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DIY Lighting question

Discussion in 'Aquarium Equipment & Decor' started by AKGEO, Mar 8, 2009.

  1. AKGEO

    AKGEO Thread Starter Member

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    I have a question regarding lighting.

    I have access to a ton of ballasts and other electrical parts. I need to beef up my lighting system for a 75 gallon tank I just bought. Basically I have a standard 4' single tube 40 watt hood, and was wondering If I can fit more bulbs in the hood, provided I have the correct ballast. are there heat issues (larger ballast)? Is there a more efficient way to cram a bunch of watts in a standard hood? Compact, or Retrofit? I have no idea where to start, I only know I will need a lot more light in this tank to keep the plants going.

    Thanks for any help/input!
     
    AKGEO, Mar 8, 2009
    #1
  2. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    LemonDiscus, Mar 8, 2009
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  3. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

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    yea you defilently can just becare ful of over heating
     
    stevenrox, Mar 8, 2009
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  4. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Mine only gets slightly warm... I can pull the lights out when lit and it does not burn... and the ballasts are pretty hot but I placed them in the back where the hood is open so they ventilate well..
     
    LemonDiscus, Mar 9, 2009
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  5. AKGEO

    AKGEO Thread Starter Member

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    I just picked up a 260W oddysea light off of Craigslist, So im set for the 75 gallon. Since I have all the parts though, I am going to continue to build this one up for my current 55. So far I have gutted a shop light with a ballast for dual 40W bulbs and have the parts installed in the aquarium hood. As soon as I can dig up some reflective material, I should be set to go. Does anyone know if the switch, which was originally for a single tube setup, would be able to run the dual setup? Same power supply, im just not sure if the new ballast has a different requirements.
     
    AKGEO, Mar 10, 2009
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  6. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    If the ballast was for 1 bulb I would not try to run 2.... If you are talking about putting the 2 ballasts on the same switch, you can do that. I spliced the AC IN on the Ballasts together and put a plug on the 2 ballasts that goes into one timer... my 3rd ballast is by itself on another plug and timer..
     
    LemonDiscus, Mar 10, 2009
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  7. AKGEO

    AKGEO Thread Starter Member

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    The original was a single tube/ballast setup, and I replaced it with a double tube/ballast setup. I was just wondering about the switch from the single tube setup, for use on the double tube setup.

    Thanks for all the help!
     
    AKGEO, Mar 10, 2009
    #7