HawkEye
New Member
I am new to this DIY lighting so bare with me please...I just built a temporary lighting hood so I could increase my wattage from 20 to 40 watts...it's temporary because I don't have the cash or time to build a full canopy like I want to...I used a piece of "Rain Diverter" that I bought at Home Depot...basically its nothing more than a piece of sheet metal with a 90 degree bend in it...
I screwed the lights into the metal and it works great...my question is even after I added 20 watts of light to my existing 20 watts the tank looks darker that with only 20 watts? Now the new bulb is a full spectrum "natural lighting" bulb:
Phillips
Home Light "Natural Color"
24 inch
20 watts
850 Lumens
Color Rendering 92
Color Temperature 5000k
I am not sure of the specs of the other bulb but its the one that I have been using and it cam with my hood..The new bulb gives it a slight "yellow" look so maybe that's it but I am not sure?
The next question is that the light fixture is designed for a 24 inch bulb T10 and the new bulb is a T12...it sits a little closer to the light fixture...If I remember correctly flourecent light bulbs do not get hot enough to melt plastic and I want to know if this is safe...it seems that Home Depot, Walmart, and Lowes do not carry T10 bulbs in the 24 inch size?
Last question...where the filter pours the water back into the tank is an opening...which is causing a slight mist from the water from the filter hitting the surface water...a little mist is getting at the bulb..not the fixture itself but the bulb...I put a piece of clear plastic that the light fixture came in to help block it and its doing a nice job...I cleaned the plastic but I was wondering if the residue falling back in the tank would cause any contamination...I was going to use a piece of sheet metal but figured it would really contaminate the tank
thx...sorry for all the questions!!
I screwed the lights into the metal and it works great...my question is even after I added 20 watts of light to my existing 20 watts the tank looks darker that with only 20 watts? Now the new bulb is a full spectrum "natural lighting" bulb:
Phillips
Home Light "Natural Color"
24 inch
20 watts
850 Lumens
Color Rendering 92
Color Temperature 5000k
I am not sure of the specs of the other bulb but its the one that I have been using and it cam with my hood..The new bulb gives it a slight "yellow" look so maybe that's it but I am not sure?
The next question is that the light fixture is designed for a 24 inch bulb T10 and the new bulb is a T12...it sits a little closer to the light fixture...If I remember correctly flourecent light bulbs do not get hot enough to melt plastic and I want to know if this is safe...it seems that Home Depot, Walmart, and Lowes do not carry T10 bulbs in the 24 inch size?
Last question...where the filter pours the water back into the tank is an opening...which is causing a slight mist from the water from the filter hitting the surface water...a little mist is getting at the bulb..not the fixture itself but the bulb...I put a piece of clear plastic that the light fixture came in to help block it and its doing a nice job...I cleaned the plastic but I was wondering if the residue falling back in the tank would cause any contamination...I was going to use a piece of sheet metal but figured it would really contaminate the tank
thx...sorry for all the questions!!
), bowl over it till you get a canopy/hood built.
/www.myfishtank.net/forum/attachment...s=&postid=96736
