Low Energy Lightbulbs

[shrimply]

I found this place for bulbs and thought I would post it as it has to be the cheapset you will find. £30 for 150w plus free delivary.

After you add on £2 per bulb for fittings it is a total of £40.

I was looking at paying £50 for 110w of interpet T5s so this is deffinatly the way to go.

Here is the site

Cheap light bulbs

 

[KrayzieVanh]

Well I've finally done it B)

2 * 25 watt 6500K low energy bulbs, looks great it was cheap and easy.

Arfie

got any pictures?

 

[Arfie]

Hi Shrimply, that's where I got mine from, I posted a link early on in this thread, they were nice and quick with delivery too.

I just went for the 2 * 25 watt bulbs and it was probably not a massive saving over "normal" aquarium bulbs, but if I decided I wanted more or less light, I can just swap bulbs, no worries about a ballast.

If I was on for 150 watts, I'm not sure I'd bother doing it this way for a £10 saving and having to fit 5 bulbs in, rather than the neater 2 bulb setup of the interpet system.

I do have some photo's, but I've got to reinstall the camera software before I can upload, so you'll have to wait

Arfie

 

[shrimply]

The interpet price is only for 110w so there is also a 40w difference as well and there is still the over heating problem I would rather not risk. I have a huge lid with loads of space for fixings so I will have no problems fitting them.

For me this would be more sensible but I understand that different people are in different situations and go for different things.

ps i thought there was a link but couldn't find it (still can't). Probably just me being blind.

 

[Arfie]

Pics as promised.

1 - Lid with original light on

2 - Lid with new bubs in

3 - Lights on B)

Tank before

Tank after

They look the same before and after, but look at the reflection off the hornwort at the top and the colour of the light on the door to the right of the pic.

Arfie

 

[sarahw20000]

Hi we're getting a 7ft tank and i still havn't worked out what we're doing for lighting.

We don't want to grow plants so would the normal energy saving bulbs be okay and how much wattage do you think we would need ?

Also Arfie, did you have to do anything special when wiring the bulbs in to make them safe near water?

 

[Arfie]

I dunno about whether the other types will be OK or not, no doubt an "expert" will advise.

As for the bulbs, not really, I did silicone the cord into the light pendant, but nothing for the bulb itself other than I have a condensation tray under it and I checked that there was no moisture on the lid before I started messing about.

The hornwort has gone mental , as (predictably) has the algae I'm not worried abou that as there will be bristlenone plecs in there soon, or so I hope.

The only thing I think I'd do differently next time is, I would use a screw fitting for the bulbs rather than bayonette as I think they woul dbe slightly more secure cos you can wiggle the bayonette fittings a bit.

Arfie

 

[sarahw20000]

Thanks, yeah i don't really want the special colour ones for plant growth beause i really don't want tonnes of algae, i'm hoping to have some bristlenose plecs aswell but it depends how they get on with the piranha's.

How much wattage do you think i will need in total? i don't need it super light but i don't want it to look dull and dingy coz it's going to be the centre piece in our lounge.

 

[sevenleaf]

Seems this thread has gone a little quiet, it's inspired me to possibly give this a go.

If any of the original posters are reading this, how are things, a year down the line?