DIY Lighting

Fresh250

Fresh250

Fishaholic
May 5, 2009
314
0
0
Massachusetts, USA
the lighting for my 240gal has been the topic of the day for me, i have decided to make a DIY light setup and was looking into hard wiring some lighting right into the hood. I found some information on the types of light that i want in a planted aquarium and based it on this......

bulbs must be 6500k to 10000k
bulbs have to give out a combined wattage of around 625 watts to give me around 2.5watts per gallon

i found that a couple of flood lights could be a possibility but i have never seen it done, any feedback on this???

heres a page with the bulbs i was thinking of trying...
http://www.1000bulbs.com/Light_Bulb..._campaign=GoogleBaseShopping&site=google_base
 
if i were to use these bulbs how many would i need to use to grow plants
?
 
have you looked into halides? I know they arent popular for freshwater, but 3 250watt bulbs should do you good. and they do have bulbs that are lower kelvin and in the range you are looking for
 
i did look at halides but was hoping that these flourescent bulbs would be ok for growing plants, if not, halides was my next thought.
 
IMO--I would use the 65W bulbs. Make a canapy that would hold 8 bulbs total.
Set timer so that 2-4 bulbs come on. CO2 on about 1 hour later. Then all the other bulbs come on. Six hour later 2-4 bulbs and CO2 off. Then 1 hour later all the rest of the lights off.

PS--I have all PC lights (even my ex-reef).
 
problem with halides is that they get verry hot, all light bulbs get hot but halides give out the most heat by far. i would say fit as many light bulbs as possable but leave about 6-8 in between bulbs, you may also need to hook up a few small fans to the hood to keep head down.

good luck
 
good news, i have my tank built into the wall and the hood above it could easily fit like thirty bulbs. I think it sounds like im going to go with eight of the 65w floodlight versions of this bulb and it will give me sufficient light.
as for the timer i already have one, but two might be a good idea to get some to come on and then the other all a bit later.

feedback on this? has anyone ever done it?
 
i hope the bulbs work! i would like to hear how it works out for you!
 
My recommendation would be to go with Power Compacts and a good reflector.
AH Supply has the best IMHO.
http://www.ahsupply.com/index.html

For a tank your size the WPG rule does not apply and there have been multiple reports that larger tanks actually need less light. Whatever lighting type you go with, The focus point should be light dispersion.
 
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