50 gallon light on a budget... ideas?

check out Fishneedit.com 48" for 80$.

that is a pretty good deal! you think 108w is enough light though?

well depends.. what are you trying to grow? Will you be using Co2?

ebay

You could always hang more than one shop light. At my local Lowes they were advertising 48" shop lights for $9 w/o bulbs. You could rig two or three and get more wattage.

i am planning to get co2...and grow plants

is this one worth the price? this is the cheapest i could find it, but seems like a decent fixture and wattage. http://www.tscpets.com/cofraqdolist1.html

fishneedit.com has cheap ones like what Lnd said. They're T5 lamps which means, they are brighter than normal fluorescent and compact fluorescent bulbs. I think that light is enough...
Also, are you getting pressurized CO2? THat'll cost more than 100...

Geez you guys in america get stuff cheap. Even allowing for the difference in the dollar at the stock exchange. I could not get a co2 injection unit here in aus for under $300aus & single tube 48" T8 shop light fittings will cost me $30 a piece at a discount hardware/electrical store.

I found 48" T8 shop fittings to be the cheapest thing for me to get without ordering off the net. I put four of them over my 55gal for $60aus as I got them through a electrician friend. That did not include the cost of the tubes which was about $130aus. T5's would usually give you more bang for your buck though I believe.

For cheap lighting for a 48" tank, shop lights are great. For good lighting when you are going to spend the money for presurized CO2, spend the money to get a decent T5 HO fixture and decent bulbs.

As to Oz, if I may, T8 shop lights usually cost us about $15.00 each when not on sale. It looks like you pay about double what plant bulbs cost us though. Can your electrician friend order bulbs from his parts supplier? That's where I get most of my electrical needs taken care of. It might be cheaper to purchase a case and sell some to other hobbyists.

haha yea, i looked into the paintball canister co2 at a lfs for about 115$, so my limited budget on lighting is partially due to that. im not getting this tank until end of december (xmas!) so i have some time to collect items as the paychecks come haha

Don't go with a paint ball rig. The gauges cost the same and a 5# cylinder will last significantly longer than a 20 oz paintball tank. Since you have time, shop carefully for deals and the cylinder might not run much more either.

[email protected] said:

Don't go with a paint ball rig. The gauges cost the same and a 5# cylinder will last significantly longer than a 20 oz paintball tank. Since you have time, shop carefully for deals and the cylinder might not run much more either.

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i was considering the 5# cylinder setup, but its hard to find a place that will fill your tank without wanting to swap tanks with you. paintball tanks, can be filled for 2$ at a local paint ball park. im still doing research for my area as i would perfer the 5# setup but i might have to go with paint ball setup myself. do you think the paint ball tank say the largest 20oz would make it at least a month or two on a 50 gal?

Chris30559 said:

i was considering the 5# cylinder setup, but its hard to find a place that will fill your tank without wanting to swap tanks with you. paintball tanks, can be filled for 2$ at a local paint ball park. im still doing research for my area as i would perfer the 5# setup but i might have to go with paint ball setup myself. do you think the paint ball tank say the largest 20oz would make it at least a month or two on a 50 gal?

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I use 20 oz paintball tanks on a 46 gallon and they last about 4 weeks at 2bps. If I had a place closer to fill or exchange 5 or 10 pounders, that would be the way I would go.

If you drove by a paint gun shop everyday to work would a paint ball canister be the best bet? I am going to get a co2 set up for Christmas and was wondering if the convenience would make the smaller bottle worth it.

Not trying to highjack this thread, but would this light be also ok for a 50 gal breeder (only 36 inches long)?

http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_136&products_id=1423

Or should I do a combination of 3X65W from these guys? http://www.tscpets.com/cofraq.html