# DIY CFL Hood - 48"



## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Hi all. First post here. Found the forum browsing for Diane Walstead's articles.

I am currently in the middle of building a sizeable fish room. You can follow and read up on that on my home club's site: www.kcfishclub.org.

Anyway, I am going to have eight 75 gallon tanks on the bottom row of a dual 75 stand setup as my "display" tanks. The tanks on the top row will be raising tanks. In doing this build, I had to be extremely cost consverative. I could easily drop $100 for good T5 lighting for each tank...but keeping in mind I'll have eight display tanks, that's $800 for lighting alone.

So, here's my plan.

I'm going to build a hood for each tank constructed out of 5/8" pine. Inside that hood, I will have a six bulb bathroom vanity light fixture mounted to the top of the hood, placed upside down (bulbs pointed down). These will be wired into a power tool replacement cord. 









I will probably only use four of the ports for lights. On the ports that will be in use, I'll be utilizing a nice little reflector I found from 1000bulbs.com:









with a 6500k Energy Miser CFL 23w / 100w equivalent bulb.









The hood will set directly on top of the tank, but the actual lamps will be 3 inches above the glass lid of the tank. A fellow fish club member has a PAR meter, so we will be testing it out, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be a mid to high light situation.

It will be a few weeks before I start construction of the hoods, so if you have any suggestions or ideas on how to improve this deal, please let me know.

Plants I intend on having are swords, vallesneria, micro swords, crypts, and anubias. The tanks with the anubias will have fewer bulbs (probably 3).


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Here is a google sketchup of the hood with the vanity light (obviously not showing the reflectors). The two outside, left and right, ports are the ones that I am planning on having bulbs in. I could use all six if I wanted or needed I suppose.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

I built something similar, but did not enclose the bar. The reflectors seem to make that unnecessary. I hang the bar over the tank. I agree that starting with a bathroom fixture and using CFL is very cost effective. For safety's sake I would remove the ports you are not planning on using. 

What size are the reflectors? I didn't see them on the website mentioned.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

They are 4.75" in diameter and 5.75" in height. I'm hoping they are small enough to fit the bulbs side by side like I've demonstrated above. It's gonna be a tight squeeze.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

OK, read all 11 pages on your blog. Wow. Very seriously nice fish room. I don't have a PAR meter so I will be anxious to see how your setup measures. I don't see mid to high light out of four 23s, but I hope I'm wrong. I've seen the linked thread on cfls before, which is why all of mine are mounted vertically. My bath fixtures come from second hand stores, but my tanks are spread out all over three floors and many different rooms so uniformity is not a big goal. Yet. ;-) 

I'll definitely be following both this thread and your room conversion blog. Very nice descriptions and photos. I'm sure your thorough documentation will be helpful to many.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Thank you for the compliments. I have learned a lot, am still learning a lot, and enjoy sharing my experiences, failures, and successes. I've been spending a large amount of time on this forum, trying to learn as much as possible about plants, the natural tank setups, etc.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Well, got an email Friday from 1000bulbs.com indicating the reflectors were out of stock. Will have to wait a couple of weeks before they receive more and ship out. Bummer. I was really hoping to spend next weekend putting together a mock up and seeing how well it worked.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

That is a bummer. I was considering ordering some myself, as I previously looked for something similar and couldn't find anything in that price range. Like you, I am anxious to see how well these perform. A quick look with Google did not find these available through any other source, which seems a bit odd.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

The other option is to go with the TCP brand reflectors and bulbs, which are about a 1/3 more expensive. Multiply that times the quantity I'm working with, and you can see why the wait may be worth it.

In looking at the TCP brand reflector, it doesn't look like it has the the variated inside...in other words, it's just plain shiny. Not sure if that makes any difference or not. Anyone have any idea?


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Hmmm, more money and shorter. I want something as tall as possible (for the price). As for smooth vs faceted, I'm sure lots of people have opinions, but the PAR meter rules. I guess we play the waiting game. Are you going to measure the results with no reflector, but the inside of the hood painted white or covered with foil? I'd love to be able to experiment with a PAR meter. I can borrow one, but it is a 3 hour round-trip drive and I can only keep it a week so I need to be organized. Maybe this summer...


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Well, the packages arrived today. Working out pretty well. <-- sarcasm. So far, the bulbs buzz real bad (4 of the ones I've tested so far), and the reflectors don't fit. Getting pretty dang frustrated about now.

I'll have to wait till Monday to contact customer service. I'm not going to be happy if I have to pay to ship these things back, and pay again to have replacements shipped back again.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Ouch! I can't recall a cfl buzzing, but that sure would be annoying. Are the reflectors too small or too big? Are they actually aluminum, or are they plastic? What a disappointment. Let's hope they make it right, and fast.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

They are aluminum. They are too small. The base flange does not go around the plastic "neck" of the bulb. I'll post a pic up. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but if I am, I'll be surprised.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Any satisfaction from 1000bulbs yet? What a shame that they don't fit. It looks like such a sweet find, I love it when a diy solution is inexpensive and effective. Have you tried the reflectors with other brands of bulbs or measured them to see if they might work? I know this project is keeping you more than busy, but the end result is bound to be spectacular.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Still in the exchanging process. They've been pretty good about everything.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Finally got some CFLs that will fit my reflectors ordered today. Should be here in a week or so. This is turning out to be a pain. More info later.


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## joshp428 (Nov 16, 2007)

don't all projects become a pain? I can't think of one that didn't become one, lol.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Got the lights in. Started cutting wood for the first hood and found out my clamps are a 1/2" too short. Off to Home Depot to buy new clamps. FML.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

I'll show more on the basic construction later, but here's a brief outline.

Basically, the actual cabinet part of the hood is 40" long by 7" wide, by 7 1/2" tall. To save wood, I made the cabinet less than the 48" length. 









Then, to set it on top of the tank, I attached "legs" that jet out 4" on each side, two on the front, two on the back. My stand design makes this a SUPER tight squeeze, and I actually have to tilt the hood back diagonally to get it under the stand braces. Kind of a pain, but I'll live with it.









Here is how I DIY'd the wiring box. Notice the piece of PVC that has a hole in the top where the cord goes into. Inside here is a plastic lined cavity to house the wire-nut connections.









And finally, the end result. It is NOT as bright as I thought it would be, at least in appearances. I have a friend that has a PAR meter that is going to measure it and see what we come up with.
This light setup has four 19W 6500k TCP brand bulbs with the reflectors mentioned above, and two 23W 6500k Energy Miser brand bulbs with no reflector, to help wash out the dead spots.









When my friend comes over with his PAR meter, we're going to play around with using all reflectors, no reflectors, and the setup like I have above and see what gives the best ratings. More info to come.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Here is a build list for ONE hood...
Description, Price Each, Qty, Total
Energy Miser CFL Detachable Reflector...$3.11.....4.....$12.44
Intermatic TN311C - Heavy-Duty Plug-In Timer...$10.64.....1.....$10.64
8 ft. 16/3 Power Tool Cord...$9.56.....1.....$9.56
Portfolio 6-Light Vanity Fixture...$20.97.....1.....$20.97
Top Choice 1 x 8 x 4 Whitewood Board...$3.98.....3.....$11.94
19 Watt - T2 CFL - 6500k Full Spectrum Daylight Bulb...$4.49.....4.....$17.96

Total Cost (not including screws, or labor)...$83.51

If you add in the cost of the two bulbs that I didn't plan on using, the total would be $92.49


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## TetraGuy72 (Dec 12, 2009)

I am very interested in seeing the results of the par meter. I recently built a DIY CFL light for my 55 gallon. Although mine has 6 bulbs and is not as fancy as yours.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Hopefully my friend can come over soon and get some measurements. We're going to try and measure the following, all with the end of the bulb about 2" above the surface, in a 75 gallon tank, so about 22" to the bottom of the tank:

Four 19W, 6500k bulbs with reflectors
Four 19W, 6500k bulbs with out reflectors
Four 19W, 6500k bulbs with reflectors and two 23W 6500k bulbs without reflectors
Four 19W, 6500k bulbs and two 23W 6500k bulbs, all without reflectors

That's about all the tank space and patience I have to test, but I think we'll get some interesting readings.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

On my current configuration, which is four 19W 6500k bulbs (two on the right outside, two on the left outside) with the reflectors, and two 23W 6500k bulbs without the reflectors...

I'm going to throw out a guess and say that I'm probably going to be in the lower range of medium PAR...somewhere between 70 and 150. Anyone want to take some guesses?

I'm thinking 80.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

*TANK ONE*
*Four 19W, 6500k bulbs with reflectors |o| |o| - - |o| |o|*
Top (3" from bulb): 150
Middle (12" from bulb): 50
Bottom (22" from bulb): 25

*TANK TWO*
*Three 19W, 6500k bulbs with out reflectors o - o - - o*
Top (3" from bulb): 120
Middle (12" from bulb): 40
Bottom (22" from bulb): 15

*TANK THREE*
*Four 19W, 6500k bulbs with reflectors and two 23W 6500k bulbs without reflectors |o| |o| o o |o| |o|*
Top (3" from bulb): 180
Middle (12" from bulb): 60
Bottom (22" from bulb): 45

*TANK FOUR*
*Four 19W, 6500k bulbs, NO reflectors o o - - o o *
Top (3" from bulb): 200
Middle (12" from bulb): 75
Bottom (22" from bulb): 30

*TANK FIVE*
*Two 19W, 6500k bulbs, NO reflectors - o - - - o *
Top (3" from bulb): 90
Middle (12" from bulb): 20
Bottom (22" from bulb): 10

What we noticed is that the reflectors probably are not necessary, as they focus the light, much like shining a flashlight with a narrow beam, straight down into the water. The thing I found most interesting is that as you moved horizontally both on the x and y axis, the numbers varied considerably, probably has more to do with the plants and driftwood above blocking light from getting to the bottom.

All of that being said, I am having fairly good success with the plants that I'm attempting to grow. Vallesneria is coming in nicely, the swords are really rooting well, the chain swords are sending out multiple runners, and the Anubis are starting to attach to the driftwood.

Still fighting some black beard algae that came from a few of my plants from another tank that I must have missed, as well as Green Dust Algae...but I think that's pretty typical of new setups. The oldest has been up and running for about six weeks, the newest just about four weeks...

Now the question...when some says "what are your par ratings for this and that tank", what do I say? Is it the middle value, the low value, or what not?

Pics of the tanks to follow, although the lighting you will see does not correspond with what we experimented with, as I've made some adjustments to the lighting.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Columbian Tank - 1









Columbia Tank - 2









Peru Tank









Bolivia Tank (planted with leftovers / less desirable plants; hopefully they will come back soon)









Zaire Tank









Congo Tank


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## Ever Inquisitive (Jul 12, 2011)

Great thread and tanks. Reading this has given me a much better idea as to how to attempt my own. Thanks!


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Thought I'd post a little update. I've made a few minor changes to this design and the lights that I have already built that I think are important to share.

1. Lifted up the lights from sitting directly on the top of the tank by adding a 1" square x 18" long board underneath the light fixture. The reason I did this was because a few of the bulbs were burning out before their lifetime should have expired. These bulbs are not intended to be in an enclosed area. (pic in next post).

2. Removed the reflectors. These were focusing too much of the light in one area. If it were possible to incorporate a wider reflector, that is the direction I would go.

3. The bulbs that I originally purchased and referenced on the first page (http://1000bulbs.com/product/53632/FC23-FEIIS23W64.html) are junk. Out of the 50 or so that I started with, fewer than 12 remain operational. Even bulbs installed in regular fixtures around the house (ceiling fan, room lights, etc) are going bad. Not worth the cheaper price, I'll tell you that.

4. If I ever get bored, I will take these apart and paint the inside with a glossy white spray paint, or silver, to help with losing some of the light inside the canopy.

5. I have drilled more 1" diameter holes on the short ends (left and right) of the fixture to help with heat dissipation, which I also suspect was one of the reason some of the bulbs are not lasting as long.

Hope this helps those that have tried, or are thinking of trying, this design/concept.


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## slimbolen99 (Feb 25, 2011)

Full tank picture.









Closer up of the fixture. You can see the 1" square x 18" long "sticks" I've placed under the fixture to prop it up a bit. Ignore the 2x6 blocks - those are there to hold the fixture up while I took the photo.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Thanks for the update. Your numbers are very interesting, especially regarding the reflector/no reflector change. I suspect most people measure at the substrate, so your light is medium to low, which is good for a low maintenance, slow growth system. Good to know about the heat problems. I use mostly CFL bulbs mounted vertically with chicken brooder reflectors, but I do not cover my tanks so the humidity is very high and I also find bulbs don't last as long as I expect. Gotta get my hands on a PAR meter. I want to compare the 10" brooder reflector with just a painted box.


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