25 Gallon - Light Mod

S

stewmac

AC Members
May 14, 2007
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I am sort of new to planted tanks. I have a 25 gallon tank 31.5" (80cm) x 11.8"(30cm) x 15.7"(40cm).. BUT the black plastic canopy/hood only supports 1 single t8 24" fluorescent (20watts). I just bought bulbs, an aqua-glo (18000k) and a life-glo 2 (6700k) to compare the 2 different bulbs against each other. Is that enough light for a planted tank (or lowlight plants)? i read somewhere it wasn't... 1-3 watts per gallon? Is this true?

Ideally, I wish there was some way to modify this stupid canopy/hood from its single fluorescent fixture, to a double fixture... or preferably a compact fluorescent fixture. i would love to modify this canopy/hood instead of throwing it away and just installing a retrofit. I love modifications, I just don't know how to go about this. I can take a photo of the canopy/hood if anyone wants to see its design.

So anyways, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on a possible mod for this canopy? Some help would be greatly appreciated.
 
give us some pics if possible... im sure there is something you could do.
 
You should be able to retrofit an AH Supply pc system.

Go to their site http://www.ahsupply.com/ and get their pjone number. They are very helpful and if you have the dimensions of the strip, they can tell you what will fit. You can mount the ballast on the outside back part of the strip so all that must fit inside is their super quality freflector and the bulb(s).
 
scrapo_by_stewmac.jpg
 
yeah that's exactly what i was hoping to do... ballast elsewhere to avoid heat and overcrowding in the hood.. and just the reflector and bulb inside, precisely what i want.. i just cant find anything online that seems possible... this site inparticular.. i got their phone number now though, gonna call when theyre open tomorrow. thanks for the heads up on that real nice site.
 
I would suggest getting another ballast, and overdrving the lights.

I think you could possibly get another fixture in there, maybe a smaller tube, beside that feeding hole.

It would be offset, but you just might be able to fit one in there.

as for the overdriving, if you buy an ELECTRONIC ballast capable of driving 4 bulbs you will increase your single lights output by about 100%.

the bulb will get hotter, and it will have a reduced lifespan, but regular bulb changes, at suggested intervals, usually render this a minor problem.

If you get 2 bulbs in there, you can over drive both of them.

This is known as OverDriven Normal Output
 
darksoul said:
I would suggest getting another ballast, and overdrving the lights.

I think you could possibly get another fixture in there, maybe a smaller tube, beside that feeding hole.

It would be offset, but you just might be able to fit one in there.

as for the overdriving, if you buy an ELECTRONIC ballast capable of driving 4 bulbs you will increase your single lights output by about 100%.

the bulb will get hotter, and it will have a reduced lifespan, but regular bulb changes, at suggested intervals, usually render this a minor problem.

If you get 2 bulbs in there, you can over drive both of them.

This is known as OverDriven Normal Output
Click to expand...
where would i get such a ballast? homedepot, any fluoro light shop?
 
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