My enhanced light

[Homer8]

i had 2 20 gallon hood lights that were beat up that someone had thrown away. So i decided to put them together. each bulb is 25 watts i had some of the old bulbs in there till i get cfls. Im going to use this on a 10 gallon planted tank. I didnt know if i could connect 2 sockets together so instead the light has 2 cords coming out the back. if i can hook these two up together i probably will so i can get rid of one cord but id still keep the 2 on/off switches. With this set up I can have 10W per gallon but ill probably get 14W bulbs instead.

 

[sudz]

Looks good. Are they mositure resistant? I had an old hood I did something similar too, after about a year i started to hear arcing - Dangerous!.

as well, Keep an eye on the heat, espically if you leave the incandescent lights in there.

 

[Homer8]

yea im definitely not keeping the incandescent lights in there the other light fixture is partially melted. do you think i could wire them together to eliminate one of the plugs or will it be too much?

 

[adadkins1]

Since there is no splash shield on the hoods, you ought to make sure you get bulbs labeled as "weather safe" or "weather resistant".

 

[sudz]

those switches are a bit crapy - it'd be hard to wire it. I would really recommend soldering and shrink tubing though, as marettes(sp?) covered in electrical tape wouldn't handle the heat/wet/cold/wet/heat/wet very well.

Also, when lighting a 10 gallon, the same "lighting rules" don't quite apply. But keep in mind you don't want to give your fish a sunburn (some fish are uncomfortable in very "well lit" tanks. Also, beware of algae.

 

[Homer8]

im going get a glass hood for it.