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April 20th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| DIY lighting???
anyone know how to make DIY lighting here for like under $50-$60 because i wanted to put plants in my tank but my stupid perfecto hood can only hold like 28w when i have a 65g tank. so anyone got any ideas? | 
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April 20th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| You can upgrade with less money than that:
Take a look at my recent upgrade, from 20W T8 to 104W CF.
Build at your own risk. I'm actually trying this.
Lamps CF with built-in ballast that fits standard incandescent socket, at 6400K (not the best for photosynthesis but is doing the trick, If you can find 6700K the better).
I couldn't find Mylar (the best reflective material for DIY) so I went with this duct tape.
Pepe
Santo Domingo
Last edited by pepetj; April 20th, 2009 at 11:16 PM.
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April 21st, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| after my struggle with the T5's from my DIY thread i think im going to build something similar to yours pepetj.
mr loach, take a look at this link, its the same setup as pepetj's, but its a DIY housing and all http://www.okcaa.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5835 | |
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April 21st, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| I Built my own canopy went to Lowe's and bought a t8 32watt x2 lamps ballist costed about 25 bucks the ends where 4 bucks and old three prong extention cord cut of the Female ends and crimped the wireing. Its over glass not open water and I mounted the ballist to the back outside corner of the canopy so no need for any fans. Or go to walmart they have a stainlees steel 2x40watt 3' for 20 Bucks. | |
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April 21st, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| i need a 48in light and one question pepetj how did you wire that  | |
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April 21st, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by pepetj  Lamps CF with built-in ballast that fits standard incandescent socket, at 6400K (not the best for photosynthesis but is doing the trick, If you can find 6700K the better). | Arbitrary color temperature ratings have less impact on photosynthesis than many people/places would lead you to believe. Quote:
Originally Posted by pepetj I couldn't find Mylar (the best reflective material for DIY) so I went with this duct tape. | I've read quite a few sources that have taken lighting measurements using various reflector materials, and they did not find mylar to be the best. Some examples include: Quote:
I did some testing with a PAR meter, using a fixture for a 10 gallon tank, of mylar, aluminum foil and white paint. To my surprise, the mylar was the worst of the three. Aluminum foil and white paint were about the same, but my white paint was from a leftover spray can and not applied with any care. If I had used a good "ultra white" flat paint, I have no doubt that the white paint would have been the best. This is counter intuitive, to say the least, but just remember, we aren't trying for a shaving mirror here, but for maximum reflected light. Mirrors give true reflections, but don't reflect all of the incident light, nor do they need to. A good ultra white paint, out in the sunlight, is painful to look at. We don't need specular reflectivity for a light reflector, and it may even be a disadvantage, because it concentrates the reflected light too much. The white painted reflector also gave somewhat more even light at the substrate than did the mylar.
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The total reflectivity of a good white paint nearly equals that of silver, and is certainly better than any aluminized surface (mylar, foil or sheet metal).
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The important point I want to emphasize here is the large gain provided by the expensive reflector. It more than triples the light, as compared with a no-reflector situation. A white diffusive reflector does provide a more modest gain, of the order of 1.6-1.8, not bad if we consider its cost (nothing). The aluminum foil reflector, on the other hand, is barely worth the trouble. Aluminum foil would possibly make a good reflector only if it can be laid out smoothly as a polished mirror. The wrinkles on the foil turn it out effectively into a diffusive reflector, and a bad one...
This suggests me that the use of reflective flexible materials such as Mylar and similar ones does not provide a significant gain above what one can get with a simple white paint. They can be even worse than the white reflector, as in my test. The reason is the difference between specular and diffusive reflection. Unless the reflective material can be laid out with a smoothness comparable with a true mirror, it will tend to act as a diffusive reflector. And will most likely perform below the "perfect" diffusive reflector, a white matte surface.
| I haven't done any experiments myself to offer first-hand info, nor do I have a thorough understanding of lighting science/physics, but it's an interesting point to consider. | |
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April 21st, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| thanks now i know what to paint it | |
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April 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Mathas... thanks for all the input and references!
Pepe
Santo Domingo | |
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April 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| no doubt, thanks mathas! | |
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April 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| I just purchased Glow White spray paint so I'll be upgrading my reflector by painting the interior walls of the lamp assembly unit.
Pepe
Santo Domingo | |
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