Lighting for a 37 gallon freshwater?

[Electrobes]

Okay I recently got an amazing deal, but thats another story in another section. Basically I got a 37 gallon tank... excuse me.. I am tearing up from such joy! But anyway I realized it rather tall... its 3 feet long and about a foot depth, and I forgot how deep.. whatever the usual is for a 37 gallon. But I wanted to know what lighting fixture would go well for this tank? There are tons of swords in there... thanks!

 

[justDIY]

how are the LOA lights working for you?

if you like the color temp of them, try making some pendant lights out of the innards of the security light and one of those small metal waste paper cans (I've seen 'em all over the place for between $10 and $30, about 2ft high, about 8" to 10" diameter)

A trio of 65 watt pendants would look pretty sweet over a long tank like that

195 watts / 37 gall = around 5 watt/gal ... which is high, but if you have them a 18" to 24" above the tank, you should get about 3 watt/gal

my 30 gal gold-fish storage tank (36x12x16) uses a pair of electronic shop lights ($8ea at hd) with 6500k philips daylights ($5 for 2 at hd) in them ... the extra 12" overhang just spills into the basement floor, it used to light a sick plant

one of these days I'm gonna build some pendants outa something... I think it'd look cool

good luck dude

 

[Electrobes]

well the thing is I still haven't installed them. But do you think I can make pendant lights out of those for the 37 gallon? Also how would you make them? thanks

 

[justDIY]

well, first I'd need to see the inards of the loa light, but my guess is the cord comes in, connects to the photocel, connects from there to a 'ballast box', and from the box to the socket

so, I would snip the wires running between the ballast box and the socket and find a nice plastic "project box" from radio shack to hold it and the photocell (just seal the photocel inside the box with the ballast so it think's it is always dark), or unwire it if it's possible

next, I would drill a hole in the bottom of the trash can, just big enough for a wire (to connect to the ballast box) to fit through ... I would run the wire through the hole and then tie it around a pencil or something, so it cannot pull back through the hole, this would also support the pendant

the socket and bulb would connect to this wire, and either hang inside the trashcan, or I would rig up some sort of bracket to screw into the side or bottom of the can (can't tell you exactly without seeing it) and hold the socket

then just connect wire the other end of your wire to the ballast box (reconnecting the wires you cut before), and presto, diy'd pendant

that about covers all the basic steps I would undertake to turn something like that LOA flood light into a pendant

the trash can you use should of course have a shiny silver metal inside, and you can paint the outside whatever color you like ...

if you want something smaller than a trash can, look into those cheap painters lights they sell at HD or Meijer, that have the funnel (cone?) shaped reflector ... they also come with cord and socket, which might be compatible with the LOA bulb? ... of course you would have to cut the plug end off the cord and wire it into the ballast box.

happy to help
Gordon

 

[Electrobes]

sounds good... so basically I should make two of these things and sit it side by side, then just hang it over the tank? Heh I have never really seen a pendant at work so not exactly sure how it sits or where its supposed to be. Thanks cell

 

[Electrobes]

sounds good... so basically I should make two of these things and sit it side by side, then just hang it over the tank? Heh I have never really seen a pendant at work so not exactly sure how it sits or where its supposed to be. Thanks cell

 

[Electrobes]

I have an idea but not sure if it is a good one... I want to build a pendant light using both bulbs (the LoA 65 watt bulbs) under one big pendant. The pendant shape will not exactly be a perfect cirle but more like an oval shape housing both bulbs. Beside the bulbs in the actual pendant housing I want to put a two fans, one on each side, using them as an exhaust (not blowing in air but sucking it out). will this work or will the bulbs be burned and the exhaust fans not be enough? Or should I have the fans in a different position etc. thanks!

 

[Electrobes]

I forgot to add something... if the above idea doesn't work.. but I still use pendants form of lighting... I will still need a glass top right?? I was wondering if that top can be an acrylic piece ( 36 inches by 12 inches)?? Also should I drill holes into it to let air travel? thanks again everyone!

 

[justDIY]

well ... at HD they sell a thing called a Mud Hopper (or something else maybe), over in the drywall section

there are different sizes, between 8 and 18 inches long, and they are polished stainless steel "boxes" that are rectangular in shape.

One of the larger ones might work great for your plan of a single larger pendant, you could fit two bulbs inside it easily, maybe even three bulbs if you wanted, and just drill a circular pattern of holes in the top or "back" to mount a small fan, should keep the bulbs from getting too hot

I think a CFL should be hot to the touch, but not hot enough that you can't hold onto it ... like around 110 to 130 °F ... colder than that and it'll never achieve maximum brightness, warmer than that, and it'll burn out prematurely ... vho's and pc's on the otherhand, are probably designed to operate around 150 to 180 °F, which is too hot to safely touch

as far as a glass shield, anything more than a few inches from the surface of the water shouldn't need any glass or protection, I personally use glass on my current hood just to help keep water off the wood (when the lights are off, water condenses on the glass cover instead of the bulbs and wood reflector) ... but that hood is directly ontop of the tank ... a few inches higher and condensation probably wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Electrobes]

I think a CFL should be hot to the touch, but not hot enough that you can't hold onto it ... like around 110 to 130 °F ... colder than that and it'll never achieve maximum brightness, warmer than that, and it'll burn out prematurely ... vho's and pc's on the otherhand, are probably designed to operate around 150 to 180 °F, which is too hot to safely touch

I am kinda mixed up about what you said there. Are the LoA 65 watt bulbs a bad idea?

 

[Electrobes]

whats the difference between a CFL (Compact flourecent) and a power compact (PC)?? I thought they were the same? If not what are the LoA bulbs? Thanks!

 

[justDIY]

in reply to your earlier message:

I don't think the LOA are bad ... but, I've never seen one ... I have searched high and low to buy one but came up empty, unless I wanted to buy four

my comments about temperatures was just trying to relate some idea of how much cooling you would need, or not need ... if you build yourself a fixture for the LOA lights, and your bulbs never get too hot to hold, then I'd say you wouldn't need any fans ... if you build them into something, and they are so hot you can't touch them without a lot of pain, then they are probably too hot and you need to add a fan

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in reply to your current message:

CFL's generally have a very small diameter "tube", and it's usually in some sort of "light bulb" form ... something that screws into a socket of some sort, or is designed to replace a convential incandescent bulb, and the ballast is generally small and of low wattage, designed to run a single bulb and to be built into the fixture

PC's have a larger diameter "tube" than a cfl, and, at least within the aquarium hobby, they are long, slender, twin tube bulbs, or four tubes (like the 27 watters), PC ballasts are usually separate devices, either in the fixture or in their own enclosure, and can run one or more bulbs

going out on a limb, I think PC's run at higher mA (milliamps) than CFL's, but both run at a much higher mA than traditional T12 or T8 linear's

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in regards to using the current "floodlight" fixture as a pendant

yes, you would probably want to drill some holes to allow for ventailation, since it seems to be a common symptom of those lights over-heating and burning out.

I wouldn't want to have something that looks like an outdoor floodlight hanging in my living room, but if you've got a fish room or somewhere where asthetics aren't important, it's the easiest way to go!

 

[Electrobes]

thanks a lot glmclell, you been a lot of help!