Adding/replacing Lighting

[Egmel]

I'll try here as I'm not getting many responses from the Hardware section

I'm a hard up student trying to get her first Tropical Fish Tank running.

It's second hand but looks to be an old Juwel Rekord 70 (~20G with a 15W bulb)

I want to get some plants growing and as such I reckon I'll need at least 1 more bulb.

The current fitting is looking v-old and the thermo-plastic is starting to brown so I figure it may not be long before it needs replacing anyway.

My question is basically what's the cheapest and easiest way to up my lighting? I'm not adverse to wiring stuff up myself, it may be a while since I've done any serious electrical stuff but it's basically what I did my 1st degree in so even if I come across problems I've always got people to turn to and a nice supply of standard stock!

Thanks in advance.
Helen

 

[Ava_Banana]

I'll try here as I'm not getting many responses from the Hardware section

I'm a hard up student trying to get her first Tropical Fish Tank running.

It's second hand but looks to be an old Juwel Rekord 70 (~20G with a 15W bulb)

I want to get some plants growing and as such I reckon I'll need at least 1 more bulb.

The current fitting is looking v-old and the thermo-plastic is starting to brown so I figure it may not be long before it needs replacing anyway.

My question is basically what's the cheapest and easiest way to up my lighting? I'm not adverse to wiring stuff up myself, it may be a while since I've done any serious electrical stuff but it's basically what I did my 1st degree in so even if I come across problems I've always got people to turn to and a nice supply of standard stock!

Thanks in advance.
Helen

Hi Helen,

me again.....

...you may not have got many replies as this is a bit of a tricky one (or a very simple one, depending on your point of view).

Simple answer is, buy more light units..........the hard part is what type of light do you want/need etc.

have you had a look at this post which is all about lighting in the aquarium and may well help explain what I mean by what type of light.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=96754

If I was you, I would check the reflector (as previously mentioned ) then check the wattage output of your "ballast". If this is well below what you currently have (bulb-wise) in your tank, then I would (amateur electronic bit) see if it would cope with two bulbs (each with a wattage below that of your tank).

The cheapest light on one of my tanks is over my 5ft tank........I got a 5 ft striplight from work. It has a standard flourescent bulb in it and works fine. The advantage I have is that the tank gets a lot of natural light through a window, so the plants don't seem to suffer at all...

good luck.......and keep asking......sharing knowledge/experience is fun.



Oh.........bit more advice.....you may not have asked around.....whenever I start talking to people about fish keeping I am surprised at people who still have the odd bit of kit around from when they had a tank. I have picked up a couple of spare tanks, a spare heater and a couple of pumps this way.

good luck..

(...and no, sorry, I don't have a spare ballast at this time.... )

 

[Egmel]

Cheers for the reply.

The ballast has a max rating of 15W which is the same as the bulb it currently holds. As I mentioned before it looks like it's on its last legs, though it still works at the moment.

The reflector is in place and although slightly scratched has been recently cleaned 8) so for the moment I'm getting what I can from the current kit.

I think that when we do upgrade it'll be a case of a new ballast, possibly a dual set up, and fresh bulbs/reflectors. I think I'll stick with just standard daylight light bulbs (Approx 5600K). I find the lower end K give an amber effect which would annoy me and anything at the very high end K ends up looking too blue and gives the impression you're having a solar eclipse! (Though b/f was humorously suggesting some Blue LEDs so the fish could feel 'cool' I told him he should investigate moonlight setups )

The tank is only 60cm long and will get some sunlight during the morning, though with this short length you also appear to get lower wattage (in T8s rather than T5s) hence the possibility for a dual set up which as you mentioned before also gives the advantage of being able to turn them on and off in a staggered manner.

I'll look into it some more before I actually do anything, I was just wondering if anybody knew a cheaper solution (a DIY ballast or something though thinking about it I'm not sure that would be such a good idea, mains + water + my soldering!)

Cheers again for the reply.
Helen

 

[Ava_Banana]

Fleabay.........is your friend......


.....or .......ask in the buy/sell section on here.....

......or a boot sale............

 

[Egmel]

Fleabay.........is your friend......


.....or .......ask in the buy/sell section on here.....

......or a boot sale............

I was thinking my Parent's garage my have something!

FYI the light fitting I currently have (you can see what I mean about the thermo-plastic discolouring and degrading)

 

[SkiFletch]

If you were in the states I'd tell you to go to the hardware store, buy a T8 shop fixture (without bulbs) and put plant grow bulbs in there cause in the end thats probably the cheapest option. You can scrounge around for ballasts, but those T8 shop lights are really cheap around here. Ballast, endcaps and all....

 

[Egmel]

If you were in the states I'd tell you to go to the hardware store, buy a T8 shop fixture (without bulbs) and put plant grow bulbs in there cause in the end thats probably the cheapest option. You can scrounge around for ballasts, but those T8 shop lights are really cheap around here. Ballast, endcaps and all....

Would they be waterproof though?