diy lighting that a blonde chick can understand lol

Discussion in 'Planted Tanks' started by windfire, Nov 24, 2009.

  1. windfire

    windfire

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    hey guys so the big trek is looming il be moving my tanks and the rest of my stuff back to joburg on friday. my 40litre wil be strapped in on the back seat and the small one on the passenger seat floor. now i dont get as much natural light in my room as i do here as the tanks were right by the window, so il be needing some sort of lighting for the 40litre planted. iv read a couple of the DIY lighting threads here and i cant make head or tail of it, i know a screw in and a clip thingy bulb and thats as far as it goes lol.

    il be getting my dad or possibly my boyfriend to help me assemble it but i need to know what to buy and im truely at a loss and im hoping to assemble it this weekend as il be rescaping it and adding new plants which will probably last maximum a week without proper lighting, il be adding watersprites,swords and anubias and possibly keeping the one lyssimachia.

    Iv got a standard black plastic hood which iv cut into to make a space for the filter, heating cable and air tube and the condensation is alot less as a result. i have a problem with both my tanks with water running down the sides of the tank from the hood which i dont know how to fix but thats another thing, though i am assuming the lighting unit would have to be sealed to prevent the condensation getting into it.

    thanx in advance for the help:bigsmile:
    windfire (blonde chick with all the things that go with that lol)
     
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  3. dougbb

    dougbb

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    Hi, What sort of lights would you like? long tube ones or bulbs that fit into normal light fittings?

    When I read DIY lighting i thought i could convert you to using led's, however that would involve a little more diy than you are planning.
     
  4. OP
    windfire

    windfire

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    tubes i guess. which will be better for the plants? what would fitting the LEDs entail? i want a tank that looks as awesum as the ones iv seen here. would LEDs fit in my hood? i have to have the hood as my platys are suicidal most of the time lol oh and whats the difference between LEDs and tubes?
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2009
  5. dougbb

    dougbb

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    Tubes are the fluorescent ones. You know what i mean? They are really easy to do, can buy an electric ballast from a petshop or electronics shop, where are you based? Other guys might have different view points but in mine thats the easiest. A ballast for under R100 and a tube will have you sorted. If you want a highlight setup you can then add more. LEDs are totally different, they are those tiny lights you see on electronic equipment like gate controls etc. see mine here ...http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=1921&highlight=dougbb
     
  6. OP
    windfire

    windfire

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    yeah i think so they use em in classrooms and such like. im in joburg south near mulbarton. how much light would the tube setup give and would it be enough for the plants i want to use do you think? now if i was still talking to the electronic engineer student staying with me i might get him to help with the LEDs but i cant stand to be near him even after all this time so i think tubings my best bet. if itll provide enough light

    ok had a look at another site that has a good plant directory proving you know what you looking for and the lyssimachia needs bright light according to them, though they use the 'aurea' variety and i have the green which might tolerate less light, and the swords need high light, the sprites need medium light and the anubias can handle any which my one bears out doing well in my present tank with minimal light. anyone disagree?
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2009
  7. dougbb

    dougbb

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    lol chat to the engineer! They like to feel useful! What sort of plants do u have? im not too good on lighting amounts though, i'm sure 2moro some of the more experienced guys will give advice though!
     
  8. OP
    windfire

    windfire

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    at the moment i have lyssimachia nummelaria, amazon sword, anubias, java fern and some other plant i did identify but i forget what its called. the lyssimachia is not doing very well and i trimmed the back plant right down the the substrate today because it has essentially died and i cant pull it out because it will pull up the potting soil aswell which dirties my tank *shudders* the java is also doing badly but thats just cos of the pond snails, i think they ramshorns, wont leave it alone, its still alive the leaves are just almost non exsistant.

    as for the engineer the sob bought a kitten in the beginning of the year and 2 months ago she needed to be spayed and he decided he didnt want her anymore, according to him he gave her to his cousin but i have good reason to believe he dumped her. as far as she was concerned she was my cat and i loved her alot, she was my baby, iv got pics of her watching my fish and she was always around when i cleaned the tank and used to investigate what i was doing. i worry bout her constantly but he wont take me to see her which makes me worry more, i havnt spoken to him since the day i found out he tried to dump her when i went home for a doc appointment and as much as i would like the lights i cant even be civil to him and if i could id do some serious damage to him, luckily for him im a pacifist and have never been able to raise a hand to anyone. i was seriously considering an attack on his beer though involving turned off fridges and shaken bottles. i spent more time than anyone with her and she spent the june holidays with me because everyone went home and they wanted to leave her alone and she only 3months old and used to people around constantly so i drove back to pta to fetch her. if i could have i would have taken her home but my cat would have killed her, shes used to being the queen of the house and was not happy with the interloper. anyway thats my rant il stop now.
     
  9. Gaawie

    Gaawie Wannabe

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    Could you give me the url for that site, it sounds really useful :)

    Your neighbor Sounds like an @$$...
     
  10. OP
    windfire

    windfire

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    sure its another forum site, www.aquahobby.com, they have tabs on the side one for fish and one for plants. iv found it very useful in the past and the conditions are shown nicely for light, tempreture and substrate, the pics are not bad either.
     
  11. Khalid

    Khalid Loricariidae

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    This will be useful – very very easy but effective
    http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?p=27057#post27057
    For the condensation I use a glass/plastic panel cut to the size of the top of my tank, silicone 2cmx 2cm square glass to the sides so it will not fall into the tank- works like a charm especially in winter.
    Good luck
     
  12. Reafer

    Reafer

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    i have been using 2 of those bulbs in my 800L x 450w x 450H planted tank for about 4 months now and the tank is a jungle with the plants needing to be pruned every 2 weeks. I am using no CO2 and just adding the profs druppels . i did have an algea problem in the beginning because there was to much light and to little plants to use up the nutrients but that settled down after the plants caught up. if u do deside to use those CFL bulbs go for the screw in not the other type and get a ceramic fitting (the plastic ones fall apart ), they not expensive, about R5 .
     
  13. OP
    windfire

    windfire

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    thanx guys it looks like the CFLs are goin to work for me, now my shopping list would be cable, switch fittings and a plug yes? and how many globes would be best if i have plants that need high light?
    halleluja it posted at last lol bout the 5th time iv tried
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2009
  14. Reafer

    Reafer

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    Shopping list sounds fine , just remember screw in type bulb and make sure the fitting inside your tank wont fall apart , like the plastic ones i had did :) . To be honest with you i would maybe only start with one but i wouldnt put more than 2 in since 2 run my tank fine and its a lot bigger.
    Thanks
    Antony
     
  15. guido.coza

    guido.coza

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    Hi windfire
    I think if you have light in your hood your condansation problem will be gone. If you put energy saver "bulbs" in your hood you can get these pre fitted with a reflector from any good hardware Builders ware house or so(outside bulkhead light glass removed)
    The light spectrum is not ideal but more than sufficient, in my oppinion!
    If you go for tubes you can try in the Reptile section of a pet shop for tube holders(Ballast elc lead and cable fittings) you screw the ballast onto your hood and click the tube in place done.
    Hope it helped and have a good move.
    I wonder if the cat was watching You or rather the little snacks floating in that discusting liquid and was hoping one would jump out :bigsmile:
     
  16. OP
    windfire

    windfire

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    thanx for all the help guys, my dad is knows whats what and hes given me a shopping list but my ma has decided to pour water on the creative fire and says shes worried about electrocution and so on so shes volenteered to help me pay for a proper lighting setup, i just gota get it priced. maybe when she sees the cost she'll change her mind lol. thanx again the move went well and everyone got back safe and sound. guido i dont think she quite knew what the fish where she'd sit and stare at the glass or poke her nose over the edge but never really tried to catch any, now my cat hooks my brothers live plattie frogs out the bucket and eats em if he isnt careful lol shes a real hunter
     

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