Something interesting.

Ok, so I'm a car nut. I have a 1996 ford probe, a 2001 volvo v40, a 1973 dodge charger, a 1972 plymouth duster, and two 1972 lincolon mark 4's.


I was looking for HID lights on my volvo, something in the 8000K range, and then it hit me, has anyone used HID bulbs for a fish tank??? they are in the right range, they put out a decent ammount of power, and are pretty cheap to get. They kick out something int he 3,200 LUm range, and run at 12 volts dc, 3.2 amps. ANyone else ever thought of this??


Mike

yes, and bulbs are pretty cheap, i mean, local auto parts stores carry most. The most expensive parts would be buying the ballasts, but if you go junk yard diving, you could easily find them in the junk yard for cheap. But I keep finding them new for 200.00 you name the temp. THen just a high wattage power supply to power them all. I'll have to check the wattage on them, but I do know they are designed to spread light out, so you might be able to get away only a few bulbs. They do generate a bit of heat but, if you put a small fan on them, you should be ok. I"m thinking all you would need is one lamp and reflector for most small tanks 45 gallon and less, two for say 55gallon to 95 gallon, and three for the rest. But look at how much light they put out on cars, I know the bulbs come in 30w and 50w units. so you should be able to get away with a smaller psu, say something in the 100-150 watt range. This definatly needs to be looked into further......i'll have to keep my eyes open when i go diving.



Scratch what I said earlier....


http://www.xtremehids.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_25&products_id=421

http://www.xtremehids.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_25&products_id=418

then just need some housings, and possibly projectors.....and a power supply.....






Mike