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My light monster

Dimka

Sundewist
Well my dad (who is an ellectrician) and I (I only helped a little) made a little light monster for my 10 g terrarium. I didnt expect him to be supportive of such idea, but he was
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Anyway, what it is, is a box (white inside for reflection... I might get a mirror there later) that holds 7 CLFs up to 42W each (Original plan was 8, but I decided itd be too much). Im using 25W because I think 42s would be a bit... yeah.
So what you think? I think its quite nice
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I'll post pics on Monday or so if anyone is interested.
 
7 - 25w CFLs on a 10 gallon. A bit of overkill, don't ya think?
You might have to trim your plants each week so they stay small enough to fit in your tank.
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Lets hope so
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Id rather trim them, than die of waiting for them to grow
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Thats what... like 11000 lumens? I think Im not gonna add more... although theres still space for 2 more bulbs... or I could just change them all to 42W... now wont that be something? lol
But seriously, when I turn that thing upside down, the room is better lit than on a sunny day.
Btw it also has 2 switches, so i can keep 4 or 3 or all 7 on at a time
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Your going to need sun screen on to look at your plants...
 
Super nova in your living room!
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Make sure you watch the tempature inside the tank. I bet 7 CF make alot of heat. You might need to put a computer fan to suck out the hot air.
-Nick
 
you must post some pics. all that light and heat sounds perfect for the petiolaris complex!
 
  • #10
I grow my petiolaris complex with my lowland neps and it thrives in 90 % humidity ;)

Well I dont know why u guys use bulbs?
I use tubes and the lumens in my terraria is 13400.
with 4 x 36 W
 
  • #11
I'd love to see that light fixture!

Just one cautionary note: your terrarium may quickly overheat with that many compact fluorescents over it, especially if you cover the terrarium. Just something to look out for....
 
  • #12
An easy way to fix the heating problem you will face would be to suspend the lights farther away from the terraruim. You have enough light to bring back the fixture quite a ways.

-Rail
 
  • #13
not to worry!
they are CFLs so they barely heat up after whole day of work.
i'll try to post pics today.
 
  • #14
Ummm just one question.
How do you post a picture here?
 
  • #15
I use a similar CFL set-up for my smaller CP tank - 4 20W CFL attached to a piece of wood that makes up the hood. They work wonders on the plants, especially my Drosera and Pinguicula, which are finally starting to colour up nicely. I agree with what you say about the lack of heat build-up, since I barely get any and the lights sit directly on my tank.
We want pics!

As for posting images, copy the whole URL of your image (e.g. http://.....jpg), click on the "Image" tab above, paste the URL, and click OK. That simple. Just be careful with where you want the image to appear, as it will always go down to the last line.

Cheers

Amori
 
  • #16
Yes, my adelae already started a new leaf after just one day of such treatment (usually takes 3 after a new leaf unfolded).
Tell me where can up the pics, so I could link them to http and I will. I remember there was some web site that did that...
 
  • #17
As a followup, you need to host the image on a website, such as imageshack.

Cheers
 
  • #18
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Hope this works
 
  • #19
Nice, very nice! It's a perfected version of my ghetto one!
 
  • #20
With that kind of lighting you may want to think about supplimenting wiht Co2.
 
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