should i switch to CFs?

[z71silverado98]

Right now Im running 3-45w flouro tubes over a heavily planted 55gal
1-GE plant/Aquarium
1-PowerGLo
1-Generic cool white
the GE and PowerGlo are in a 2tube shop light fixture and the cool white is in my original perfecto fixture

my plants seem to be doing just fine, besides looking a little cheap with 2 fixtures on top of my tank, the combination of lights seems to be generating quite a bit of heat. the room is always considerable warmer than the rest of the house by about 8 degrees and my tank stays around 81-82 when the rest of the house is 78.

i was looking at the AHsupply kits and wondering if i should go w/ the 2x55CF retrofit in my perfecto or if i should build a new hood and either put 4x55CFs or 2x96CFs

price difference for the 4x55s and 2x96s is only about $10 and i can easily make most of the cost of fixtures back by selling my plants to my local lfs.

 

[djlen]

Any lighting will increase water temperature. CFs are no exception.
2X55 watts of CF will give you pretty much what you've got presently (135 NO).
They will penetrate better and also will throw heat. Do you have a glass cover over the tank? This would cut down a bit on the heating up of the water.
4X55 and/or 2X96 will really add to the heating up affect. Unless you have experience with the balancing and maintenance of a planted tank, I would not upgrade immediately. The difference in maintenance is huge between 2X55 and 4X55.
An option would be to go with the 4X55 and only use 2 of them initially until you have the experience to deal with all that light. You will need to increase your plant mass with the 2X, to accommodate all that wattage the 4X will give when you light them up.
I have one of each and, trust me, the 2X is a breeze compared to the 4X in terms of pruning, cleaning, and feeding.

Len

 

[beviking]

Yeah, what Len said.
Also, if you're building a hood, why not build one for the shop lights? If it's vented enough, you shouldn't have a heat problem.
Might be easier to build a hood for the CFs being they're more...compact.

 

[z71silverado98]

i have 2 lights over glass and 1 over open water, ive removed the 1 and the tank temp is back around 78-79, but the room still reads around 85-87 which is just as much a problem as the tank being overheated. I suppose im wondering if the CF's would be anymore efficient in reducing radiated heat into the room.

 

[happychem]

Hmmm, that's interesting. Is this a really small room? It's surprising that a single tank with 3 lights could produce that much heat. I agree that lights will heat the water to some degree, I have 4 over my 33 gal and the temp is never below 75 oF in the "day" more or less regardless of room temperature. But the room cools off pretty quickly if I open the window and let in the cold November air.

What's the outside temperature, is there direct sunlight? Perhaps you just need more air ciculation in the room?

 

[beviking]

... I suppose im wondering if the CF's would be anymore efficient in reducing radiated heat into the room.

No they won't.

I'm with happychem...are they in a closet? Some ppl build a closet to hold multiple tanks...
If the room is reading in the 80's, then that is what the tanks will be unless you're taking steps to reduce the temp in the tanks?

 

[z71silverado98]

ive noticed the single tube produces significant amounts of heat compared the the 2 tube which operates cooler. ive noticed slight differences w/ the single tube off, ill take a few temp readings over the next few days.

tank usually reads a little cooler than room temp. perhaps the glass is cooler than the ambient air.

open windows are not an option, south texas heat prevents this except for maybe for a few weeks out of the year when a cold front blows in. room does not get direct sunlight either.

the room stays very warm until lights go off, about 1am then cools gradually.

the tank is in my bedroom, approx 13x15