Aquarium Light Strip

[unclefahaka]

I was looking at the basic design of these things and they are no different than the light in my kitchen or what not. If i were to go to home depot and pick up a fixture that was the proper size and specs and what not..Would that be a bad idea?
I already have a sunlight bulb... Just a question... I just think its kind of over priced to pay 40 for a fixture.

Justin

 

[Obsidian]

I have heard that some people use shoplights. What the better aquarium hoods have that kitchen light lacks is a reflector specifically designed to direct light down into the tank rather than across a room.

 

[ergo sum]

A few things.... Here in CO I need a way to stop the evaporation. On a ten gallon tank I loose about 1/2 inch of water a day so I prefer hoods. That is the glass part that is about 14 bucks and is hinged and fits with most kinds of filters and heaters. Then I want a light. I can put a fixture over the tank but that doesn't look very good so if I want to do that I need to build a hood. I don't need a reflector in the hood but I would prefer it.
So, for about 29 dollars I can get all of this done and I don't have to spent about 4 hours figuring it out and making it work.
You can make better things yourself and you can make better looking things yourself but really the basic junk is cheaper to just buy in the first place. UNLESS you just happen to be good at all these kinds of things in the first place and have most of this stuff in the shop so to speak.