Re: Best Shop light?

["Wayne J" <w.jones at sympatico_ca>]

I've got a 55-gallon 4-foot tank (long, deep, skinny tank) I want to set
up as a planted tank... I'm trying to figure out the best/cheapest way to
light it. I dug through the archives and found some nice articles on shop
lights, but I just realized that the article I was looking at is seven
years old!

Can anyone make any recommendations on brands/models, or should I just go
down to Home Depot and look around?

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Shoplights are of two basic types. The higher quality shoplights have about
an 8" wide reflector and a decent ballast. The low quality shoplights have a
6" wide reflector and a poor quality lower power ballast. Neither situation
is very good. You really want a 6" wide reflector and a high quality high
power ballast. The best solution is to buy the one with the 6" wide
reflector and change the ballast to a electronic 4 x 32 watt ballast.
Ballasts of this type are also sold at H.D.This is not exactly kosher but it
sure makes a great light fixture. Not enough for very light demanding plants
but enough for many plants. With the right lamps it is about 20% less light
than a pair of 55 watt PCs and about 50% more light than your typical
shoplight.

Wayne