# Odd DIY Idea



## Olvar (Nov 21, 2006)

Ok so I was talking with a friend of mine who is a truck driver about having to light my new 180 gallon (soon to be) planted tank, and explaining the watts per gallon rule and also the comments that on deep tanks like this (24') even the standard wattages may not be enough. His question to me was wether or not halogen vehicle headlamps would work mounted inside of a hood. His idea was a 12-15 volt DC converter and some clear lamp mounts from a junkyard should be enough to run them, and the bulbs themselves aren't that expensive. So i've done some looking today and all I can find for some of these lights are the lumen listings, any of you lighting guru's able to take a look at these and give me an idea if these would even work?


> BULB TYPE WATTAGE LUMENS COMMENTS
> 9004/HB1 65/45 1200/700 SAE. Transverse filaments.
> 9004/HB1 +30 65/45 1230/720 High Efficiency
> 9005/HB3 65 1700 90 degree base ECE/SAE axial filament
> ...


Here is the link so the site with the bulbs Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply Sorry I can't seem to get the table to post right.


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## Yeaulman (Jun 23, 2005)

Halogen lamps dont offer the proper lighting that plants require for photosynthesis. It would be the same as putting a incandescent bulb over the tank and seeing the results.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

In actuality you can light a tank with halogen bulbs.... but not without problems.

The largest problem is that for every 10W worth of bulb you're only going to produce 1W worth of light with the other 9W going to heat. 90% of the energy going in to the bulb never makes it to the tank.

Stick with the traditional lighting methods... even in a deeper tank like yours you'll have no problems if you use metal halides, or top quality reflectors for fluorescents (like the ahsupply models).


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## Olvar (Nov 21, 2006)

Ok I'm assuming that has to do with the color temperature? When I was finally able to find at least a generalization on those it says they range from 3.5k to 5k.

Ok so if I switch from that idea to some of the LED fixtures that are coming out, how do those compare?



> LYPAR-38 CW with 108 Cree Cool White LEDs with Clear lens. Rated at 310 lumen/100 watt light output - 13 watt consumption. Measures 5.0" diameter x 3.6" overall height. Estimated life of 30,000 hours. 30 degree view angle, 7000 Kelvin Temp. All PAR-38 LED Bulbs are UL and CE listed.


This one is $65, but also fits into a standard household incandescent light mounting. I know the watts/gallon rule is made with flourscents in mind, but how do you compare that to something like this?


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## onemyndseye (May 12, 2006)

thats still pretty low in terms of efficiency (not that led lighting cant be done)...

With this bulb you are using 13watts of energy to produce 310 lumens,

Compare to a 13watt power compact fl. - 13watts of energy in.... 900 lumens out.

No comparison really 
-Justin
One Mynds Eye


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## Olvar (Nov 21, 2006)

Thanks for the info guys. Yah it is looking more and more like i'm going to probably have to go with flourescents. Metal Halides would be nice but for a tank this big (6' x 2' x 2') it would cost too much to do.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Check out Craig's $100 DIY 150 watt MH thread in the DIY section.


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## NE (Dec 10, 2004)

You could check out the HID style head lamps, but they have a different price tag and need drivers as well.


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