DIY upgrade for basic hood w/ lights.

[Trallen44]

I would use at least that.

[isu712]

The 6500K CF are typically labeled as "daylight bulbs." Also, when you list your wattage don't list the incandescent equivalent, rather, list the actual wattage they use (I guess I'm assuming that you did this, but if you didn't just disregard my comment). That's the number that will be more useful later on down the road.

[khs2424]

So the 4, 13watt 60W equivalent 6500K bulbs are not nearly enough light for a 55g tank?

This is getting so confusing.

[isu712]

Let me try to help you clarify. Forget the "equivalent wattage" stuff and only consider the actual wattage that the bulbs are using. Whenever someone here gives you advice with regards to wattage they will be referring to the actual wattage a bulb uses. You have the light temperature (6500K) correct, so you're doing fine there. As far as using 4, 13 watt bulbs over a 55 gallon tank, you would be in the low light arena there. That would mean you would be sticking to plants like anubias, java ferns and java moss. If you want to expand your horizons a bit you could get 4, 27 watt daylight bulbs. You should still be able to find this wattage at a hardware store and they will still be relatively inexpensive.

[khs2424]

OK, just out of curiosity, why do you not count the equivalent vs the actual?

Sorry but I am very much a noob to this.

[BiscuitSlayer]

Originally Posted by Stiletto

I covered the inside of the fixture with aluminum tape to act as a reflector. (In hindsight, it probably would have been better just to paint it all white.) Then I screwed the tube brackets into the screw holes, put the sockets in, and connected the wires with the wire nuts. The whole thing took maybe an hour.

Normally I would agree with you, but that aluminum tape looks like it might actually do a decent job of reflecting some of the light.

I think this is a cool DIY fixture and it looks like it came out pretty decent.

[daverockssocks]

Originally Posted by khs2424

OK, just out of curiosity, why do you not count the equivalent vs the actual?

Sorry but I am very much a noob to this.

Equivalents can be fudged, watts used are a rock solid fact.

[isu712]

Also, if you look at other fixtures, e.g. t5 or power compact, they don't give equivalent wattage ratings there, they only provide actual wattage. So, comparing the actual wattage of those fixtures to the equivalent wattage of the coil fixtures would be like comparing apples to oranges.

[honor]

can someone explain to me why white would be better than a reflective surface?

i like this idea, how did you do the wiring to the power cord? thinking about making my own hood for my 20 gal

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by honor

can someone explain to me why white would be better than a reflective surface?

i like this idea, how did you do the wiring to the power cord? thinking about making my own hood for my 20 gal

To better understand why white paint is a good reflective surface you need to make the distinction between a mirror, used to shave or put make up on with, and a reflector, used to redirect as much light as possible in the right direction. The mirror needs to accurately reflect what is before it, but it makes little difference whether that mirror reflects half the light or 90% of the light. Your eyes just make up the difference. But, you don't want to see a distorted image of your nose, for example (unless you are me, but that's another subject).

A reflector is intended to get as much of the light emitted by the light bulb into the aquarium as is possible, but it is of no importance at all whether the reflection is a true image of the bulb or not. So, a surface that reflects more than 90% of the light that strikes it is best.

Glass mirrors, with the back surface "silvered", reflect far less than 90% of the incident light. With high quality aluminum coated front surfaces they reflect close to 100% of the light, from infrared to ultraviolet. But, the aluminum coating is too easily damaged to even consider such reflectors for our use. A really good quality, polished aluminum, like Miro 4, used for AH Supply and other reflectors, will give more than 90% reflectivity too, but isn't cheap or easy to get and work with for a DIY project. Plain white paint, really white, not the off white colors used for most decorating, is one of the best reflectors of all - that's why it is white. So, white paint is both easy to get, cheap, easy to use for DIY jobs, and a great reflector too.

Ordinary kitchen aluminum foil is another good reflector, close to white paint in reflectivity, but harder to use.

[dbosman@msu.edu]

Krylon Gloss White is one of the best of the paints for light enclosures. It is simply THE best of the lower cost paints. There are better coatings, but not better paints.

[asil]

Hoppy, i'm pretty new at this but I read somewhere (maybe from Rex Grigg) that alum. foil was a poor reflector because it diffused the light. Mylar was suggested as a much better DIY reflector instead. Any thoughts?

[khs2424]

OK, so my question is, does anyone know what I should do now to raise the wattage and get the proper Kelvin temperature with the fixtures that I have? I only have 4 sockets so, do I need to just buy new bulbs (again), and which ones do I need?

[asil]

The thing to do is buy four new bulbs. 6500k (labeled daylight not soft white) and at a higher wattage. 4 27 watt bulbs gives ya 100+ watts. Way better than the 13's.

[khs2424]

Originally Posted by asil

The thing to do is buy four new bulbs. 6500k (labeled daylight not soft white) and at a higher wattage. 4 27 watt bulbs gives ya 100+ watts. Way better than the 13's.

I will look and see what I can find. I would guess that I could find them at lowe's or somewhere like that, right? The CFL bulbs that is. I would think that regular bulbs would get too hot. If you have a link as to where I could get them, that would be cool too.