tcyiu
10-28-2007, 06:19 PM
I picked up a free hood from someone who posted it on Craigslist.
It is a really nicely made, heavy gauge anodized aluminum hood. This thing is really sturdy. It was custom fit to an aquarium which apparently cracked and was discarded.
There are a couple of things wrong with this hood which is why the owner gave it away.
1. The tank and hood have proprietary dimensions. Meaning the hood will require some modication for it to to fit another tank.
2. But more importantly, the electrical stuff is all made for a 220V system so it cannot be used in the USA without a converter which I don't want to use because of the efficiency loss.
So this last weekend, I finally had a chance to rip everything out to begin a retro fit of the lighting system. I looked around for parts to create a new 110V T8 system. I am not looking to do a planted aquarium so the lighting is not going to be super important for me. My main oibjective was to keep the costs within reason, since this was a "free" hood after all.
After shopping around, if I used discrete parts from Home Depot, I would have needed 2x ballasts ($35 ea), 8 tombstones/endcaps ($1 ea), and 4 lamps (4x $6). Approx $100 (before tax).
If I get the fancy water proof end caps from aquaria websites, I'm looking at an additional 4x $16 (+ S&H).
But then I chanced on these undercabinet fluorescent strips at Walmart:
http://www.esplighting.com/fluorescent-under-cabinet-lights.html
(item number is 7020)
There is a "Grow Light" version for plants too. Not clear what the color temp is for either.
Anyhow, I bought one just to check it out. I like what I see. It is not heavy at all - I think it has an electronic ballast. It turns on instantaneously with no flicker. And best of all, it was only $8 ea.
With 4 of the time, I'm only out $40 (tax included)
These are really cost effective and I can bolt these into my hood very easily.
The downsides are:
1. I will need to think about water proofing them a bit.
2. Whereas the original fixture had 2x 2ft and 2x 3ft, if I were to use these fixtures, I would end up with 4x 2ft. I basically lose 2 linear feet of lighting. But I don't mind since I am not doing a planted aquarium.
Has anyone used used these before? Can anyone see anything I should be concerned about?
Thanks,
Tim
It is a really nicely made, heavy gauge anodized aluminum hood. This thing is really sturdy. It was custom fit to an aquarium which apparently cracked and was discarded.
There are a couple of things wrong with this hood which is why the owner gave it away.
1. The tank and hood have proprietary dimensions. Meaning the hood will require some modication for it to to fit another tank.
2. But more importantly, the electrical stuff is all made for a 220V system so it cannot be used in the USA without a converter which I don't want to use because of the efficiency loss.
So this last weekend, I finally had a chance to rip everything out to begin a retro fit of the lighting system. I looked around for parts to create a new 110V T8 system. I am not looking to do a planted aquarium so the lighting is not going to be super important for me. My main oibjective was to keep the costs within reason, since this was a "free" hood after all.
After shopping around, if I used discrete parts from Home Depot, I would have needed 2x ballasts ($35 ea), 8 tombstones/endcaps ($1 ea), and 4 lamps (4x $6). Approx $100 (before tax).
If I get the fancy water proof end caps from aquaria websites, I'm looking at an additional 4x $16 (+ S&H).
But then I chanced on these undercabinet fluorescent strips at Walmart:
http://www.esplighting.com/fluorescent-under-cabinet-lights.html
(item number is 7020)
There is a "Grow Light" version for plants too. Not clear what the color temp is for either.
Anyhow, I bought one just to check it out. I like what I see. It is not heavy at all - I think it has an electronic ballast. It turns on instantaneously with no flicker. And best of all, it was only $8 ea.
With 4 of the time, I'm only out $40 (tax included)
These are really cost effective and I can bolt these into my hood very easily.
The downsides are:
1. I will need to think about water proofing them a bit.
2. Whereas the original fixture had 2x 2ft and 2x 3ft, if I were to use these fixtures, I would end up with 4x 2ft. I basically lose 2 linear feet of lighting. But I don't mind since I am not doing a planted aquarium.
Has anyone used used these before? Can anyone see anything I should be concerned about?
Thanks,
Tim