DIY lighting...

BioHazard

BioHazard

Here and There
Mar 15, 2009
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I'm thinking about doing DIY lighting for my 30 gal when I get it. I'm in school, so I'm hoping it will be cheaper. I can't find any really good sites for not technical people. Any good links you can give me?
Also, what is a ballast? It seems to be one of the pricier parts, but I don't know what it even does...
 
Okay, maybe more info is needed. All I want is to make a cheap lighting fixture for a planted tank. I don't want anything super fancy, and the plants will be low light, maybe medium. What do I need? I only need around 90 watts.
 
No, not really. It looks like he retrofitted an old hood. I'm starting from scratch.
 
Build a conopy out of wood.
Paint it white.
Attach CFL bulbs.

Done
 
Don't I need ballasts or something? I keep seeing these "ballasts". They cost a ton too.
 
I'm pretty sure you dont need those for regualr cfl's. If you have a regular lamp somewhere that you dont mind destroying, take it apart. ITs basically just the actually dock, and the cord. If there is a ballast it is built in.
 
I believe ballasts are used primarily for fluorescent tubes. (At least that's what it seems to me...I know practically nothing about electronics.)
 
You only need a ballast and a starter if you're using traditional fluorescent bulbs. If you plan to use CFL that screw in like regular light bulbs you only need the sockets (I retrofitted my hood to get rid of the traditional fluorescent and move to CFL).
 
Don't I need ballasts or something?
Click to expand...
Most screw in type CFLs are self ballasted. In flourescent lamps, the ballast is used to change the current frequency (usually 60 Hz in your AC wall outlet) to the operating frequency of the lamp (usually around 20 kHz). This high frequency keeps us from noticing the lamp "flicker" which would be produced by a fluorescent lamp running at a lower frequency. There are CFLs out there which require an external ballast (and thus the replacement bulbs are cheaper) however most CFLs you will find in the big box stores are self ballasted screw in type.

If you were to buy a flourescent tube fixture, it would most likely include the ballast.

Here is a disassembled CFL so you can see the ballast (it's the small circuit board contained in the base of the bulb):

cfl-ballast.jpg
 
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