Re: [APD] lighting on the cheap

[Vaughn Hopkins <hoppycalif at yahoo_com>]

Eli, I don't think I have yet seen a screw in fluorescent bulb with a 
85 watt rating.  The biggest I have seen are some monsters, with 
mushroom shape, made for photography, but I don't recall them being as 
big as 85 watts.  If that type is what you are thinking about, it would 
probably work as pendant lights if you used good reflectors made for 
the bulbs, and those are available too.  (But, I recall the cost for 
even one such combination being almost the full $80 you mentioned.)
I suggest, as I always do, that you look at AH Supply light kits - 
three 96 watt kits would work very well I would think, and you could 
make the housing for them pretty cheaply.

Vaughn H.

On Monday, April 17, 2006, at 06:49 PM, Eli Moss wrote:

> I'm looking at the possibility of a 140-gallon aquarium with all 
> equipment
> except lighting included, mine for the reasonable price of FREE.  It's 
> a
> tremendously lucky break, especially for a broke highschooler.  The 
> issue of
> light is a bit of a thorn in my side, though.  Up till now I've just 
> been
> using four foot shoplights, which work for my 40g high and my homemade 
> 90g
> terrarium.  I was looking at VHO compact fluorescent and metal halide
> options, which are all far too expensive for me.  An idea I had is to 
> just
> use about four 85w screw-in compact fluorescent bulbs suspended just 
> above
> the water.  I'd get away with the lighting for about eighty dollars, 
> which
> seems way too good to be true.  Is there anything inherently wrong 
> with this
> idea?
>
> Eli
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