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Old 07-10-2004, 09:43 PM
George Pontis
 
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Default Replacement/alternative lamps for Eclipse hood

A question about fluorescent tubes for use in a Marineland Eclipse3 hood. The
lamps supplied with the hood are Eclipse Natural Daylight F18T8 24". This is over
a planted, community 37G tank, 22" high.

I don't find the color of the lights to be all that appealing - they remind me of
the old standby "cool white" phosphor. Has anyone tried an alternative replacement
?

It would be great to find something that actually put out a bit more light. The
hood says anything goes up to 18W, so perhaps there is not much room for
improvement without wholesale change to increase the power.

It would also be nice to have a more pleasing color. Another tank with a "Deluxe
Full Hood" from AGA has a T12 bulb simply labeled "20W Aquarium Lamp ... Made in
Germany". It has an actinic component in it that looks good, adds some interesting
emphasis. I don't know if this would compromise the plant lighting, or even what
readily available tube would be equivalent.

Any suggestions ?

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Old 07-10-2004, 09:48 PM
luminos
 
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"George Pontis" wrote in message
...
A question about fluorescent tubes for use in a Marineland Eclipse3 hood.
The
lamps supplied with the hood are Eclipse Natural Daylight F18T8 24". This
is over
a planted, community 37G tank, 22" high.

I don't find the color of the lights to be all that appealing - they
remind me of
the old standby "cool white" phosphor. Has anyone tried an alternative
replacement
?

It would be great to find something that actually put out a bit more
light. The
hood says anything goes up to 18W, so perhaps there is not much room for
improvement without wholesale change to increase the power.

It would also be nice to have a more pleasing color. Another tank with a
"Deluxe
Full Hood" from AGA has a T12 bulb simply labeled "20W Aquarium Lamp ...
Made in
Germany". It has an actinic component in it that looks good, adds some
interesting
emphasis. I don't know if this would compromise the plant lighting, or
even what
readily available tube would be equivalent.

Any suggestions ?


They used to be Panasonic lamps that were quite nice. I tried CoralLife,
but found these to be unreliable (the internal starter goes out pretty
fast). I too would be interested in other lamps that would work in this
hood.



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Old 08-10-2004, 02:04 AM
Matt C.
 
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Default

Try zoo med Flora Sun.

--
Matt C.



"luminos" wrote in message
...

"George Pontis" wrote in message
...
A question about fluorescent tubes for use in a Marineland Eclipse3 hood.
The
lamps supplied with the hood are Eclipse Natural Daylight F18T8 24". This
is over
a planted, community 37G tank, 22" high.

I don't find the color of the lights to be all that appealing - they
remind me of
the old standby "cool white" phosphor. Has anyone tried an alternative
replacement
?

It would be great to find something that actually put out a bit more
light. The
hood says anything goes up to 18W, so perhaps there is not much room for
improvement without wholesale change to increase the power.

It would also be nice to have a more pleasing color. Another tank with a
"Deluxe
Full Hood" from AGA has a T12 bulb simply labeled "20W Aquarium Lamp ...
Made in
Germany". It has an actinic component in it that looks good, adds some
interesting
emphasis. I don't know if this would compromise the plant lighting, or
even what
readily available tube would be equivalent.

Any suggestions ?


They used to be Panasonic lamps that were quite nice. I tried CoralLife,
but found these to be unreliable (the internal starter goes out pretty
fast). I too would be interested in other lamps that would work in this
hood.





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Old 09-10-2004, 01:41 AM
Cichlidiot
 
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In alt.aquaria George Pontis wrote:
A question about fluorescent tubes for use in a Marineland Eclipse3 hood. The
lamps supplied with the hood are Eclipse Natural Daylight F18T8 24". This is over
a planted, community 37G tank, 22" high.


Well, the description of the bulb tells you the parameters you will
require in the hood. F18T8 tells you that it takes a 18W T8 bulb (24").
This should be similar in output to a 20W T12 (T12 are larger diameter
bulbs that might not fit in your fixture). There are many T8 bulbs made
for the aquarium, so it's a matter of what you are looking for in terms of
color. For good plant growth, I'd hate to say it but you'll need more
wattage than that single fixture. Otherwise use only low light plants such
as java ferns.

Some good single bulb T8 plant lights are Zoo Med's FloraSun and GE Aqua
Rays Freshwater (not Fresh & Salt, that's a different bulb). Actually, I'm
not sure if the GE comes in T8 at 24", but I know the FloraSun does. It
would be around $10 for the bulb probably. Philips also makes a really
nice daylight bulb, Natural Sunshine, but again I am not sure if it comes
in 24" T8 or not. Otherwise, just look around online at various mail order
pet supply companies and see what they have in T8 24" bulbs. You might
also try the lighting aisle at the local hardware stores.
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Old 09-10-2004, 10:24 AM
Cichlidiot
 
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In alt.aquaria George Pontis wrote:
You are the second to recommend Flora Sun. I know these are readily available in
the T8-24" size for about $10, but don't know what they look like. Maybe it's time
to just get one and see. Thanks for the recommendations.


Color-wise, the FloraSun has a bit of a pink tone (probably because of the
red content), but not as bad as some other plant bulbs I've tried, some of
which are really dim purple. It's listed as an 8500k color, but I don't
see any CRI rating on the box which would give a better indication of its
appearance in the tank. I use it in combination with a GE Aqua Rays
Freshwater (4400k, 77 CRI) and All-Glass's generic fresh/salt bulb (9500k
I think) and that provides a pretty balanced and bright viewing color.
Perhaps try getting one at first and replacing one of your tubes and see
how you like it.
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Old 09-10-2004, 08:15 PM
Eric Schreiber
 
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George Pontis wrote:

For what it's worth, the hood does actually have two 24" tubes, so
there is a bit more light to play with. I find that my assorted
plants are staying alive and growing slowly.


You might also consider adding more light to the tank. It's actually
easy to do on the Eclipse hoods, since they leave a nice big gap
between the built-in light and the filter box.

I've got some notes and a couple of pictures of what I did he

http://www.ericschreiber.com/aquarium/tank1.html

--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com
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