View Full Version : Diy Lighting upgrade.
ausername
11-21-2006, 9:08 PM
If your like me your cheap... By that I mean ... cheap lol.
So heres a quickie way to swap out your 15 watt aquarium hood light for 52watts of cool powa.. (power)
Step 1: Get parts.. any standard light sockets.. waterproof is a must if you dont have glass under the lamps.
ausername
11-21-2006, 9:16 PM
Step 2: Pull your old hood off..
ausername
11-21-2006, 9:20 PM
Step 3: Gut the existing light assembly and cut the wires attatching the fixture.
ausername
11-21-2006, 9:22 PM
Step 4: This one can be argued BUT. I went with zip ties or zap straps or tie wraps.. or what ever you call them they are nylon staps that make a cool zipper sound... anyways i drilled holes in the hood for them to hold the bulb holders.
ausername
11-21-2006, 9:26 PM
Step the fifth...
Mount the bulb holders to the hood assy. with zip ties.
And wire them up.. in the diagram yellow would be both the black wires and red would be the white. My bulbs weren't polarized so it doesnt matter which wire you hook them to.. the one off the switch or the neutral.
ausername
11-21-2006, 9:28 PM
:rolleyes: Step VII
plug it in and try it... Be ready to pull the plug out incase you messed up.
p.s. i'm not responsible for anything you mess up:rolleyes:
aardvark1
11-21-2006, 9:47 PM
Reflector?
How hot does it get? (never used those biulbs before...)
ausername
11-21-2006, 9:53 PM
It gets warm.. some extra vents may be in the works.. reflector i'm prob gonna end up painting the inside silver as space is tight.. i bought the larger bulbs.. so i'm going shopping for smaller diameter bulbs.
aardvark1
11-21-2006, 9:58 PM
White, I've read, is a better reflector...
exospex
12-06-2006, 2:11 PM
Why not use ALuminum foil for the reflector
chkthisoutt
12-21-2006, 1:52 PM
and never forget to post a disclaimer when posting DIY projects dealing with electricity!
Mgamer20o0
12-21-2006, 2:22 PM
nice lights. i have seen people do this using one of the aluminum serving tins. they used a splitter and used 4 bulbs.
loaches r cool
12-22-2006, 9:04 AM
Some of the older hoods already have sockets in em for incandescent lights, all I had to do was buy the screw in flourescent ones. Also, you might be more pleased if you search around and find the 'daylight' bulbs that are 6500K (or there abouts) they have a much more whiter white than the standard cool or warm white lights.
foil is a pain to work with and it doesnt work as well all crushed up. I read white works better then silver. I havent tryed to build one yet but I'm intrested so I had to read this thread.
Nice job ausername.
DBray6
01-09-2007, 11:17 AM
I am thinking of a way to do this with my 48" using 4 bulbs.......:idea:
Will plants grow with these bulbs?
loaches r cool
01-09-2007, 9:31 PM
I am thinking of a way to do this with my 48" using 4 bulbs.......:idea:
Will plants grow with these bulbs?
If you use the bulbs i recomended up in post 13 (~6500K bulbs). Here is an example: http://www.1000bulbs.com/product.php?product=28097 I have 2 bulbs similar to this in my 10G I just setup, I got mine at Home Depot if memory serves (its been a while since I bought em, never got the 10g going until I recently had problems with the 20G and tore it down).
But you said 48", I assume your talking about some kind of strip light? There are better things to do other than converting it to spiral flourescents, unless perhaps its only a single tube and you dont want to mess around overdriving it or anything like that.