# Modified Hampton Bay Light



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I used to have the Home Depot Hampton Bay desk lamp as a light fixture on a nano tank:









I got rid of that tank over a year ago, but kept the lamp. It has sat on my desk just taking up space, making me wonder what to do with it. A recent post in the Lighting forum about modifying an existing hood to take the guts of this lamp intrigued me, so I decided to convert mine to a light for a ten gallon tank. Here is the sketch I made:









A couple of hours in the garage got me this far:










Notice that my goal is to capture much of the light from the back of the bulb and direct it down into the aquarium. I will use aluminum foil glued onto the wood form as a reflector. More details to follow as I proceed.


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## angel919 (Apr 26, 2006)

flat white paint reflects light better then aluminum foil. If you can get yourself some Mylar that would be best. Its developed by NASA and reflects something like 95% light. You can find it at hydroponic stores if you live close to one.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Several months ago I tested white paint, aluminum foil, and aluminized mylar as reflectors. To my surprise the mylar was the poorest of the three. White paint was probably the best for uniformly lighting the aquarium, but aluminum foil was just about the same, if not a bit better directly under the light. The mylar I used was good quality heavy mylar, with aluminizing on both sides, so very little, if any light went through it. My conclusion was that, for a shaving mirror, where you want a true reflection of something, mylar is far superior, but for total reflectance, the ability to reflect the maximum of light, the paint and aluminum foil were the best. 

I'm trying to do this project without spending a dime - I had the wood scraps and the light fixture, so I'm just rearranging stuff. If I were to spend some money I would shop for flat "ultra white" paint, in a spray can, since I still believe that is the best reflector for the crudely shaped reflectors we can make. The money I will spend is for a method to suspend this above the tank, using the technique described here: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...cts/49693-diy-cantilevered-light-fixture.html


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

With the inner part of the "W" reflector glued in and the glue drying. On the right is the top of the reflector, held on with 4 screws, the bracket for the bulb socket, and the socket.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

I LOVE those hampton bay lights. Cheapest lighting for nanos ever. This will be very interesting, I'll be watching this one.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The bulb has now been installed, two views showing the bulb with its spring clip and socket, from the original lamp, and the top of the fixture, showing where the ballast and wiring will go.



















Almost all of the wood is 1/4" hardboard (MDF), and everything except the removable top is attached with yellow glue only.


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## angel919 (Apr 26, 2006)

can't wait to see it operating


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The ballast is now installed.


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## Captain Hooked (Oct 13, 2008)

Hoppy,

So glad you posted your findings about reflective surfaces. I was just designing a DIY fixture myself and I thought for _sure_ mylar would be superior to just about anything else. 

I wonder how a piece of reasonably buffed aluminum stock would do...

No matter- white paint it is!

Thanks!


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## customdrumfinishes (Apr 4, 2008)

how big are those hampton bay lights? the bulbs look huge in pic. since ive never seen one before, what wattage are they? and the ballast is just taken from the lamp housing i guess. 
the hood will cover the whole 10g? 
im about to do 2 10g tanks so im intereted. thanks


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## customdrumfinishes (Apr 4, 2008)

Captain Hooked said:


> Hoppy,
> 
> So glad you posted your findings about reflective surfaces. I was just designing a DIY fixture myself and I thought for _sure_ mylar would be superior to just about anything else.
> 
> ...


ive been using metal flashing used in roof valleys etc. bending it like a regular reflactor, wonder if its worth a dam for reflection? its shiny! and cheap


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The Hampton Bay light is a 27 watt bulb, and it is about 4 inches long - 4 tubes. All of the electrical parts are from the original lamp, including the ballast. This reflector is smaller than a 10 gallon tank, but I will be suspending it above the tank, and doing a non-CO2 tank, so I think it may work ok. The way I plan to suspend it is: 









This is a parallelogram linkage that attaches to the wall behind the tank, and allows the fixture to swing up and down, keeping the light pointed down at the tank. It will give me about 6 inches of vertical movement without the center of the light moving too much fore and aft. I have my other tank set up this way.


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## 17882 (Aug 25, 2008)

This is awesome! I'm in the middle of designing something very similar, though with sheet metal. Well, design is done....just need a free weekend to go home and put it all together (no tools at school). 

Can't wait to see it all finished!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It is fully assembled, electrically, and here is how it looks, with white painted reflective surfaces, and with aluminum foil just laying on the same surfaces:
















This convinces me that it will work best with aluminum foil glued to the reflective surfaces. The white spray paint I had on hand just isn't "ultra" white, so I suspected it wouldn't be as effective as I hoped.


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## lovingHDTV (Oct 15, 2008)

Add a mylar shot, you could go buy a cheap mylar balloon to test the reflectivity.

dave


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

I think a glossy chrome-colored spraypaint would be better than using foil. Look at all those micro-wrinkles and crinkles directing light away from where you want it to go. It's just not the best way to go. Ultimately, several coats of plain, flat white would be the best. But the chromey, mirror-like surface of mylar helps to reflect the "hot spot" of the point-of-source lighting, so there's pros and cons to each choice.

I think you should just put another few coats of white there.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Hoppy said:


> It is fully assembled, electrically, and here is how it looks, with white painted reflective surfaces, and with aluminum foil just laying on the same surfaces:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't know Hoppy... personally I agree with tests that show that alu foil is not a good reflector, and much worse of a diffuser than white paint. Looking at your comparison shots, it seems like the left image is underexposed, and the right one overexposed (comparatively speaking) and therefore you highlight the superiority of aluminum foil. Covering only HALF of the reflecting surface with foil would give a good comparison.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I didn't believe either white paint or aluminum foil would work well as an aquarium light reflective surface, but my testing convinced me that both are good, and about equal. Our eyes fool us when we try to judge reflectance just by looking at the light. Mylar looks much more reflective, but isn't nearly as good as white paint and aluminum foil. Mylar is great for a mirror, but it just reflects 60% of the light and does it very accurately, so it looks good. White paint and aluminum foil, even wrinkled, reflect far more of the light, but not at all accurately. That inaccuracy is good for an aquarium light, because it spreads out the light more evenly. In any case, I didn't want to buy another can of spray paint, hoping for a more white white, so I went with aluminum foil. All three surfaces, mylar, al foil and white paint work, but there are significant differences.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The light fixture is finished now. Tomorrow I will start on the supporting linkage.


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

wow hoppy, ur really good at DIY'ing things!!!! ever thought of selling DIY lights? id be interested


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Wasserpest said:


> I don't know Hoppy... personally I agree with tests that show that alu foil is not a good reflector, and much worse of a diffuser than white paint. Looking at your comparison shots, it seems like the left image is underexposed, and the right one overexposed (comparatively speaking) and therefore you highlight the superiority of aluminum foil. Covering only HALF of the reflecting surface with foil would give a good comparison.


+1
You need to manually control the camera and use the same aperture, ss, and ISO on all shots for the comparison to mean anything at all.

I'm getting a PAR meter on loan next weekend and I'll try to corroborate your findings. Frankly, from my past experience with indoor gardening and just playing around with aluminum foil, I find it hard to believe. I'd love to be proven wrong though. I'll post when I find out.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

Hoppy said:


> Mylar is great for a mirror, but it just reflects 60% of the light and does it very accurately, so it looks good.


What kind of mylar did you use? The stuff used in hydroponics is like 98% reflective...


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

macclellan said:


> What kind of mylar did you use? The stuff used in hydroponics is like 98% reflective...


It was heavy (5 mil, as I recall), aluminized on both sides, which I got from a guy in Hawaii, who had it left over from a project he did. I used a PAR meter, borrowed from Tom Barr, to check the effectiveness of the reflective surfaces. I wasn't trying to test that at the time, but it was suggested that I try it, so I did, in two different light fixtures. To simplify things and make it much easier to do I did my measurements in air, not in the water. (I was more interested in the variation of intensity with distance from the bulb at that time.)

I hope several people will do this type of testing. Any one of us can make dumb mistakes, but with more people doing it, we can eliminate those mistakes, I hope. I plan on doing more testing, only in the water, in a few months or sooner. One thing I am interested in now is the effect of reflected light off the front and rear glass. And, I want to get some good PAR readings at the substrate level for different light configurations.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

fishman9809 said:


> wow hoppy, ur really good at DIY'ing things!!!! ever thought of selling DIY lights? id be interested


About 5 years ago I did a lot of making things for people, for money. It was fun, but eventually I ruined my carpal tunnels, and had to get corrective surgery on them. Then, a strange thing happened - I got older. So, I quit that and do things I want only, with rare exceptions for family. Now, I don't even have a workshop, just a corner of the garage, and only hand tools - powered, but not fixed position tools like table saw, band saw, drill press, etc. It is still fun though.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Wow hoppy! That looks truly professional  Another good build


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## essabee (Oct 7, 2006)

As I do build all my tank tops, I have tried white paint, aluminum foils but have settled on the smooth finished white laminate they sell for table-tops. More water proof, easier to clean, and longer lasting (have not changed any for the last 5 years and they look as new).


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

either way, that fixture looks real nice! looks like it could be a great pendant!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Tonight I realized that the ballast in that lamp actually drives two 13.5 watt bulbs - those 4 tube bulbs are 4 pin bulbs with 2 independent, attached 2 tube bulbs. So, one could use a pair of cheap 13 watt 2 pin bulbs in place of the bulb used in the lamp. This would allow you to make a fixture for a 10 gallon tank that would span the length of the tank, with the two 13 watt bulbs in a line. You would need to buy a pair of sockets to fit the bulbs, but otherwise the parts from the lamp would still be used (which I suppose is just the ballast.) Just brainstorming here.......


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## 17882 (Aug 25, 2008)

Hoppy said:


> Tonight I realized that the ballast in that lamp actually drives two 13.5 watt bulbs - those 4 tube bulbs are 4 pin bulbs with 2 independent, attached 2 tube bulbs. So, one could use a pair of cheap 13 watt 2 pin bulbs in place of the bulb used in the lamp. This would allow you to make a fixture for a 10 gallon tank that would span the length of the tank, with the two 13 watt bulbs in a line. You would need to buy a pair of sockets to fit the bulbs, but otherwise the parts from the lamp would still be used (which I suppose is just the ballast.) Just brainstorming here.......



Hmm, thats good to know. Using two 13 watts could mean using two parabolic reflectors.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I know it would cut down the cost effectiveness of a DIY project but have you ever thought about buying the largest AHS reflector and hacking it up to suit your needs for these smaller fixtures? Im sure you could make 3 or 4 out of one of the reflectors so that ~$7 per DIY fixture in reflector cost.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

bsmith782 said:


> I know it would cut down the cost effectiveness of a DIY project but have you ever thought about buying the largest AHS reflector and hacking it up to suit your needs for these smaller fixtures? Im sure you could make 3 or 4 out of one of the reflectors so that ~$7 per DIY fixture in reflector cost.


Yes, I did think of buying an AHS reflector, but my wife wasn't at all happy that I was spending still more money on a 10 gallon tank I probably won't keep going more than 6 months. So, I convinced her by pointing out that the fixture didn't cost a penny (at that time).

I have started on the parallelogram linkage to "hang" it with. The materials for that cost about $7 total, because I visited a scrap metal, etc. place very close to me that sells lots of aluminum extrusions for ridiculously low prices compared to the Ace Hardware store. (I may spend a week of vacation in that store some day! It beats most resorts for sheer fun.) Here are the parts for the linkage, before drilling and tapping holes and assembling them.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

So you bought the AHS reflector.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

bsmith782 said:


> So you bought the AHS reflector.


Nope, I made the whole light fixture for $0. I just thought about the AHS reflector. I think about a lot of things!


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Me too. If I but one if their reflectors for my 2x55 ill let you know. Id be happy to send you the extras.



Hoppy said:


> Nope, I made the whole light fixture for $0. I just thought about the AHS reflector. I think about a lot of things!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It is finished! All that is left is using Loctite on the fixed pivot screws so they don't come loose, painting the mounting board to match the wall, and mounting it on the wall above the tank.


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## prjct92eh2 (Apr 8, 2008)

bsmith782 said:


> I know it would cut down the cost effectiveness of a DIY project but have you ever thought about buying the largest AHS reflector and hacking it up to suit your needs for these smaller fixtures? Im sure you could make 3 or 4 out of one of the reflectors so that ~$7 per DIY fixture in reflector cost.


I have 3 Hamptom Bay fixtures with AHS reflectors in my 38 gallon. Seems to work well, but i have nothing to compare it to other than the stock light.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

^ nice DIY.

You sealed the connections well to prevent corrosion due to moisture?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

That does look like a very nice DIY job. Thanks for the pics.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That is a very nice looking job! Three of the lamps bite the dust and you end up with a 81 watt light. Is that a DIY enclosure, or a standard fixture enclosure? And, it looks like you have a fan or fans in there too, right? I can't find that desk lamp in Home Depot's website now, so I don't know what they cost. But, as I recall, it was less than $30 each.


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## prjct92eh2 (Apr 8, 2008)

epicfish said:


> You sealed the connections well to prevent corrosion due to moisture?


Of course. Everything is soldered, heat shrinked and zip tied. Although there is plexiglass on the stock hood that i put more silicone around, so little to no moisture gets to the light enclosure.



Hoppy said:


> That is a very nice looking job! Three of the lamps bite the dust and you end up with a 81 watt light. Is that a DIY enclosure, or a standard fixture enclosure? And, it looks like you have a fan or fans in there too, right? I can't find that desk lamp in Home Depot's website now, so I don't know what they cost. But, as I recall, it was less than $30 each.


The enclosure is the standard issue Petsmart deal gutted out. 3 fans, one on each side and one on the top. The black box in the pic is an old cell phone charger turned fan power supply. The lamps are $19.99 at HD. Can't beat ~$70 for 81 watts and a stock look. They've been going strong almost a year without any problems. I'll post a couple more pics, but don't want to whore out your thread.

Mid-assembly









Back on the tank (old HOB filters, plastic plants and all!)









Semi recent


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I mounted the Hampton Bay based light today. I had to first replace the locking knobs on it with bigger ones, to get enough tightening torque to hold the fixture in the set position. Here is how it looks installed, in the normal height above the tank.
















And lowered as far as possible:









And, finally raised for tank maintenance:









I will be setting this tank up as a low to medium light, mineralized topsoil, Excel tank next, week probably. This is aimed at convincing me I can do that type of tank successfully, before I switch my 45 gallon tank to that method and substrate.


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## Left C (Nov 15, 2003)

That is really nice, hoppy! I really like your parallelogram linkage for hanging the fixture.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Very cool! I remember making hinges like that for little bulldozers when I was younger


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

clwatkins10 said:


> Very cool! I remember making hinges like that for little bulldozers when I was younger


An aquarium light is just a bigger bulldozer, huh? The only halfway hard part about making a fixture like that is the method for holding it in one position. The knobs I used are 1/4 - 20 threaded, and screw onto flat head screws that are countersunk into the back of the aluminum plates attached to the light fixture. It takes that much oomph to resist the torque from the weight of the fixture. And, there is a star washer, a lock washer, between the moveable link bar and the alumnum plate to add enough friction so the knobs can hold it. But it works very well.

I've been nagging Jeremy at Oregon Aqua Design to sell the parts as a kit.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Hoppy said:


> An aquarium light is just a bigger bulldozer, huh? The only halfway hard part about making a fixture like that is the method for holding it in one position. The knobs I used are 1/4 - 20 threaded, and screw onto flat head screws that are countersunk into the back of the aluminum plates attached to the light fixture. It takes that much oomph to resist the torque from the weight of the fixture. And, there is a star washer, a lock washer, between the moveable link bar and the alumnum plate to add enough friction so the knobs can hold it. But it works very well.
> 
> I've been nagging Jeremy at Oregon Aqua Design to sell the parts as a kit.


Couldn't you just attach a spring (the kind that you pull, not compress) going diagonally from the top corner of the side of the hinge that is attached to the wall to the bottom corner of the side of the hinge that attaches to the light fixture so that you don't have to screw the knob down so hard?
EDIT: Like this


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

clwatkins10 said:


> Couldn't you just attach a spring (the kind that you pull, not compress) going diagonally from the top corner of the side of the hinge that is attached to the wall to the bottom corner of the side of the hinge that attaches to the light fixture so that you don't have to screw the knob down so hard?
> EDIT: Like this


Yes, that would be a very worthwhile addition, and I may try that if I can find a suitable spring. I was trying to keep it as simple as I could, and was concerned that finding a spring that was strong enough to be effective, but not so strong as to be too effective, would be a problem. Obviously, the spring would be different for heavier or lighter fixtures.

Now that I think about it, the store where I bought the aluminum pieces also sells lots of springs.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

To answer one last question about using the short Hampton Bay light for a 10 gallon tank, it does appear to provide enough coverage to light the ends of the tank well enough. You can see that the intensity is less at the ends, but I think this will work fine. Here it is a day after I "aquascaped" the tank:










Once our local plant group gets a PAR meter ready for use I will check the intensity at the substrate level, at each end and the middle.


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

I have been thinking of taking my lamp apart and rigging something up more like a standard light fixture for my 5.5 gallon tank, so I'm glad I found this thread!

One question, why did you set the inside surface up like a "W" shape instead of a "v" or just a plain squared shape like a shoebox?


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Hoppy,

This is one of the better DIY assemblies I have seen. Very impressive. 

That little linkage arm is totally sweet. :thumbsup:


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

crudnugget said:


> I have been thinking of taking my lamp apart and rigging something up more like a standard light fixture for my 5.5 gallon tank, so I'm glad I found this thread!
> 
> One question, why did you set the inside surface up like a "W" shape instead of a "v" or just a plain squared shape like a shoebox?


See the sketch in the first post in this thread. The outward sloping surfaces are to reflect the light from the back of the bulb tubes outwards so it doesn't restrike the tubes again, as a shoebox shaped reflector would do. The inward sloped surfaces are to catch that outward reflection and redirect it down into the tank. I made no effort to optimize the angles, as I should have done, but it seems to do fine in any case. This fixture would work well on a 5.5 gallon tank.

Glenn - thank you for the compliment! It is working fine, but it is too early to say it is enough light for a 10 gallon tank. My crypts are melting, as expected, but some new shoots are appearing too. And, the ludwigia looks very good, with some tiny new growth showing up. Yesterday I put 3 corydorus cats in it to keep the plants company.


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

Thanks for the explanation, that makes a lot of sense to me. Maybe I'll undertake this project this weekend.


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## redman88 (Dec 12, 2008)

i like the idea do you think 2 of this lights would help kill algae on a 10 gallon tank


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Lights won't kill algae. In fact the more light you have the better the algae will grow. I think it would be pretty easy to make a two light fixture for a 10 gallon tank. But, by then you would have spent over $40 just for the Hampton Bay desk lights, and there are probably more cost effective ways to get that much light. But, if you, like me, have the desk lights already, and they aren't being used as such, a two light fixture would be a very good project.


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## redman88 (Dec 12, 2008)

hmm well i haven't found anything that would be cheaper. and as i have read brown algae doesn't do well with more light


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Nice diy!!!


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## amp (Dec 2, 2008)

Sweet! I want to get one of those lights for my 5gal project.


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