Archivarium 2004

Cyradia · Moderators Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Winston-Salem, NC

In the next few months I plan to upgrade the lighting on my 75 gallon tank. Currently, it has the single bulb light strip that came with the tank and an additional shop light sitting on the tank for a total of 3 40 watt bulbs.

My thinking was to buy the 4x55 watt Bright Kit from AHSupply and have one of my handier friends make me a wooden box for a canopy. Does anyone have any advice, things to watch out for, or alternate suggestions?
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Irons · Moderators Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Location: Buffalo, NY

While I'm still planning out how I'm going to do mine. Here are a few things I've thought about.

Is it going to sit on top of a hood or the tank?
If not are you going to hang it from the ceiling or stand up from the tank?

What about a lid and holes for the equipment? If you make a canopy that sits on the tank, you could line the inside with reflective material. So more light goes in the tank.
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"... instead of considering what to say when they write, people now just let thoughts drool out onto the screen," - about e-mail
Irons.

naclh2ofly

Cyradia,
Make plans for ventilation/fans, possible upgrades later on like.... dare I say.... more light, moon/night light etc. Be sure to ask for the DIY tips AH offers. I would mix 2 6700K bulbs and two GE 9325K bulbs. Although I'm not sure if they are the same pin style.... if not then maybe two 8800Ks.

Fred

Steve Hampton · Moderators Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL

As another option, have you considered ODNO lighting system? ODNO stands for Over Driven Normal Output. Essentially you use a 4 bulb T-8 electronic ballast and connect all four power leads to one 4 foot T-8 fluorescent bulb. This "overdrives" the bulb to produce lumen's equivalent to 100-120W from that same 32W bulb. I use 3 overdriven lamps over my 75G gallon tank and it has produced the best results of any lighting system I've ever used. The bulbs are only $3-$4 each and last about 6 months...actually mine have been in since January and my Glosso is still growing horizontal and all my reds are intense.

I built my lighting system with 3 electronic ballast, 3 sets of end caps, reflective mylar, and a simple 5 sided wooden box enclosure.

This method of ODNO was developed by some folks over at ReefCentral a couple of years ago, and while it isn't quite as successful for marine tanks where small changes in spectral output can have a significant effect, those spectral shifts in planted tanks are easily compensated for by the plants. IMO and recent experiences, ODNO is a perfect fit for planted tanks. If my PC lighting over my 55G tank goes belly up, I'll replace it with ODNO lighting.
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Cyradia · Moderators Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Winston-Salem, NC

I would love to know more about ODNO, but those terms you used just scared me. Wink

Give me some links to learn about it?
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ISquishWorms · New Members Joined: 06 Feb 2003

You can read some info about it here. Wink

http://www.aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=90

ISquishWorms.

revengeishere · Members Joined: 23 Jul 2003

Cy, have you considered low cost lighting? Like daylight or genereic full spectrum bulbs? I just read an article comparing them, and they have about the same effeciencies as the more expensive ones(the expensive ones are abbout 1-5% more effecient, the difference is just too small)..

Steve Hampton · Moderators Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL

Cyradia · Moderators Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Winston-Salem, NC

OK, I'm probably repeating a bunch of things, but let me see if I got this straight. Over a 75 gallon tank I could comfortably overdrive 3, 4 foot long bulbs. To do this, I would need 3 ballasts. Each ballast is a magentic ballast designed to run 4 bulbs, but through some splicing I'm running all four sets of wires into one bulb.

1. What do I need / need to know about the process of splicing and hooking the ballast up to the bulbs? Is this where endcaps come into play? What are the important things to know about endcaps? Is there a brand or part number I should keep in mind?

2. What kind of wire do I need to splice things? What are the safety hazards of this? (A fried Cyradia is a very sad thing.)

3. I'll be designing / building the wooden box canopy at the same time. Any big tips you have as far as design with these things? How about the heat produced by the bulbs. Do I need to put a fan or two in there?

4. Do you keep glass between your canopy and tank? I have two pieces of glass sitting over my tanks, but they often get dirty and I often wonder how much light they're blocking. If you remove them, does the evaporation not give you moisture issues in your lighting set-up?

5. Out of curiosity, did you notice any increase in your power bill when you went to these?
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panaque · Regulars Joined: 08 Sep 2003 Location: snohomish, WA

I have a 75 that I am currently using 4 40 wattbulbs in two shoplight fixtues...the one thing I have learned from growing things is that the closer the light the better...my bulbs are about one inch from the water...I used a piece of glass in my home made canopy that is fitted into the top. The tank is actually open top in a way since the only cover is on the lights themselves. I used a vent fan to cool/dehumidify the chamber...the lights are close but totally safe. I am not sure how you intend to use all those ballasts on your tank...the bulb as far as I know determines the output, not the ballast...BE CAREFUL CYRADIA!!! I agree that you would be better off unfried! I plan to put up pics of my tank as soon as I figure out how to use my camcorder which has a memory stick for pictures.
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