Extra Lighting For Interpet Fishbox

[PrairieSunflower]

Right.... here you go. (I only use one bulb). The first picture are the anubias I had in another tank and moved to this one... and then they got covered in algae. I did a DIY shade in my other tank (different lighting) which cured the algae problem... wanted to do the same in this tank but there isn't enough space between the condensation lid and the lightbox.



SO.... Last week I planted a load of cabomba with the twofold intent of it looking wild (since my aquascaping left a lot to be desired) and in hopes that it grows and shades the anubias (ALL the anubias are flowering in my other tank with the shade). Anyhow.... the cabomba was planted Thursday last week and has grown 2 inches since, except for the odd bit that has shot to the top of the water). Hoping the cabomba shading the anubias will get rid of the algae since that worked great(shade) in my other tank.

 

[daizeUK]

Is that diatoms on the anubias?
Keep me updated on how your cabomba gets on!  I also planted some last week and it isn't doing much, but my limnophila is getting leggy.

 

[daizeUK]

Just a small update to let you know my train of thought.
 
I'm ruling out squeezing compact T5/T8 tubes under the hood because I fear it would heat up the tank hood and water too much.  I don't think fluorescent tubes were really designed to be housed so close to the water, which leaves me with LEDs.
 
I'm ruling out the Arcadia Eco Aqua tubes despite the attractive size and price because I don't like the colours they offer.
 
I'm ruling out all cheaper, less powerful brands of LED because I think they're mostly designed for mood or night lighting and wouldn't give proper illumination.
 
So I'm left with 3 choices:
 
1. The TMC Grobeam 600, I think this would be a perfect solution for extra lighting.  It's bright, safe near water, already waterproof and should fit snugly with a minimum amount of hood modification.
 
2. I could try to DIY my own LEDs.  I am tempted to have a go mainly as Bodge said, for the opportunity to learn new skills and have the satisfaction of doing something myself.  I'm still looking for options to deal with heat dispersion and waterproofing before I decide whether I could make it work.
 
3. I might just move the tank so that it isn't in such a brightly lit location.  I would probably combine this with the opportunity to buy a bigger tank with better lighting anyway!

 

[daizeUK]

After more thought I'm now backtracking to a T8!
 
I found this Arcadia ACU15 Ultra-Seal controller, currently only £21 which seems like a bargain.  http/www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002617FE0/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=pet-supplies
 
It's waterproof so coupled with my condensation tray I shouldn't need to worry about water splashes.  I'm still a bit concerned about the heat a T8 will generate?  but there is a large gap at the back of the hood which should allow adequate ventilation.
 
I figured this is a cheap way to try out extra lighting and see how I like it.  If I get an algae explosion, I can just remove the extra lighting.  If I like it then I can think about upgrading to LED further down the line!

 

[ki_uncerta]

Only just seen this thread,
 
I have the exact same tank as you and this is what I did to upgrade my lights and found this worked quite well.
 
I used the arcadia eco daylight L.E.D.  with a L.E.D bar from L.E.D pacific
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

[daizeUK]

Thanks for sharing that!  It's really interesting to see what it might actually look like.  The arcadia tube fits very neatly at the front there.

 

[ki_uncerta]

No bother , Yeah it really is a nice fit, I love the arcadia, simple to fit to , I just used some aquarium silicone to attach the provided brackets to the hood. But the light rules, its not the brightest but really brings out the colour of my fish

.

 

[daizeUK]

That's something I really need to start thinking about - how to fix the brackets to the hood.  Don't really want to put screws through the plastic.  I thought silicone was really expensive though?

 

[bodge99]

Hello,
 
See http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HA6-Marine-silicone-aquarium-water-fish-tank-RTV-translucent-clear-top-quality-/320862461913?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item4ab4e49fd9
 
Just one of many...
 
Bodge99.

 

[daizeUK]

Oh!  For some reason I thought silicone cost an arm and a leg....  Thanks again Bodge!
 
My lighting unit turned up today.  It will just about fit in the space at the rear without removing that plastic box, although it will be off centre, will post a picture when it's fixed

 

[daizeUK]

Here are pictures as promised.
 
No lighting

 
Right hand Interpet 14W Compact Fluorescent daylight bulb only

 
Both left and right Interpet 14W Compact Fluorescent daylight bulbs

 
Both Interpet daylight bulbs plus T8 15W fluorescent tube
The first picture shows a Daylight tube and the second is Warm White

 
Under the hood

 

 
Edit: T8 is 15W not 18W! 
Powered by Arcadia Ultraseal ACU15 with Arcadia reflector

 

[scobie140]

Looks good, Did you put in new interpet bulbs? Mines is still the same two daylight ones its had since I bought it a few year ago! so refreshing them and copying this could make the tank much nicer and hopefully not as yellow

 

[daizeUK]

My tank is only six months old so the right-hand 14W bulb is still the one that came standard with the tank.  The left-hand bulb is about 2 months old since I replaced the standard cool blue moon bulb.  I think it's worth replacing them after a year though so that might brighten your tank up noticeably!  I got mine from the local Pets at Home.
 
I'm very happy with this setup because it required no modification to the hood.  The 18" T8 bulb just about fits at the back with the Arcadia Ultra-Seal connectors on each end, no room to spare but it does fit without removing plastic!  The only drawback is that the lighting is biased towards the left side of the tank where I have my internal filter so a bit of light is wasted.  There's a small java fern at the top right of the tank that doesn't benefit from the light so much, but overall it's not too bad.
 
I like having the T8 bulb at the back because it gives my tall stem plants the light they need.  I was worried that it would make the front of the tank appear shadowed but I'm quite happy with the result.  I do think that adding a small light at the front would be a good idea to balance the front lighting.
 
Price was £35 in total; £21 on the Ultra-Seal controller from Amazon, £3.67 plus postage on a 15W Sylvania daylight T8 bulb from LampSpecs and £10.38 on the Arcadia reflector.  Oh and £3.87 on Geocel aquarium sealant from Ebay to attach the clips to the hood!
 
I recommend the Arcadia reflector as it just clips on and is adjustable so it's really easy to use.  I can angle the reflector down when I lift the hood to direct light into the tank to see what I'm doing during maintenance and then angle it forwards when I close the lid to give the whole tank good light coverage.  You could use tin foil to cut costs but I'm happy that I spent the extra on it now!
 
Lastly, I have the T8 and the built-in lights on seperate timer switches.  The T8 is on for about six hours a day and it comes on about 15 minutes after the integrated lighting so they are staggered.
 It gives the fish and plants a bit of time to adjust when the lights come on! 

 

[daizeUK]

Finally got around to tidying up the cabinet and hiding all the electrics so I thought I'd post a pic.  There are two timer switches for the lights and the arcadia ACU15 controller fits snugly in the top corner.
 
There's also an Eheim 2213 external filter which fits nicely underneath that I haven't got around to installing yet.
 
 

 

[kestrel1960]

First of all thanks to DaizeUK & all other contributors to this thread which appears to provide the ONLY decent alternatives to sufficient lighting on an Interpet FishBox 64. This thread is old but is still relevant to those who bought this aquarium just before the upgrade to the newer model which is now comes fitted with LED lights (which in my opinion are still not sufficient for decent plant growth).

I was experiencing the same issues as DaizeUK. Plants on the left side of my aquarium were dying hence a replaced bulb on the left side (previously a moonlight now a Daylight bulb). But still not sufficient.

The DIY option of external ballasts & T5's did not appeal as the ballasts are heavy & large & I was worried about the heat generated by this set up.

So LED's it was. I really fancied the Grobeam mentioned in the thread but way too expensive for this tank which only cost £90. My thoughts were surely Interpet themselves must have a reasonable solution for their own tanks?

I found the answer on the seapets website linked to this thread

http/www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/fish-tank-equipment/aquarium-lighting/led-aquarium-lighting-strips/all-products.html

I went for the Interpet LED Bright lights. Both the double & triple row 47cm kits which are well priced. The double fitted easily at the back using the HA6 Marine sealant again mentioned in this thread. The triple was just too long for the front of the lid but I found I could squeeze it in by cutting off the end fittings with a decent hacksaw (very easily done without ruining the lights).

I've lost the feeding hatch but this was never a problem as I have to lift the lid & full size condensation cover to feed the fish anyway ( the cover is a must to prevent condensation ruining the lid electrics).

I've attached some photos. This setup is very bright (perhaps too bright) but I can always test the various options to have less light (& hence less algae). Update - I will have to find another way to attach photos as they are larger than the 300kb size limit grrr!!!

Anyway I just thought you'd like to see a slightly different alternative. Once again I couldn't have done this without your suggestions so thanks.