Lighting Question

[Erynn]

Does anyone know if you can somehow change an incandescant canopy to a fluourescent canopy???? Or are there screw in flourescent bulbs you could maybe buy at a hardware store?

I really want to have live plants in my 10 gallon....but I have incandescant lighting right now. If I were to buy a new canopy for it it would cost as much as buying a completely new 10 gallon aquarium kit!!!!

Thanks!

 

[OrionGirl]

Well...There are conversion kits that will convert the ballast you have into one that will run flourescent lights. But they run pretty close to the same as just buying a new strip light or canopy. Try looking at hellolights.com or Big Al's. Hello lights is probably a bit cheaper, but it's going to be close.

 

[morleyz]

I'm using the screw in flourescents in a DIY canopy I made...seems to be working pretty well. I got mine from Home Depot, that was the only place I could find anything with a high enough spectrum value. Just make sure they fit so that there is still air space around them...you don't want it to touch the edges.

 

[OrionGirl]

Really? I wasn't aware that those would fit in the same size area? Guess I should look into those for one of my smaller tanks.
Are they available in a wide range of outputs?
Thanks!

 

[morleyz]

Finding the right bulb is tricky...and I've also heard some people say that their life span is significantly shortened in the warm/moist air above a tank. I had the advantage of building a light to fit the bulb...I did however find a bulb that fit in a friends hood...but he doesn't have plants, so spectrum and output weren't as big of a deal...he just wanted something brighter than his 6W incandescent.

I'm currently using 2x75W 6500K bulbs over my 28G planted and things seem to be thriving right now, but I'm only in my first month, so we'll see how things go for the long run.

 

[carpguy]

I have an old hand-me-down 10g that I've set up and want to plant. It has the old flourescent that came with it. I'm going to get a 36w kit from AH Supply. The kit plus bulb will cost about $60 plus a bit more for shipping. The kits are very easy to fit and wire. The bulbs come in a couple of plant friendly varieties (5300 and 6700k). The reflectors definitely boost the amount of light.

The retrofit in my hood will involve removing everything from the inside and just using the shell has a casing. They have pictures on the site of a 24" regular hood fit with a 55w kit -- a 36w kit will fit inside the regular All-Glass style strip that fits over a 10g. If the shell is at least 18" long, 4" wide, more than 2" high, and you can remove the innards, then this might be an option you'd want to look into.