shop lights

[Meredith]

I remember a post from a while ago where someone had purchased fluorescent shop lights for aquarium use. Could I put something like that right on a piece of glass, or would I have to build something to hang the lights from?

 

[cplawrence]

I imagine that you could just set the light on top of the glass, but keep in mind that an aquarium light has a reflector that is designed to direct all of the light into a small space. In contrast, a shop light is designed to light up an entire room. The end result is that you would effectively have less wattage if you went with the shop light.

 

[Meredith]

Oooh. I didn't think about that. Could I add some type of reflector material inside the light itself?

 

[rich311k]

aluminum foil maybe, or make your own fixture and just use the ballast and the lights?

 

[Elmware]

I've seen pictures where people had a 4' balast hanging above their tanks, but not directly on the tank.

 

[Toirtis]

You could build a long wood box to situate the fixture inside....it would hold the fixture, keep the tubes a few centimeters off the glass, and keep light from leaking out all over the room....plus, with a little wood stain, it would look nice, too.

 

[aquakev]

aluminum foil is not a reflector, it is a diffusor. It does not reflect the light well. Try pointing a laser pointer at it and at a mirror. You will see that the aluminum foil scatters the light. With shop lights just the plain white paint works better than foil. A material called mylar works well as a reflector and is not too expensive. you can find it at hydroponic stores.

As for the shop light idea, I am using one on my planted tank with pretty good results, but it does spread the light out more than Id like.

If you could do it I would recomend building a fixture with a wood box, ballast(electronic) and bulb holders like Toirtis said, it would give you better results, but might not end up being cheaper.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Could you also use something like shiny sheet metal as the reflector? I have reflectors in my lights and that's what it looks like.

 

[aquakev]

The shiny sheet metal is probably highly polished aluminum which is a very good reflector.

 

[id10t]

Check the roofing area at HD or Lowes... they should have a roll of sheet aluminum, would probably be great for making a reflector.

 

[Hoovercat]

Mylar is also available in the camping dept. of Wallyworld as emergency blankets. You could use a spray adhesive and a credit card to apply it neatly.