Good Lighting for a 20 long?

[FrAnK3333]

Whats the best? Links please!

 

[sammydee]

I'm using four overdriven NO fluorescent tubes on my 20 gallon long. That gives me a total of 36x4 = 144 watts, or a little over 6 WPG.

I tried to do it as cheaply as possible - you might have a bit more money than me lol.

 

[chris777]

It depends on what you are wanting to keep in it coral wise. Metal haildes are a the best imo but sometimes it is over kill in a smaller tank depending on what you want to keep.

 

[FrAnK3333]

I plan to keep soft corals.

 

[chris777]

I would use a pc/

 

[FrAnK3333]

Pc? Navarre! Where are you? You always have an answer for everything. Can you post links chris, it would be very helpful.

 

[sammydee]

By PC he means power compacts. They are a bit like those energy saving light bulbs you see, spiralled round.

 

[chris777]

Sammy said what i meant extactly. You could always go with t5 Lighting as well or you could go with NO bulbs. It is pretty much up to you, Only thing i would go with are Mhs cause for sofies in a 20g it would be over kill. Here is a link to a Pc light http/hellolights.com/242xcoraqpch1.html or this http/hellolights.com/242xcoluaqho.html since im assuming your 20g is the same as the one i have which is 24in long. T5 lighting im not to sure of a good one to link you to.

 

[sammydee]

Is it the 20G long which is 12" high, or 15" high?

 

[sammydee]

Hey - speaking of lighting... Just got mine finished. My mum seemed to think that for some strange reason I-shouldn't-be-doing-soldering-in-my-room-and-why-wasn't-I-doing-my-homework-anyway? Luckily I had just finished, so here are the pics...

I soldered it for two reasons:

1) I am too poor to afford Endcaps.
2) After hearing horror stories of fires caused by overdriven bulbs, I was a bit worried about using endcaps.

I got the ballast off ebay for a fiver, and the bulbs were £7 each. That's 72 watts of lighting for £19! Not bad, huh? I am going to add two more bulbs eventually to give me a total of 144 watts for £38.

General installation:

Close up of my shoddy bodged up wiring : I know it's extremely dangerous - would anyone reccomend electricians tape or silicone or something to cover those exposed ends?

Hey, I would highly reccomend this as a cheap, easy way to get a reasonable amount of light - frank3333 - how good are you with soldering and stuff? If you're short of money this is the route I would go.

So, how bright is THAT:

It is blinding. I was surprised that it worked first time, but it did, and that's the result. I'm so pleased it worked!

 

[lovebuzz]

 

[chris777]

I would have to agree with sammy that would be a good route if you are low on cash but it isnt the ideal lighting it will still do the job.

 

[sammydee]

I am not going to leave those end's exposed by the way, apart from the fact that they have dangerously high voltages running through them, if lead gets into the water then there will be problems.

I'm looking for something like liquid electrical tape to cover it all with.

 

[FrAnK3333]

JUst use electrial tape, it would be fine.

 

[sammydee]

You sure it wouldn't go gooey? I'd rather have something a bit more permanent than tape to be honest, but I'll use it if i'm stuck for ideas. It's 100 times better than bare ends anyway, which I would never put over a tank.