help me with lights?

[dangmatic]

hey guys im trying to find some lights for my 135 gal. i saw on some posts on this site that some people buy shoplights for 6.00 for 48" from home depot? can you post the links. and r those the lights that you HAVE to hang from the ceiling?

 

[Wolf3101]

I use a lot of those fixtures on fish only tanks. Normally I run a twin bulb unit with reflector and attach it to the top of the wooden hood. I water proof the connections with liquid insulation and cover the bulbs for safety with 48" plastic tubes that are also available at the home improvement store. The fixture I use costs about 9.00 and comes with a switch and cord. They fit MOST hoods but are fairly simple to modify to make work on the rest of them.

 

[dangmatic]

i dont understand. how do u put them on ur tank? pics would help a lot

 

[Wolf3101]

The fixtures attach to the under side of the wooden canope (hood) just behind the doors. This unit dosn't have the reflector.

 

[duke33]

Not to derail your thread Dangmatic, but i've been wondering the same. I've found I can use shop lights, but you have to have a T12 bulb. I'm still trying to figure out the T5, T8, T12 thing. Must be something to do with the ballests.

 

[Wolf3101]

Some ballists can handle any type bulb but thats generally NOT what you get in the low dollar shop lights. The main differance is in the power consumption per watt although there is a differance in output as well. I stick with standard tubes for several reasons...

Better selection of tubes...

Lower cost and better availability...

Easier to maintain a stock of repair parts with everything the same...

Safety tubes (plastic sleeves) are available...