Hood Lighting

[newland]

Hi All

I'm looking at ways to light my fish tank.

Strip Lamps look quite expensive about £15 set-up.

Would the use of energy saving light bulbs be ok?
I was thinking of using 2 * 9W which would be ike having 2 * 60W light bulbs in it.

Or should i use 1 * 18W which is the equalivent to a 100W light bulb.

Would These be ok? too bright not enough. I don't really want to have live plants in my tank.

Thanks
Andy

 

[Lateral Line]

You can use compact fluorescents for aquariums, many people do. They generate a lot less heat then incandescents and use electricity much more efficiently.

Just be careful when buying the lamps that they will fit in the hood. They tend to be largr then the incandescent lamps they replace.

If you mean the cf's without an integral starter, you'll need a starter unit.

For a nonplanted tank, you don't need a lot of light.

 

[newland]

cheers

I'll look into the sizes of the tank and check this out.

I meant the enery efficent light bulbs you can get to replace house hold light bulbs. are they ok?

I should not see a reason why. Apart from if they will fit or not.

 

[Discomafia]

Compact FLourescents are always good, I used these for a while, then switched over to these

I used 2 of those in my old 10 gallon and they did a good job growing the plants. The former is only 2700K though, so the colour it emits is yellow, almost like an incandescent bulb, but I'm sure you knew that already, since these bulbs are for home use... If you want a whiter light produced, then use the latter. It's white because of the kelvin rating, which is 6700K.

And LL raises a good point, make sure the diameter of the part you screw in is suitable for your light fixture, as mine was too big, and I had to make a trip back and return it. Not fun.

 

[weswest]

What type of balasts do you use for these powercompacts, and how do you arrange them over your aquarium? Is this a DIY setup for the balasts as well?

 

[Lateral Line]

If you look at the links DM showed, you'll see they have regular screw fittings, (or in the UK - bayonet fittings). They use an electronic starter, not a ballast. The starter is built into the lamp, they require no other equipment, indeed, they were designed to be a direct replacement for regular incandescent lamps in peoples houses.

Another type of cf is simply the lamp and DOES require an external starter. This, again, is an electronic starter, not a ballast. The lamps are ypically "U" shaped and have one of several different termination types on the end. Obviously, you'd need to get a starter and socket of the right physical type as well as the right power output.