How to upgrade your planted tank's lighting for under $20

[LilGreenPuffer]

Lighting upgrades for planted tanks can be hella expensive. I asked around on plantedtank.net, and a couple of members were kind enough to explain how I can upgrade my lighting for a really reasonable cost. (Thread here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-t ... lants.html) I did it, and I've taken pictures so that you can see the process.

Step 1
Locate an incandescent hood. This type of hood is pretty much obsolete, but you can find them on Ebay and Big Al's, and probably other places too. You might be able to find one on craigslist.org. However, I got mine for free from a forum member. I paid $8 to have it shipped Priority to me. This type of hood looks like this on the inside:





Step 1.5 - optional

If the top of your hood looks like this:



you might want to drill holes in the top to let heat escape. I don't have a way to do this, but if it becomes a problem, I might have to look into borrowing tools.

Step 2
Purchase two fluorescent bulbs. The household type works great. I chose 15W bulbs, for a total of 30W, or 3W/g for my 10g. They were $4.99 each, for a total of $10.48.





Step 3
Screw the bulbs into the hood. It works the same as any old lamp.



Ta-da! It's ready:



Step 4

Put it onto your canopy and turn it on! It might take a few minutes to get to its full brightness, but it ought to be fully functional in no time at all.





All done! Total cost of project: $18.48

[geronimo69]

I love the idea. I will be doing the exact same thing tonight ( I have one of those exact hoods ).

Questions : Can it be done on a 55 gallon?

[LilGreenPuffer]

I guess... Is there only space for two bulbs? You want a few watts per gallon, and you want it to light the entire tank.

[jus85411]

anything similar for SW and corals/macro? that is pretty cool and a cheap solution! how long have you had it set up? notice any better/worse conditions of your plants?

[J-P]

If you want to go one step further, before you place the bulbs in, you can get some very stiff foil or some old mirror and line the back to make a better reflector

[LilGreenPuffer]

I've heard of doing the reflector thing. I might try that.

I don't know much about the SW stuff, sorry.

I've only had it set up for a few hours. I can see that it's brighter.

[sevenyearnight]

I have this set up on my snail tank, it does look better indeed.

[RTR]

The spiraled Fluorescent tubes can provide more light than incandescents, certainly, no argument.

But they do also waste a good bit of light through re-strike and the impossibility of having effective reflectors. Do not kid yourself that a spiraled source can equal a linear or single-folded light source - is does not happen.

But the simple upgrade pictured is frequently well worth doing on a limited budget. Consider it an intermediate step which can give a real light increase on smaller tanks. On mid-sized tank I would go for linear or folded tubes. Good reflectors are worth their costs as soon as you pass a foot in working tank depth.

All IMHO, YMMV

[LilGreenPuffer]

Yeah, I'm certainly not expecting the same quality as if I'd spent a fortune on the real deal. But it's what I'd call "medium-tech" - better than what I had, if not high-tech.

At the suggestion of someone on another forum, I'm going to line the hood with aluminum foil or aluminum tape. Apparently that helps a lot - on a small tank, anyway.

[RTR]

Too many of us ignore reflectors. Reflectors are highly important - the high-tech ones are $$$, but they can and do save you money on electricity and far outlive the tubes if not abused. Using high-tech lights w/o matching reflectors is a huge waste of money.

Small tanks are really hard to light - tens are a nightmare., 15s only a bit better.

If you want a crude test, turn off all the room lights and have only the test tank lighted. Jury-rig white cardboard on as many sides as possible, even with the bottom glass of the tank. All the light falling on the cardboard is wasted so far as the hobbyists is concerned. Tens are depressing, they need wattage way out of line with larger tanks.

Big tanks are cheaper - at and above 100 gallons, wattage requirement per gallon drops. It seems unfair, but what an excuse to get bigger tank!

[LilGreenPuffer]

An excuse that won't work for me. Size is an issue. I don't have a lot of space, and I have to be able to move them once or twice a year.

[Flutter]

I'm sure something like reflector tape will work fine for your setup

[geronimo69]

Too many of us ignore reflectors. Reflectors are highly important - the high-tech ones are $$$, but they can and do save you money on electricity and far outlive the tubes if not abused. Using high-tech lights w/o matching reflectors is a huge waste of money.

Small tanks are really hard to light - tens are a nightmare., 15s only a bit better.

If you want a crude test, turn off all the room lights and have only the test tank lighted. Jury-rig white cardboard on as many sides as possible, even with the bottom glass of the tank. All the light falling on the cardboard is wasted so far as the hobbyists is concerned. Tens are depressing, they need wattage way out of line with larger tanks.

Big tanks are cheaper - at and above 100 gallons, wattage requirement per gallon drops. It seems unfair, but what an excuse to get bigger tank!

It's true. I use a T5 NO on my 55 and I haven't lost a plant or added one that hasn't grown very well under it. I do use fert sticks and Excel though...

[RTR]

It tickles me to see folks paying big bills for powerful lights with poor to no reflectors. I don't really mind my power costs, but I do want to get all I can out of it, and also to minimize my waste heat in the tank room. I don't use heaters now due to waste heat from lights and pumps providing all I need.

If I had to move my tanks, I would not have many. I do not move often either. I do hope that there well never be another move, other than out the door with a sheet over my face!

[LilGreenPuffer]

An update! I've come home to an algae bloom, the kind that makes the water green and cloudy, and my plants have absolutely TAKEN OFF. I have to throw some out before I go back to Indiana because they're taking over! I don't NEED reflectors at this rate!