Tank Lamp - A/C Question.

[rvijay07]

I have an A/C in my room. Every time the A/C goes on and off, my fish tank lamp goes briefly on and off. WIll this affect the life time of the lamp ? To what extent ?

Also, I have a 15W Incandescent lamp. How many hours do these last normally ?

Thank You.

Vijay

 

[tkos]

Since incandescent lights go through a heat and cooling cycle they tend to have lower lifespans than flourescents. Constantly turnign them on and off will reduce their lifespan. I would suggest buying a mini ballast screw in compact flourescent. They give better light, last a lot longer, and cost less to operate. You can get them fairly cheap at WalMart (9 dollars for 2 bulbs). And on the plus side help plants grow much better.

 

[justDIY]

sounds like your fishtank might be on the same line as your A/C, which is odd but not impossible.

try plugging it into a different outlet.

the flicker will probably reduce the lifespan of the bulbs, but not too much.

 

[rvijay07]

I tried a different socket already. It didn't help.

 

[rvijay07]

I would suggest buying a mini ballast screw in compact flourescent. They give better light, last a lot longer, and cost less to operate. You can get them fairly cheap at WalMart (9 dollars for 2 bulbs). And on the plus side help plants grow much better.

There are so many products that it gets very confusing. Is there a link or a web-site for this product please ? I feel this will help me very much.

I would also like to mention that the Tank comes with its own light hood for the incandescent lamp to correctly fit the tank. How can I place a fluorescent tube into this socket ? I am so very confused.

Vijay

 

[tkos]

No not a tube. You can buy flourescent lights that actually screw into incandescent sockets. They include the ballast built into the bulb, that is way they cost more than a regular bulb. The next time you are in a home improvment store or walmart go to the light bulb section. You will see strange spiral light bulbs. That is what they are.

the reason I say look for the mini ballast ones (Sylvania makes them) is that they fit best into the sockets provided in regular tank hoods. I use them in my tanks with a good deal of success.

 

[rvijay07]

How long do these last ? Are these as good as regular fluorescent lamps ? Do they make them special for Fish Tank ? The reason I am asking is that I live in Canada. So I will probably be paying like $20 for them with the taxes.

Vijay

 

[fishfreek]

I purchased two of those screw in florecent bulbs back in 1996/7 time frame.

Needless to say I am still using them. They have more of a yellowish light but that might be fine for a fish only setup.

 

[tkos]

I live in Canada (check my location). They are 9 dollars or so for 2 mini ballasted ones in a package. They will last 5 years according to the package though I swap them once a year for new ones (or I will) and just use them as regular light bulbs. Flourescents start to loose there goodness after .5 - 1 years of use as far as plants go.
They aren't as great as a real flourescent (about 3500K I think) but they are so much better and crisper than an incandescent bulb. They are perfect for low to medium light plants and are 13 watts. So that means 6 watts per gallon in a tank your size.

 

[rvijay07]

The incandescent I have is 15W.

 

[rvijay07]

I purchased two of those screw in florecent bulbs back in 1996/7 time frame.

Needless to say I am still using them. They have more of a yellowish light but that might be fine for a fish only setup.

This is excellent to know !! Thanks for sharing. Do you have a planted tank ? Can I use these for about 5 years for a planted tank as well ?

Vijay

 

[tkos]

I have a 10 gallon tank that you pretty much can't see the fish in. I keep cory catfish (3) and 5 white cloud minnows. They seem to thrive quite well, as do the plants. I have been running these bulbs for close to 6 months now so the test is still on going as to how long they remain effective. I keep water sprite, java fern, fox tail, amazon sword, some sort of floating lily pad and a few other stem plants. The fox tail is planted into a pot with soil, the others just stuck in gravel. My original 4 water sprite plants are now about 20 different plants. So things seem well with those light bulbs. They don't seem to do well with reddish plants or things that like really high UV levels.

 

[justDIY]

check out www.buylighting.com

you can get the screw-in fluorescent bulbs in daylight colors, which will look much nicer for your tank

the daylight color is more expensive though ... might want to shop around ... I just noticed that site I mentioned want's $10 ea!

 

[TankGirl]

Don't forget to investigate the electrical problem that you may have going on here related to your air conditioner. It may be that the circuit is overloaded and there may be a fire hazard in the making here. Even if you have to run an extension cord for the lighting on your tank it may be better to get the tank and the AC off the same circuit. Oftentimes a window unit will overload a circuit, and an electrician may need to be consulted to prevent a disaster. It is usually best to have a dedicated circuit for AC units. This ends your public service announcement. We will now return you to your regular programming....

 

[rvijay07]

TankGirl thank you very much for this important information. You have 5 Kudos points from me.

Vijay