[swylie]

I was given my first tank for my birthday, a 5 gallon, by a girl who used to be really into fishkeeping, but not very researched or technical about it. Since I'm here, you can guess I'm serious about growing plants. I need better lighting. As the aquarium shipped, the hood had a standard screw-in socket and a 9w CF bulb. For the short term, I've upgraded it to a 26w spiral CF bulb, but I'm not happy with the light distribution. As you can see, the hood is shaped with screw-in bulbs in mind.



There's a section of white plastic on the right that the ceramic socket is mounted to that would block any retrofit effort. I have to keep this hood, though, 'cause the tank itself is a strange shape. Does anyone have any ideas for a retrofit? If I removed the clear lens and the white plastic, the remainder of the hood has about 13" to work with. How would I mount a standard fixture to something so un-square?



BTW, you can see my DIY nightlight in there. Spare 12v supply, spare LED and resistor.

 

[Wasserpest]

If you really have 13" to work with, you could get an AHSupply retrofit. The 13W kit comes with a good reflector.

I am wondering though what's wrong with using the 26W spiral bulb? Should be enough light, and if you get a daylight version it shouldn't look too bad?

 

[swylie]

I have a daylight-white CF in there, so the spectrum should be ok, I'm just worried about the distribution. Half the tank is moderately bright, but the other half is pretty dim. If I were to retrofit, I do indeed have 13" to work with, but I'd only have a couple of inches in the other dimension. If I bought the AHSupply reflector, I'm concerned it wouldn't fit. I guess I can solve those problems with a hacksaw when I get there.

 

[tusk]

I know exactly what you're talking about. I have a small 2.5gal that I have a SCF bulb in. One half does get better growth.

In my "creation" I have an AH 13W kit. It's a nifty little thing and I'd be willing to bet that the 13w kit will put more light into your tank than you SCF bulb. At the longest measurement, how wide is it? I'm drawing a blank as to how wide the AH is but I thought I could wedge it into my 2.5gal.

****I think you could get it in there with a little trimming here and there. Maybe a bit of the reflector also.

 

[Pooky125]

If I recall, the retrofit is 8" long and 4" wide, but don't quote me on that.

 

[swylie]

If I recall, the retrofit is 8" long and 4" wide, but don't quote me on that.

I've quoted you on that. :icon_smil Could anyone measure the reflector that comes with the kit? I'd like to know the length and also the width at both the top and bottom. Thanks so much.

 

[conduct]

reflector 8"L x 3"W x 1.5"H

 

[swylie]

reflector 8"L x 3"W x 1.5"H

Awesome. That will so totally fit my hood... so long as I can find a way to mount it. Thanks.

Edit: I now see that the dimensions are on the ahsupply.com web site and feel a bit foolish. Oh well.

 

[epicfish]

When you say half the tank is lit, do you mean the front vs. the back half or the left vs. the right half? It looks like the screw-in CF would light right and left halves pretty evenly.

 

[swylie]

Left/right. It might be hard to see in the photo (so I went back and marked it up) but the fixture is mounted in a vertical piece of white plastic that comes down to the clear lens. That makes a dead area denoted by the red X.