DIY Aquarium lighting.

Jellymolly44

Jellymolly44

Handsome Fella
Jun 14, 2008
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Does anybody know how to make your own lighting system. I'm very confused and wish to know how to wire everything together. I can build the canopy easily. It's just the eletrical part I'm confused on. Can you make a DIY system for a 30 gallon hexagon aquarium? I was thinking about a mercury vapor light for those. I'm doing this soo I can have a nice lush planted aquarium ( or aquariums ) I can be proud of. I'm gonna build my own co2 system by using one 2 liter bottle and 1 two liter bottle for the 75 gallon aquarium with bubble latters. I'm also gonna use a one liter bottle for each of the 30 gallon aquariums. Somebody please help me. I'm very desperate.
 
Dont the mercury lights generaly have a very "yellowish" color to them? Im not light expert but i would think about a diffrent lighting fixture. From my experience, hp sodium and hallides put off a lot of heat and would be way overkill for a 30 gallon. Im not sure what the dimensions on a 30 gallon hex are but it really limits your lighting choice as im not sure you could fit powercompacts and flourecent that would be comparable to hallides or mercury. I think that light would give a very dull yellow color and not show the true colors of the plants and fish. High tech lighting is overkill if you are doing low tech co2.
 
oh, and as far as wiring lights, they are pretty straight forward so dont let that discourage you. If you are going hightech lighting you will probably mount the bulb in the canopy and the wires to and from the ballast are already done.
 
No matter what you do, PLEASE USE A GFCI. I may save your life.
 
Thanks guys! I'll try it out. But, what is a GFCI? I'm kind of new to this stuff and really don't know anything yet.
 
Oh yeah. Mroth! I found out if your aquarium is loer then 20 inches you have to use every gallon per 6.25 watts. That's what it said on this one sight. I really do hope I can found a way for my hexagon aquariums to have plants. I will try another lighting fixture if you think it may not work.
 
GFCI = Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. It is a safety circuit built into an outlet or power strip to interrupt/shut off the current should anything become wet or if the ground might fail on equipment plugged into it.
 
Yup I get mine at Walmart for $7.50 each and they come with the plastic fixture, removable lens, hardware screws for mounting, cord that can unplug from the fixture, a built in switch, and even the standard 24" florescent bulb). I have had 2 hardware mounted (2-screws) and Gorilla glued (insurance) into the canopy lid of my 120 tank for a year now and have had no problems. Wiring was just a matter of draping the cords from inside the canopy down the back to 1 extension cord that I plug in for both lights but can still control from the fixture switch inside. If you have no canopy you could make a simple 5 sided box out of plywood.
Newlights004.jpg

I like them so much I bought 4 for my new 244 tank (no overflows) and intend to mount them the same way.
 
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