Troy McClure

I'm saving my money to get an ADA 45cm, which I guess would classify as a nano tank seeing as how it's less than 10gal. Substrate will be AquaSoil and CO2 will be pressurized via nano diffusor. I've been mulling over how I should do the lighting though. I want something that doesn't take up a lot of room and looks very refined, like a sleek metal housing or something like that. I have been looking at halogen desk lamps, mostly in the 50 Watt bulb range, but I would probably have to buy two of these to properly light the tank. As I work in the AV industry, I was cleaning up my office today and thought, "Hey the ancient overhead projectors are really bright. I wonder if I could use the socket and ballast from one of these things!"

I have a bunch of extra bulbs in my desk, probably sitting in their packaging since the 80s. They are all 82 Volts and range in Wattage from 300, 360, and 410! Manufacturers are GE, Osram, and Ushio. The 410W Osram says FXL and GY5.3 on the box. The 300W Ushio says EXR on the bulb, as does the GE 300W bulb. I fired up one of the old projectors and while I don't know exactly what bulb is it in, they put out an incredible amount of light and an even more incredible amount of heat. Less than a minute after the bulb was on I put my fingers a few inches in front of it and could feel this intense heat.

Anyways, here are my questions:
- If I can use the socket and ballast out of an old overhead projector with say, a 82V/300W bulb, is there a way to adjust the voltage so the bulb's output is less intense?
- Can I get some kind of glass filter to protect the light as well as shift the spectrum to be more visually pleasing and photosyntheticly-friendly?
- Is this worth the trouble?

That's my first set of questions, and I'll wait for an answer before I go asking about other things.

joephys

They aren't good lights for aquariums, if they were they would be a popular option. They produce more light than heat, and usually not at a good spectrum for plants.

I'm not sure if you can lower the voltage to get less intense light, but I am thinking it needs to be run at what its rated for.

A filter won't shift the color. It will just block out what ever colors the filter isn't.

I have seen desk lamps that use a 4 tube CF bulb. I don't remember the wattage, but that might work ok for you.

slickwillislim

I just bought the ADA Mini M and have been trying to find a cool, refined way of lighting it. I also cam across Halogen bulbs but after reading how much heat and the spectrum they put out I gave up on the idea. 300w would give off a lot of heat and probably look pretty crappy compared to most halogen lighting. I really don't see the advantage except for you have it on hand.

I am pretty stumped on how to get a cool metal light over the tank. I was looking at the different desk lamps that I could modify to be a pendant or something and I haven't seen anything I really like. I may just get two of the AHS 13w kits and build a box for it. To bad I can't afford the 140+ tax and shipping for the 27w ada light.

I have seen those lights of america 27w quad lamps. They don't have a very good reflector and I am worried one might not be enough for the tank. If thats the case then I mine as well Spend another 60 or so and get the ada light... Not to mention the lamp is plastic and not the pendant or metal look I want.

Keep us updated on your search. I need all the advice on this subject I can get as well.

yxberia

How about desk-lamp/study lamp with compact flouro? They are cheap, less heat and fit your wallet? IKEA has a lot of "clip-on" lamp.

Troy McClure

Hey Will, I just found this. It's a 27W quad lamp, though as you said the reflector may not be the best. DAZ-02 Contemporary Desk Lamp - DAZ-02 Lite-Touch Desk Lamp - 8000

joephys

That should work, kind of pricy though. You can get some mylar wrapping paper at a party store and tape it inside of the light.

slickwillislim

Hey thanks for the link. I hadn't seen those two. I guess I will keep looking. I thought lights of america was the the only one. I think 27w might not be enough for the 45cm alone but it would probably be perfect, if it has a decent reflector, for my mini m. I was hoping to find something hanging though. I plan on diy a cabinet with sides flush to the tank so I won't have desk space to rest it on. I will stop before I get to off track.

Good luck with that 45cm be sure to post when you get it going. I wonder if you can buy 27w retrofits... or pendants.... Two of those over your tank would be plenty of light and the crappy reflector probably wouldn't matter. Hope you find some nice lighting solutions. Mid size nano's really don't have that many decently priced lighting options.

Jubs

I am using this desk lamp over my 1.5g nano Click here. Seems to be a lot of light of I have only had the tank setup since New Year's day so I don't know how well its going to work in the long run.

I have noticed a couple of other people on here using this same lamp on their nanos as well, I think Hoppy is one of them and I would assume they have been using it longer than I have so you might want to ask him or maybe he will chime in and share his experience with this lamp with us.

Troy McClure

That's cheap compared to the ADA light!

I'm ditching the halogen idea, at least for day-to-day lighting, but I think it might come in handy to build a unit for photography use only. It'll probably end up being a light box with a gel filter to eliminate some of the red/yellow coloring. I'm thinking about going to Target later today to see what kind of fluorescent desk lamps they have.

BTW, Jubs' link didn't work. If anybody wants to know the lamp on the Home Depot website is model 1127HB. Just type that into the search box on their website. I'm going to call the HD near where I work and see if they have it, if not, I'll call the two over where I live. If the size is right, I could maybe use two of these over the 45cm tank.

I always have the option of building a suspended canopy for an AHS 1x36, though I don't want to use wood for the canopy...

goalcreas

Yeah, I got one of those 27 watt CF desk lights at Home Depot for $16
They are listed at around $29, but if you go to the store they usually have an end cap or a display out in the middle of one of th isle's and they are priced at $16. I really like the look of it also, off to the side, for a small tank I think it is better then sitting on top of the tank itself.

I have some friends who use them and that is what they paid, and as a matter of fact, I am going back for another.
Mine is over a 2.5 gallon, and I have a 5 gallon I will be setting up soon, so I am hoping it is enough light for that, but it should be fine.