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Lighting a tiny tank.
Hello, all!
I have had a 2.5 gallon plant tank (if you can imagine that...) for a while,
and I have gone through the florescent tubes a little too much for my
liking. I think my light strip is burning them out. It is a standard
aquarium strip light, and it takes the little 8 watt bulbs. The bulbs last
about 3 weeks, and then they flicker on and off, and develop blackish marks
near the ends. I was in a lighting store recently, actually, it was more
like an art/lighting/weird stuff store called "Living Walls", and I noticed
the neatest tiny light pendant I have ever seen. It was only about 3 inches
across, run by a halogen bulb, and MAN did that little light pack a punch!
I soon found the price to be rather prohibitive, in the neighborhood of $200
for the light and transformer, and I bolted from the store in a hurry. :) I
went to Home Depot to pick up a couple bulbs for another tank, and I noticed
a desk light run by the same halogen bulb, but for a LOT more reasonable
price. There was one with a large swing arm that was $24, and one with a
smaller arm for $8. I thought this more to my liking, although not quite as
decorative as the pendant. I did a little checking, and I'm not sure what
the wattage was on the little one (it did not say), but the big one was 50
watts. With the large swing arm, I could choose my height to offset the
power of the bulb, and maybe have some plants around the tank, making a
little oasis on my desk. I couldn't find the color temps of the bulbs at
Home Depot, so I went back to Living Walls and pretended I was actually
thinking about emptying my wallet on their light, and got to browse the
catalog. The color temp was 3200. Now, the punch line. Will the halogen
have any nasty side effects, and is this color temp going to be enough to
maintain a planted tank?
Thanks in advance for the help! :)
Matt