my diy lighting

[a&j_tanks]

so i got a couple water proof sockets and made one of my 24" a home made light fixture

heres pics

[ilikewomen]

I have something like this on my 29,but i didnt use w/p sockets. Nice job
Ill find pictures of mine,maybe it can give you ideas to improve it?

[a&j_tanks]

my bulbs give off a yellow light...i need to change them

i am using 14watt cfl light bulbs, gonna upgrade to 2 25watt lights so i can do plants :d

[Bk718]

make sure that the bulbs you get are "DAYLIGHT"/6700K

Also i wouldnt put the electrical tape like that. 1 it will melt and cause the bulb to overheat..
If you are worried about water damage then just get a glass top between the tank and the light.. Check out my 29g canopy link, i used the same sockets and left them open, worked just fine.

And finally look into painting the inside white. It will be a better reflector than what you have now.

[BoredAgain]

Is that taped in there? Paint the strip white and find a more permanent solution for mounting and you should be good to go.

[a&j_tanks]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147012

this is the thread i went off

[mavisky]

Yes, but as you can see the inside was painted white and he screwed the bulbs down. You don't want to waste that extra light, and you don't want the bulb falling in the watter. Electrical tape is not designed to be a load bearing tape by any stretch of the imagination.

[BoredAgain]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147012

this is the thread i went off
You actually need to read my thread. ;) :grinyes:

[a&j_tanks]

wow, i cant believe everyones ragging on this....
i took the plastic white reflectors and put them back in there, i figured if they can handle long hrs of heat, they would be good to go, and you would be surprised on what electric tape can handle

i did this on a budget...i paid 5 bucks for the sockets, and had the lights/tape laying around

everything i do and make is on a budget....i did my whole 50gal set up for under 67 dollars....thats filter, sand, tank, stand, rocks, heater, and the red devil

i understand that it could be better, and i will be tying it down better, and getting brighter lights, so i could put some java moss, and other low light plants in the tank

the same goes for my 50 gal it will soon have java moss and it will also have the same light set up

[mavisky]

People aren't ragging on you per say, we just don't want that tape to give way (which it eventually will) and kill your fish.

[Bk718]

yee no one is ragging.. Just giving advice that will improve your diy. The tape will give way eventually, considering the entire bulb and gets hot, hot enough to melt and weaken the tape. I would try and find some other way of holding the sockets in place. Get some brackets at homedepot, they are pennies. Would be way better than just tape.

[a&j_tanks]

yep, and i understand this

the tape wont give away because its wrapped around the light fixture and housing

[Bk718]

the part of the bulb you wrapped gets 2 hot and im sure the tape will be keeping the heat in and will also play a role on the life of the bulb.. (just touched the part that holds the starter on my desk lamps cfl bulb and its very very hot)

Give it a day or 2 and see how the tape holds up against the heat.

[SchizotypalVamp]

I like it! But I agree, electric tape shouldn't be part of the permanent fixture. Not cause I want to rag on the fixture, but because it just doesn't seem like a good idea.

[sgriffin760]

you can line the insidewith tin foil if money is tight or cut a peice of 10 inch plastic tube in half then line it with some dimpled aluminum from home depot its sick running my 400 wts MH lights like that same as the 1200 dollar one

[BoredAgain]

Painting it white would be more efficient than the aluminum foil. $5 would hardly set anyone back.

[a&j_tanks]

im sorry for saying that, but i kinda through this together without thought

i plan on better bulbs, and mounting brackets
i want to do two 30watt lights

that should give me 1wpg

[Bk718]

looks great. The better bulbs would really improve the brightness.

[a&j_tanks]

what kind should i go with?
i was thinking these
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=44433-3-29392&lpage=none

[Bk718]

Thats a bad bulb to use.
1- its soft white which is like 4000K rating
2- its diameter is 2 big so the bulb will be resting on the plastic part of the hood (melting it)

What you can do is check out homedepot. They have N:vision bulbs (Blue pack is Daylight) They have 9w-14w-23w

[a&j_tanks]

so two of these?
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100527347&N=10000003+90401

[BoredAgain]

so two of these?
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100527347&N=10000003+90401

You should be able to fit 4 in there, but I would use 4 of the 14W daylight bulbs.

[Bk718]

2 of those will be just fine.
Later you can upgrade and add 2 more if you want to do a planted tank. But just for brightness 2 is fine.

Buy one and try and mount it in the light strip. Make sure it sits flush with the hood and then only buy the 2nd/3rd++ one

[a&j_tanks]

i got better bulbs today

two 26watt daylight 6500k by ge for 7bucks
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g80/98_GRAND_PRIX_05/newlight001.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g80/98_GRAND_PRIX_05/newlight003.jpg

is this enough for a few low light plants?

[a&j_tanks]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g80/98_GRAND_PRIX_05/newlight.jpg

[goalieman59]

Wal-mart sells CF bulds back in their pet dept for like 3.50 a piece, and they dont get hot at all. I have them on both of my tanks.

[Bk718]

good job

did you have a party not 2 long ago??
Someone dropped their corona in your tank..

[a&j_tanks]

yea..im the only one that drinks corona..so yep its my bottle