (LeighMo) wrote:

dropoff at six months, though new ones don't. The other is that lighting info
came mostly from reefkeepers, and corals are much more sensitive to even tiny
decreases in lighting than are plants.

Another thing is that tubes shift color slightly with age, and reef
tanks are much more sensitive to color spectrum...


Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua

From what I found with my research into lights this spring it was the T12's
that dropped to 65%+- of their original light output in 6 months, T8's went
to 90%+- in that time frame and the compacts only dropped to 97%+-. That's
one of the reason's I was first trying to short high output T8's for my 27G.



"kush" wrote in message
...
Richard J. Sexton (At work) wrote...

While compact fluoros are great they'r real pricey...


But they last longer. I think the usual recommendation is to replace your
standard flourescents every six months and compact flourescent every
eighteen months. It takes a few years, and they're a little harder to
find,
but...

kush

"You can't have everything - where would you put it?"

(Richard J. Sexton (At work)) wrote in message ...
In article nk.net,
X-Addict wrote:
Hi all.. I'm finally getting back into my plants after a long hiatus
and was wondering if there are other sources of light that I can use
that are :

1) Cheap
2) Not the Sun
3) Don't require 10Kw to run monthly

I suggest something like Richard.
3 to 4 T-8's or T-12 bulbs 32 to 40 watts each etc.
An electronic ballast, 1/4 popular wood box painted white on the
inside or foil/mylar etc.
Should run about 50$ or so.

You can do the shop light deal and remove the tar ballast and add the
electronic ballast(20-30$) and that's worth it and allows better bulb
life and usage etc. I've had very nice tanks with a nice aluminum
reflector and a modified shop light 2x40watts on a 55 gallon tank.
You can add another later if you want. I'd add CO2 before I'd use more
than a single 2x40 light though.

Regards,
Tom Barr

While compact fluoros are great they'r real pricey...

But they last longer.

I'm not so sure about that.

Me either. WHy would they? How is the physics different?

Wayne says that flourescent bulbs don't need to be replaced as often as people
think they do. He says the dropoff is very slight; basically, as long as the
bulb goes on, it's okay.

I've heard a couple of explanations of where the "replace every six months"
mantra came from. One is that older flourescent tubes really did have a sharp
dropoff at six months, though new ones don't. The other is that lighting info
came mostly from reefkeepers, and corals are much more sensitive to even tiny
decreases in lighting than are plants.

I don't know about that either. Somebody should call GE/Osram/Philips
and ask for an authoritative answer. Last time I called them (1989)
they sent me a graph of decay vs. time.

My answer to that was to use more tubes so the amount of light
is correct after they'd decayed.

--
Richard Sexton | Mercedes Parts: http://parts.mbz.org
http://www.mbz.org Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org
W108, W126 Mercedes Classifieds: http://ads.mbz.org