# On the cheap lighting for a 10G



## snickle (Apr 8, 2007)

Okay, I am upgrading my 10G to heavily planted. The 19W fluorescent is not enough, but I do not want to go with expensive items right now.

So I bought a Perfecto incandescent hood and put in two 15W daylight screw-in fluorescents.










Better, but still not enough. The lights do not cover enough of the tank and the reflectors are lousy.

My plan:

Remove the reflectors and paint the inside gloss white. Should be as good as the lousy reflectors.

Add another CF bulb at each end. Bringing me to a total of 60W. I may chicken out and go with 10W bulbs but we shall see.

Thoughts?

Yes I know I might ended up spending more, but CFs are really cheap to replace.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

I can help you just a little bit, snickle.

All-Glass makes a 10w 6500K U-shaped screw-in PC. http://all-glass.com/products/lighting/lighting.html

If I may ask, why wouldn't you want to go with a 2x13w or 1x36w PC kit by AHSupply?


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## BillD (Jun 10, 2005)

I'm getting 11 watt, 6400k CFs (Sunbeam) for $1 ea, at Dollarama; that is a lot cheaper than a retrofit kit, and cheaper to replace the bulbs.


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## heineken357 (May 25, 2006)

You can do what i did, Make a top for the 10g tank and put 4x15watt cf lights in there, good light and cost about $20


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## trag (Jan 9, 2008)

snickle said:


> Okay, I am upgrading my 10G to heavily planted. The 19W fluorescent is not enough, but I do not want to go with expensive items right now.
> 
> Remove the reflectors and paint the inside gloss white. Should be as good as the lousy reflectors.
> 
> ...


Instead of squeezing in more bulbs, you might simply switch to 23 watt http://www.1000bulbs.com/23-Watt-Compact-Fluorescents/ or even 30 watt http://www.1000bulbs.com/30-Watt-Compact-Fluorescents/. You'd want to check the diameter though. The higher wattage bulbs tend to be fatter and might not fit in your fixture.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I notice that you can remove those reflectors very easily. I would remove them. Bend them into a crude parabolic shape - very crude. Then, use spray adhesive to attach aluminized mylar, the 2 mil thick type, to the reflectors, and reinstall. Cheap way to improve them. Then, you can use the longer 15 watt bulbs and get better coverage and more light.


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## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Very cool DIY..


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Snickle - why isn't that enough light. That is what I have over my 10g and everything is growing like crazy!!!! I have pearling on everything out the wazoo! What more could a girl want?!


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## evitagen22 (May 1, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> Then, use spray adhesive to attach aluminized mylar, the 2 mil thick type, to the reflectors, and reinstall.


Where do you get aluminized mylar from? Is this something you have to order or can you find it locally? Is this like the inside of a potato chip bag?


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## trag (Jan 9, 2008)

evitagen22 said:


> Where do you get aluminized mylar from? Is this something you have to order or can you find it locally? Is this like the inside of a potato chip bag?


Greenhouse supply stores sell it. There are a bunch of little greenhouse mail order houses on line, so it really isn't hard to find. It comes in different thicknesses and for our purposes as a light reflecting backing, thicker is usually better. It makes it easier to work with without tearing. I think 2 mil (2 thousandths of an inch) is the thickest available.

You will probably end up needing to buy a whole roll of it though, as that seems to be the only way they sell it. Still, it will set you back less than $30 the last time I checked.

There should be folks here with left overs from a roll. Buying a whole roll would be a big expense for a 10 gallon tank, but if you're building lights for a large tank, it's a small relative cost.

Most of the recommendations I've seen suggest sticking it to a backing with spray adhesive. 3M makes a variety of spray adhesives. I believe that I've seen "Super 77" suggested in these forums. It is stocked by Home Depot (at least the ones near me) so it is easy to get. However, you may want to consider "3M Hi-Strength 90 Heavy-Duty Spray Adhesive" instead as it has a higher temperature tolerance than the Super 77. thenerds.net sells both varieties.

Again, for a 10 gallon tank, the heat tolerance probably doesn't matter, because one is unlikely to use so much intense light that the temperature soars. But for larger light installations, the temperature tolerance might matter.

Drying time is another specification to consider. If it dries too fast, you might not have time to smooth out wrinkles. I do not remember the relative drying times, but the detailed specifications can be found with some hunting on 3M's website.

I was going to redo the lights on all my aquariums and also build my own reflectors. My original plan was to use the reflective mylar on a sheet metal backing and bend the sheet metal into approximate parabolic reflector shapes. The above research about the different adhesives is about as far as I got. I never actually tried gluing the mylar to a shaped backing. Anyone actually done this trick? It would be interesting to read about your experiences and what worked and what didn't and how to get a wrinkle free finish.

One friend suggested that a wallpaper tool (the thing used to smooth the stuff and get bubbles out) might be useful.

I ended up finding a large sheet of mirrored stainless steel on Ebay and the seller was willing to shear it into 48" X 5" strips for me before shipping (for a small additional charge). I figured I was going to have to do the sheet metal bending step any way. Why not just start with a mirrored material which is also very corrosion resistant? However, I've been stuck at the need-to-bend-sheet-metal-into-parabola stage for almost a year. That's not as bad as it sounds. I haven't really turned my attention to it yet.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

When I was experimenting with Solar Ovens, I got recommended to use an emergency blanket for reflection.
Not extermely good but real cheap ($1)
I also saved the shining cardboard (look like tinfoil) from my IR remote helicopters (pico Z).
Could bear to through out such shiney material. Thought maybe I could use it another solar oven. Instead I may add some reflection on the black part of the hood below the reflector. Should add a little more light to the tank.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I used a solar blanket for a reflector in one hood. It was very disappointing. It is too thin and has been folded into a tiny package so it is full of wrinkles. That prevents or at least makes it very difficult to attach it wrinkle free. And, the aluminum coating is too thin - you can see light thru it, so it doesn't reflect as much light as it should. Now I am using 2 mil thick mylar aluminum coated on both sides, and it works great. Finding it is the small pieces needed isn't easy, but some of the people here will sell or give away such pieces. Just put at WTB listing in the for sale forum.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Ebay maybe a good place.
Sell small quantities.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Anybody want to go in on a buy for 2mil mylar.
I don't want to spend $20 for 25 feet ofr mylar (4.5x25).
Just too much money for too much mylar.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

newbie314 said:


> Anybody want to go in on a buy for 2mil mylar.
> I don't want to spend $20 for 25 feet ofr mylar (4.5x25).
> Just too much money for too much mylar.


That is about $0.18 per square foot. You could offer it in the for sale forum at $0.50 per square foot, and I suspect it would all be gone pretty quickly. You can mail it in big manila envelopes, with a piece of thin cardboard as a backing, for less than a couple of dollars ( probably a lot less) postage. Of course if anyone wanted a piece bigger than a square foot, it would have to be rolled or folded and would have a crease in it.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

I have the all-glass aquarium double hood. Hold t8. I know the reflector isn't parabolic.
Am I going to get much by putting mylar on it.
I know I will on the sides where it is black now may 2-5%.
Just wanting to know if it is worth the effort.


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## insomniaclush (Jan 14, 2008)

Here are two great opts for your hood. Coralife makes 9-20watt mini compact lamp. The best one I think would be ( http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...996/cl0/coralifeminicompactcolormaxlamp20watt ) and ( http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18361/si1382997/cl0/coralifeminicompact5050lamp20watt ) I've used two 50/50s in a 10gal tank long ago and other than the fish and plant colors looking awesome, they grew out of control. the 50/50 bulb might be a little on the blue side for you but in my case I thought is was great looking.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

Man, those are powerful bulbs for aquarium.
Sounds like I should have just made my own hood from 2 or 3 of those.


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