niko

Here are pictures and comments on a 4 ft. light that I made for my neighbour's 75 gals. tank:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/DaveS

Bulbs:
1. Two 47 inch long Giesemann Midday T5HO with individual reflectors (110 total watts)
2. Two AtoTlamps 10,000K VHO, 47 inches without reflectors (220 total watts)

The T5s are on the sides, the VHOs are in the middle.

The T5s run off 2 Workhorse 5 ballasts. The VHOs run off one Workhorse 7 ballast.

The VHOs are on 3 hours a day. The T5s are on 11 hours a day. 4 or 5 min. after the VHOs switch on the tank is literally boiling from streams of bubbles running everywhere.

Cost of this project:
1. T5s + reflectors = $80
2. VHOs = $34
3. 3 Workhorse ballasts = $105
4. Electric wire = $20
5. Hardware (tin roof flashing, metal tube, screws, silicone, paint) = $20
TOTAL: about 250

Discussion about this light:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...210g-tank.html

--Nikolay