From: THOMASG@epx.cis.umn.edu (ThomasD.Gasser)
Subject: Re: Lighting: Why spend big $?
Organization: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 15:46:02 GMT

I have in the past gone the strip light approch.  It does work but I ran 
into a few problems.  I first tried the least expensive fluoresent fixture I 
could find (A basic ceiling mount light).  The thing was way to flimsy to 
use in a hood.  Back to the drawing board.  I bought 2 4' double strip 
lights (you know the ones in a steel box)  These were easy to mount and
worked well.  One day I noticed a smell coming from the tank.  The 
connectors to the bulbs were smoking.  I quick unplugged the lights and took 
off the hood to closely look at the connecters.  The connectors had gotten 
damp from the moisture of being 4" above 135 gallons of seawater and had 
started conducting power through the paper backing on the connector.  

I bought new connectors and coated the back with silicone and haven't had a 
problem since.  

I have just replaced the 6' single tube fixture in the front of the tank 
with 2 6" VHO tubes powered by an ICECAP ballast.  I connected the tubes 
with water proof end caps attached to the hood.  

If I had to start over, I would have bought and mounted water proof end caps 
and used a ballast from a cheap fixture until I could afford to go VHO.  

I am looking for a cheaper place to buy the ICECAP ballast and should be 
able to find one since it is not designed for the aqua industry but for 
lighted signs and other uses.  

I am going to replace the 2 four foot strip lights in the rear of the tank 
with 6' VHO after I find a good source of the ballast then I will have 
around 1000 watts of lighting for my reef.  I bought the tank with one 
60 watt fixture and a broken 120 watt fixture.  Upgraded to 220 watt and now 
up to 480.

If you go with the strip lights at least silicone to connectors.  I would 
hate to see you and your aquarium go up in smoke.  BTW, my mushroom rocks 
have never recovered from the 4 or 5 days of darkness.  They haven't died 
but they  haven't ballooned out like they used to and it been about 4 
months.  I'm hoping that new VHO will help.
 


>Since I'm converting my marine tank to a semi/full (we'll see)>reef setup, 
>I naturally am getting better lighting for it. Looking
>through the two mail order catalogs I have (TFP & MOPS) I've noticed
>EXORBITANT prices for lighting.
>TFP: Ballast for two 40 watt bulbs: 22.95
>MOPS: Generic Double Strip 48" Hood (w/o bulbs): 82.49
>TFP: Dual Light Strip: 99.95
>MOPS: 48" Fluorescent Fixture Kit (w/o bulb, hood): 26.35 per light.
>
>I was looking at this stuff and my girlfriend wandered over and said,
>"Hey, I can get a cheapo metal generic dual 48" fluorescent 40W fixture
>for $12 at the hardware store!"
>If I can put a couple of these in a wood hood that I make, why should
>I bother with the above prices? Is there something about the above that is
>particularly worth it?
>
>As a second question, would 4 48" fluorescent bulbs (perhaps
>two coralife 50/50's and two tritons or blue moons) for a total
>of 160 watts be enough for live rock + anemone's? I will probably
>use my old 20Watt 36" as well for a total of 180 Watts - is this
>enough? I want to _avoid_ metal halide if possible - price seems
>quite high. Also, why isn't this in the FAQ? Perhaps a new 
>addition to the FAQ list is in order: FAQ.lighting
>IF I get enough info from people about lighting configs,
>etc., I will work do one myself. Thanks for any info!
>



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*  Thomas D. Gasser                                                 *
*  Department of Neurosurgery                *******     ******     *
*  University of Minnesota                    ***  *** *** ***      *
*  (612) 624-4427                             ***   *****  ***      *
*  E-Mail:  THOMASG@EPX.CIS.UMN.EDU          *****        *****     *
*                                                                   *
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Newsgroups: rec.aquaria