Lighting upgrade

[tomterp80]

I spent a bit of time talking with Ali and others at the January meeting, and among other topics I'm interested in upgrading my lighting situation for my 75 gallon tank. At present I have 4 48" T-12 flourescent tubes, but two of the tubs have no reflectors aside from the white insulating panel on the lid of the tank. I reallly like the AH supply 96 watt "beast" but not sure it will fit with it' 7" width, and still allow me to keep a pair of the existing tubes.

I think Ali mentioned Helios fixtures. Upon further research it looks like they are phasing out their T5-II series, to be replaced by T5-III series (replacable bulbs, being one new feature).

I'd be interested in suggestions for options I might have in upgrading at least half my lighting, if not all of it.

As a reference, here is a picture of my existing lighting scheme. Note that two bulbs are covered with white reflectors, the other two lay over the filter compartment in the near left corner, just barely fit.

[Jeff120]

How about 4 55 watt power compact from AH supply

[MarkP]

I can't tell for certain, but if those bulbs are T12's, it certainly looks as if you'd have the space for the AH Supply reflector/lights, or at least it would be close. You would need something to mount it to- The AH Supply kit screws into a board running over the top of the lights (If that makes any sense). A peice of 1x4 running over the area where your bare lights are right now might work perfectly for you?

AH Supply reflectors are 4" wide- Is the 7" you have the play with the side of the tank before the bow front starts? How much space beween the rearmost reflector and the back of the hood?

Could also replace all the lights, as Jeff suggested. If you want to go that route, might I suggest the 2 Bulb 96 Watt kit from AH-Supply? It's about 34" x 7", so would fit in your hood, and 192 Watts of CF with the AH Supply reflectors should be much brighter then the 160 watts of T-12 you have now.

If you prefer the 4x55 watt method suggested by Jeff- If so, AHSupply will, upon request, give you the double bulb reflectors for the 55 Watt kit. You get 2 reflectors about 22" by 7".

AH Supply will also make some recommendations for you if you email them- When I did the lighting for my 110, they were very helpfull.

I might mention that they ended up recommending a 4x55 system for my 110- It was a LOT of light compared to the 4 F40T12 lights that the tank had when I bought it.

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

2 x 150W DE MH baby! Bulbs are 3" long. Refletors are 6x9" or so.
If you don't want to go MH - HO T-5 retro kits are a good option too.

[tomterp80]

Appreciate the input folks.

If you look at the picture closely, you'll see there are two glass supports about 30" apart, running from front to back, on the light fixtures will rest. There are 3 top panels (which have been removed and are not in the picture), since they are finished in the same way as the tank I am committed to using them, and really like that I can pick up one or all 3 as need arises (feeding, or maintenance). So I don't want to attach the lights to anything, just lay them on top of the supports.

The 2 bulb 96 watt would fit in the front (or in the back), but would not extend to the corners, so one concern is would enough light reach the far sides of the tank? It was this concern that made me think of putting the 2x96 fixture in the back, where it would fit replacing the naked bulbs currently in place, and allow the longer 48" tubes to remain in front.

The idea of getting 2 units of 2 x 55 won't work easily, since neither one is long enough to span the distance between the supports.

I think when I get home tonight I'm going to cut a couple of surrogate fixtures out of cardboard and mix and match a bit. It may also be feasible to have 1x96 in the front, and 1x96 in the back, and preserve two long T-12 tubes in the center. Just thinking out loud here....

[Jeff120]

The 55 watt kits wouldnt have to span the gap, attach them to a canopy that will rest on the edge of the aquarium.

[Cristy Keister]

I'm not sure about T-5s, but you definitely can't lay the PC bulbs or their reflectors on glass. The heat will break the glass.

[tomterp80]

I'm not sure about T-5s, but you definitely can't lay the PC bulbs or their reflectors on glass. The heat will break the glass.

Flourescent tubes don't get very hot, which is a major advantage. Also, the glass these rest on is very heavy duty, about 1/2" thick.

[tomterp80]

The 55 watt kits wouldnt have to span the gap, attach them to a canopy that will rest on the edge of the aquarium.

Whatever lighting option I choose has to remain within the lighting compartment at the top due spousal regulation. Besides, it's our cat's favorite "away" spot to sleep.

It would be fairly simple for me to add additional cross supports, since a glass rail exists on each side for affixing such a support.

Actually, if I did this, I could fit 2 fixtures end to end and get great coverage in the front corners.

[MarkP]

Ah! I got you now- The lid of the enclosure is the 3 top panels.

The canopy Jeff mentions is pictured on http://www.ahsupply.com/diy.htm. You can also use the plastic shell that stock NO Fl. lights come in. Each enclosure contains 2 22" bulb, set end-to-end, so is about 46" long (You need some extra room for the end caps, etc) and spans the gap fine.

I would use a 4x55 as Jeff suggested- Divide the tank into "quarters", and place a 55 watt bulb over the center of each quarter, inside one of the enclosures mentioned. You would have room to place those NO FL's in between the 2 rows if you wanted.

Have you seen an AH Supply setup? Based on my eyeball mearsurements, the reflectors make a huge difference, and you may find you don't need the F40T12's anymore. Course, my eyeballs aren't exactly labrotary grade PAR Meters, and you may like higher light then I do.