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Re: DIY light fixtures, know of good site?
Andy,
> I have two shoplights (LOA type). Would those be suitable for parts? I
> bought them because they were cheap, and I didn't know about building
> wrecking companies at the time (I'll remember that useful bit of info,
> Beverly!). I have since heard that the shoplight ballasts aren't worth
> thier weight in water.
I don't know about taking them apart to use them you, can cover them with contact paper though. I have a 50g in my livingroom window on a black iron stand. The tank and light are those plastic oak ones. When I bought 2 used 15g to put under the 50g they were one dark plastic wood and the other was black. I bought another shop light and covered the edges of the tank and the shop light with oak look contact paper. I hung the light under the 50g and they all look the same "wood" color. Amazingly the whole thing
looks pretty good. I've also seen these lights painted at a local marine store with that fake rock spray paint.
As for the ballast yes they do sometimes have troubles. I have 9 more shop lights right now in my fishroom and have had to replace 3 in the last 2 years. Still even with the replacements they are much cheaper than any alternative I've seen. I heard that Sears was supposed to make a better light than the Lights of America ones which is what we mostly have here. I did go check at my local Sears and all they sold were the Lights of America ones so I'm not sure of the whole story on that one.
Just another point if your looking to save money. I just use the 40 watt cool white lights and they grow fine plants for me. They are also much less expensive than the aquarium lights.
Rhonda
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/RhondaWilson/
ALA - http://petsforum.com/ala/ PGI - http://petsforum.com/