# Shop Light Ok For My 55g Tank?



## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

I was thinking of buying a 4 bulb shoplight fixture for my 55 and painting it black to match the stand, This would be about 3watts per gallon and pretty cheap.

My questions are, Is this a safe setup? i would have it over glasstops..

Do these things get too hot or loud? dont want my center brace melting...

If i do this as a lowtech setup i should be good to go with most easy plants right?

What type of bulbs should i buy for it, or should i get 2 kinds? they are t8s and they have plant and aquarium, daylight, and so on.....

Thanks


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Shop lights definitely work, I've been using them for years... Only problem I see with your plan is that 3 wpg is gonna be a lot of light without pressurized co2. If you really want to stick to a low-tech setup, you should cut that lighting in half.

You shouldn't have any problems with heat or noise

The "Plant and Aquarium" bulbs they sell at most home improvement stores are around 4000k, I'd stick to the 6500k full spectrum that they sell.


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

Ahh well seems i misread anyway and the light only holds two bulbs.. and i have found 40watt t8s but alot are 32watts.. either way that puts me at about 1.3-1.5wpg depending on which i get.. then i should be good with maybe just alittle ferts right? I definalty dont want c02 right now but i want some decent looking plants. This is considerd low light isnt it?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

NakedSavage said:


> Ahh well seems i misread anyway and the light only holds two bulbs.. and i have found 40watt t8s but alot are 32watts.. either way that puts me at about 1.3-1.5wpg depending on which i get.. then i should be good with maybe just alittle ferts right? I definalty dont want c02 right now but i want some decent looking plants. This is considerd low light isnt it?


 For that wattage you don't need anything for hardy plants. These are just normal out put lighting and not HO or t5 or anything. 1.5 wats for this setup is less then 1.5 watts of HO t5. they work fine, but they arnt as efficient (as in less lighting for the electricity, but the bulbs are uber cheap to replace.


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

yeah super cheap is what im going for here, lol ill just havta research hard to kill low light plants, lol


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

NakedSavage said:


> yeah super cheap is what im going for here, lol ill just havta research hard to kill low light plants, lol


 crypts, java fern/moss, anubias, vals... are all prety good lower light plants.


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

I've been looking into the smae thing. I have a 72" tank but 72" lights are hard to find, if I got a 48" fixture would it still work as long as its 1.5wpg? If I put plants in the corners/sides of the tank would they get enough light?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

CuzIsaidSo said:


> I've been looking into the smae thing. I have a 72" tank but 72" lights are hard to find, if I got a 48" fixture would it still work as long as its 1.5wpg? If I put plants in the corners/sides of the tank would they get enough light?


 Thats fine as long as theres enough light to penetrate the depth. I have 2x 4ft lights side by side over 4ft of my 6ft 125g


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

I did it! i just found a black shoplight fixture 4' long and just over 4'' wide, and i got two 6500k bulbs in it right now and i must say it looks great! I got really lucky and it actually fits perfectly on my two hoods right where the original lights sat. It looks as if it belongs on the tank and i only paid like 19 bucks total for bulbs and the fixture, the only downside is it has no on/off switch... but hey.. i needed a reason to buy a timer. Ill post some picks or a short video to show it in the morning cause i work thirds and its bedtime!

Thanks for your help guys


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

For some reason not able to upload the pics







.... will try later

I was wondering if i should make some sorta reflector? Will it be that big of a deal... i was thinking foil, white paint, or chrome shiny ductape...?

Right now it has no reflector and it is just gloss black


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

NakedSavage said:


> For some reason not able to upload the pics
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Get a pic of the fixture then ill add my opinion. A good reflector will make a fixture much more efficient.


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

Well i cant seem to post pics since the update? never had a problem b4 but now it just says uploading until the progress bar is full then it never finishes and other attachments just stay pending..


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

digicam pics wouldnt upload so you get crappy cell phone pics lol


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

NakedSavage said:


> digicam pics wouldnt upload so you get crappy cell phone pics lol


 Those reflectors arnt really that good, but better then nothing. Not sure, but you may be able to paint them with white or soemthing with a heat resistant paint to reflect better. Not even sure if this would work so you would have to look into it. With just basic plants that light should be fine, Any store bought reflectors are usually way over priced, but ive also seen people diy with things liek chrom gutters or duct piping. If you want somethign liek this coudl work, but id just leave it be and try to do a low maitnence tank. Growth will be slow, but hardy plants will be fine.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

I use shop lights from walmart. They are all white so they reflect a lot of light too. I have a dual 48" 40watt T-12 and dual 48" 32 watt T-8 with over the tank. My palnts grow just fine and I dose excel instead of running co2. I have amazon sowrd, rotalas, wendtii, dwarf chain swords, some duck weed floating around, vals and 2 I cant remember the name of.


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

cool thanks for your reply i may add another light in the future.


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