# Is my DIY light adequate?



## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

If I remember right since the lighting is horizontal you wont really get intense lighting as you would IF they were Vertical.


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## Beeps (Jan 5, 2010)

I had 2 homedepot clamp ons with spiral cf"s and it worked great over my 20 long.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Those clamp ons work way better, hoppy had a write up on a dual setup that was surprisingly bright.


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## Godsnake73 (Mar 24, 2011)

If you go to home depot buy 4 key less light fixtures , 4 Carlon 1-Gang 8 cu. in. Ceiling Fan Outlet Box and get the EcoSmart 14-Watt (50W) R20 Daylight CFL Light Bulbs you might have do some minor electrical work and probably make the frame bigger but trust me it they work i have 6 on 120 gallon planted tank and is pretty bright , i recommend if you doit to start with 2 and if u need more light put 1 or 2 more .


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## h2oaggie (Feb 28, 2011)

So is the consensus that 3 bulbs placed vertically in reflectors will give me more light than 4 bulbs horizontally without reflectors?


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## Godsnake73 (Mar 24, 2011)

The EcoSmart 14-Watt (50W) R20 Daylight CFL Light Bulbs are basically a spiral bulb inside a flood type bulb so they are a spotlight .
always make sure they said daylight on the package


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## RickRS (Dec 31, 2010)

h2oaggie said:


> So is the consensus that 3 bulbs placed vertically in reflectors will give me more light than 4 bulbs horizontally without reflectors?


Check out Diagram6 from post 21 of the Power Saver sticky. While you aren't currently using the same reflector setup as the i4x4nMore's, he has more than doubled the light level from a horizontal desklamp to a vertical clamp lamp.

So the expection is for greater light with the clamp-on worklight/brooder lamp than what you get with the horizontal setup.

Will that be enough? i4x4nMore has the 120 PAR reading at 13 inches from the sensor, with a 23 watt bulb in Diagram6. Go back to Diagram5 and at 18 inches from the sensor, the same configuration of 23 watt bulb and reflector has dropped to 40-50 PAR (distance comes from adding 7.3 inches that 14x4nMore used for water level to the bulb to water level measurement given). So what's your bulb to substrate distance?

The setup you're suggesting certainly sounds to be an improvement, so I would go for it. Just not certain it will be high light.


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## Arctangent (Feb 22, 2010)

Howdy Agg.

I think the answer to the qustion of the best orientation has a great deal to do with the type of reflector used. The 'brooder lamp' (the type used in the link above) pic you posted will obviously reflect more light if the bulb is vertical because the reflector has a symmetrical vertical axis. If the reflector had a horizontal central axis ( like most T5/MH fixtures, and the one you built), it would most likely reflect more light when the bulbs are horizontal. Note that the reflector for the horizontal bulb in the comparison posted in the link above is does not have any symmetrical horizontal axis and therefore, in my opinion, flaws the comparison. If two bulbs were tested horizontal and vertical without any reflectors, and the vetical orientation gave more PAR, I would concede that indeed vertical orientation does give more light (although I suspect that the opposite is true!)

I would leave your light like you have it since it's already built...Although it would do better if the horizontal reflectors were angled, not vertical. 92 watts of well spaced CFL should be plenty on a 29.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

I suspect the size of the reflector matters too. With your current set up the reflector is really narrow. The brooder reflector has a whole lot more area per bulb.

If you could cobble up a wider reflector from wood strips or some sort of cylinder cut lengthwise for cheap up try that but I do like those brooders a lot.


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## Arctangent (Feb 22, 2010)

The brooder is a good design...semi paribolic with the bulb centered on axis, and the vertical orientation causes minimal restrike. Nice and simple, good bang for the buck. I still think th OP will be fine with his DIY light. It's hard to tell, but looks like it has a good finish on it. In which case I'd say it looks better than the brooder.


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## h2oaggie (Feb 28, 2011)

Thank you for all the input. I have decided to stick with my DIY light for the time being and save for a T5HO rig. Hopefully I can upgrade in the near future.


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Lets see a picture of the tank with that light please.


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## h2oaggie (Feb 28, 2011)

Here are some images of the tank with my DIY light fixture. Mind you the pictures appear much brighter than they really are. In the second image you can see plants low to the substrate barely making it. Please ignore the cloudy water as well, I was out of town and missed a water change.


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## Chewyy (Feb 2, 2011)

Good lighting.


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## dubvstudent (Jan 10, 2009)

I agree with Arctangent on this one. The reflector makes all the difference. I use a similar setup on one of my tanks> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/123976-dubvs-15-gallon-56k.html < and it works out well. I use only 2 of those bulbs but the tank is about half the size. I went to Lowes and got some stove pipe (prob $5 for 3' and) and made two end-caps out of wood, spray painted the thing black, and hung it.


















This is by no means a great reflector but it has worked well for me. I have been able to grow a full and thick carpet of HC which many will tell you takes med-high light.

IMO you have plenty of light for that tank. You just need to tweak your fixture and setup so that it works for you.

You make a good point there with the depth though. For your 29 gallon your distance from water surface to substrate is closer to 20" vs. 12 in a 15.


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## h2oaggie (Feb 28, 2011)

I think the lack of a decent reflector, small size of the fixture as well as the horizontal bulb orientation greatly reduces the output. Instead of continuing to mess with this DIY I ordered a proper T5HO fixture. Looking forwards to setting that up this week.


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