# 100 Watt Twist CFLs over a 55?



## hamstermann (Sep 12, 2009)

Hey Everybody, 

I'm building a new custom stand for a 55 gal soon and don't have a lot of money. For lighting, I thought of doing 3 or 4 100 Watt Spiral CFL bulbs. I will try to position them so that the bottom (Top? The farthest part from the fixture, in any case) is 3-4 inches from the water and will have them vertical instead of horizontal. Do you think this will be enough light to grow medium to bright-light plants? 

I understand that amount of light is different on the substrate floor than at the top and that it's also different depending on your reflector. Again, because of the poor man category, I think What I'll end up doing is wrapping the tank in plywood that's been spray-painted white for reflection and only leaving the front pane open for viewing. 

Also, I'm kind of debating between Pool filter Sand, Play sand, or Eco Complete for substrate. I know the Pool Filter sand and Play sand are cheaper and may reflect more light back up at the plants due to their lighter color so that could help with the lighting as well, but the Eco does have all those great nutrients and can soften our really hard Utah water. 

Any thoughts?


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

You'll need well over 10 bulbs, not three or four. A 100W spiral light bulb is really only 15W. They are marketed as 100W because a 15W CFL is equivalent to a 100W incandescent.

Don't use sand. Use un-mulched soil, Eco-complete, or regular fine gravel. Sand compacts heavily over time and chokes out roots.

Check out AHsupply for low cost CFL setups. You might also consider a low tech or natural tank, see the "El Natural" forum for guidance.


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## hamstermann (Sep 12, 2009)

JERP said:


> You'll need well over 10 bulbs, not three or four. A 100W spiral light bulb is really only 15W. They are marketed as 100W because a 15W CFL is equivalent to a 100W incandescent.
> 
> Don't use sand. Use un-mulched soil, Eco-complete, or regular fine gravel. Sand compacts heavily over time and chokes out roots.
> 
> Check out AHsupply for low cost CFL setups. You might also consider a low tech or natural tank, see the "El Natural" forum for guidance.


Thanks for responding!

The soil here is more clay than soil. I tried mixing that with miracle grow in a previous setup and just got muddy sludge. I couldn't plant in it that well at all and every time I added water, it clouded. Nasty stuff. so I guess I may have to bit the bullet and spring for Eco. Gravel is too hard to plant grassy plants in and get them to stay down when I've tried.

The AHSupply fixtures are a bit much for me right now. I was hoping to find something that would work for $50 or under and not have me buying the expensive bulbs later on. Guess I'll have to keep thinking and check out the walstad forum while I do it.


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## talkingplant (Aug 19, 2009)

I'm still waiting for some confirmation if it would work, but there are cf bulbs that put out much more that 15 watts. Here's a 40 watt one on Amazon. There are also up to 105 watt versions (although they get a bit pricey) that you can put on pendants.

Make sure to look up the bulb specs from the manufacturer. Lumens is more important than wattage as far as I can tell.


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

Find a shop light that fits over the tank. The get some 6500K (color temp) flourescent bulbs.


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## northtexasfossilguy (Mar 6, 2009)

JERP said:


> Find a shop light that fits over the tank. The get some 6500K (color temp) flourescent bulbs.


Home depot sells those normal ceiling fluorescents that are T-12, you could build one with 4-6 bulbs. They carry Philips "Aquarium lighting" on the bulb aisle... but...

With that size tank you ought to just shell out the money for a 36-46" Hagen GLO T5 or a comparable Giesmann kit. In my experience the DIY's don't save that much money.

Those spiral bulbs can work for small tanks but in my experience the colors they produce will cause lots of algae growth both on the glass and on your plants. You should go with T5s with the depth at 20 inches that you are trying to achieve. They run cooler and produce more light than anything else.

A low light tank would be fine with 2 T5 bulbs, a high light with 4. Just shop around online and not in the stores and that will save you money and time.


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

White is the next best reflector that you can use. I use white laminates to cover the interior of my plywood canopies, they are easier to keep clean, long lasting and you get good reflection.

As for the bulbs look for PLL florescent bulbs, they come in 6500K also and are easy to use within the canopy and are economical. Being straight there is less loss of light (unlike in the spiral CFL).


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## Gordonrichards (Apr 28, 2009)

Go to home depot. A shoplight from there will cost you maybe 20.00. For my 20 long I put a shoplight on it for 3 months till I purchased my first light fixture. The only issue I had was algae growth.

They will work fine and growth will be ok. Do not change the bulbs, it would be a waste of money.


Purchase real lighting when you have the $ to do so.

If you want to, change the bulbs that come with the fixture in the future.

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Pendant lamps would work. 
Double up a Y splitter. A Y splitter allows you to put 2 lightbulbs into a single socket. Ask the guys in home depot and you'll understand what I mean. The fluro light bulb will be on its side, sending the most amount of light down. 

If you hang the pendant down without a splitter, all the light will be going to the sides, even with a reflector its a waste of time and energy since only 1.5-2.0 inches of bulb will be producing light downwards.

Pendant lamps will be more expensive, with a cost of...

20.00 - 5.00 per cheap clip on lamp @ minimum of 4
16.00 - 4.00 per cheap 42watt fluro, you need 4 bulbs
16.00 - 2.00 per splitter, you need 8 splitters

52.00 total cost.


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## hamstermann (Sep 12, 2009)

I like the Idea and look of the Hagen GLO lights, but my budget is forcing me to wait on that til there's some more money.

I went to Home depot last night and ended up with some T8 double-lamp shoplights for $20 each that I hope will work until I can fork out the money for a Hagen or a few AH Supply kits. Then I got a couple 2-pack 6500K bulbs for $6 each. 

I still haven't opened the packaging yet, though. I like the idea of the pendants, but I am concerned about the light making it all the way to the bottom of the tank with the twist CFLs. I have 3 Twist CFLs over my 10 gallon, which is algae free, but as some of you pointed out, that is a much shallower tank. So I'm still undecided, I guess. 

essabee - I like the idea of the laminate. I was going to try to wait on the white laminate and just spray paint the outside back and sides of the tank since I'm over budget already, but after making the taller of my 2 stands I realized that If I don't wrap the stands and tanks so I can make a lockable top, my sons can go fishing (or worse, overfeed) without even having to get a stool. so I think I may have to spend an extra $60-80 there so my kids don't reach into the tanks. (I'll have a 10-gallon and a 55 gallon right next to each other.)

Any certain thickness you recommend? I was thinking half inch or thicker since I know 1/8 inch won't provide much support to the canopy/lid. I also know, though, that the thicker you buy it, the more money you pay. What's the golden medium for you?


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

Get the cheapest (and flattest) sheet of plywood you can find and paint it white. 1/4, 7/16, or even 1/2 will work fine. It doesn't need to be strong enough to walk on.

If you are using a shoplight with a built in reflector, you can hang it from a couple of closet rod hangers attached to the wall for ~$5.

If you don't have a reflector, you can use a section of vinyl rain gutter.


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