Tostada
Aquarium Advice Freak
I just got a 30 gal. hex that has a flat glass top with a flippy lid on the front section and a cutout for the filter on the back. It has a plastic hood that sits on there with a single 15" T8. I'd like to put a couple live plants in there (just a couple hearty things that don't need too much light). Even if I wasn't going to get live plants, a single 15" T8 seems pretty inadequate.
So, I was going to make a custom wood box that takes up all the available space on the lid. This is the best idea I've come up with so far:
Then I'll probably just have a single cord from the ballast going into an outlet with a timer, and then a 12V adaptor that plugs into the hood for the cathode moonlights. I'll probably put a 3-pos switch on there for the moonlight, for off, 1 light, or 2 lights. Then I'll have the main lights running strictly off the timer.
My main question is what kinds of bulbs would be recommended for a hex tank. I've heard people say you need a lot of blue because it penetrates more. I was thinking maybe two 15" Aqua-Glos and one 18" Sun-Glo or maybe Flora-Glo. Those are easy to find around here. The main reason I'm going with the 18" in the middle instead of just three 15" lights is because there seems to be a lot more variety available in 18" lights -- the only 15" lights I see in stores are Aqua-Glos.
Of course I'm fine with ordering cheaper lights if that's a good idea. I don't feel the need to pay $13 per bulb in the LFS.
Also, does anybody have any input on the wiring or general configuration? I know there are dimmers that work with fluorescent lights, and it'd be really cool (and probably nicer for the fish) to have it come on dim in the morning then gradually get brighter for an hour. That seems ridiculously complex, though. I also thought of having 3 separate ballasts with 3 separate cords for the main lights, then just having them all on separate timers so I could do sort of a gruadual on/off cycle, but that would be a pretty big jumble of cords, and then it would be difficult to turn them on/off manually. If I have them all on one cord going to a timer, then I can just flip the override switch for all of them at once.
Are there any single ballasts that would work for all three lights? Most of what I see are 1 and 2-light ballast kits. I'm not sure about mixing two bulb sizes on the same ballst.
So, I was going to make a custom wood box that takes up all the available space on the lid. This is the best idea I've come up with so far:
Code:
____________________
/ \ <- Penguin 200
________________________
/ \
/ |====================| \ <- 12" cold cathode
/ |====================| \ <- 12" cold cathode
/ \
/ ||--------------------------|| \
/ ||--------------------------|| \ <- 15" T8
/ \
/ ||--------------------------------|| \
\ ||--------------------------------|| / <- 18" T8
\ /
\ ||--------------------------|| /
\ ||--------------------------|| / <- 15" T8
\______________________________/
\ __ /
\ / \ / <- flippy lid
\ \__/ / with handle
\____________________/
Then I'll probably just have a single cord from the ballast going into an outlet with a timer, and then a 12V adaptor that plugs into the hood for the cathode moonlights. I'll probably put a 3-pos switch on there for the moonlight, for off, 1 light, or 2 lights. Then I'll have the main lights running strictly off the timer.
My main question is what kinds of bulbs would be recommended for a hex tank. I've heard people say you need a lot of blue because it penetrates more. I was thinking maybe two 15" Aqua-Glos and one 18" Sun-Glo or maybe Flora-Glo. Those are easy to find around here. The main reason I'm going with the 18" in the middle instead of just three 15" lights is because there seems to be a lot more variety available in 18" lights -- the only 15" lights I see in stores are Aqua-Glos.
Of course I'm fine with ordering cheaper lights if that's a good idea. I don't feel the need to pay $13 per bulb in the LFS.
Also, does anybody have any input on the wiring or general configuration? I know there are dimmers that work with fluorescent lights, and it'd be really cool (and probably nicer for the fish) to have it come on dim in the morning then gradually get brighter for an hour. That seems ridiculously complex, though. I also thought of having 3 separate ballasts with 3 separate cords for the main lights, then just having them all on separate timers so I could do sort of a gruadual on/off cycle, but that would be a pretty big jumble of cords, and then it would be difficult to turn them on/off manually. If I have them all on one cord going to a timer, then I can just flip the override switch for all of them at once.
Are there any single ballasts that would work for all three lights? Most of what I see are 1 and 2-light ballast kits. I'm not sure about mixing two bulb sizes on the same ballst.