florescent fixture question

[jenajet]

Okay I have a couple of florescent fixtures, the kind that come on a 20 gallon aga aquarium. I am wondering if I can mount them in the canopy of the 90 and use this acentic bulb. I have only the mh and when the lights come on the fish freak out. I am hoping by adding some low watt acentic this will slowly raise them up before the mh kick on. So can this bulb work in these fixtures? http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page...rium/TLD15W-03

[hng]

Those bulbs are T8's. If that's the right size, I don't see why it wouldn't work. One problem though would be ventilation and shadowing. I'm guessing these light strips will sit directly on the tank inside the hood. That may cause the light strips to overheat from lack of ventilation. The light strips themselves may also cast a shadow by blocking light from the halide. Personally, I would go to home depot, buy a ballast for 2 normal output T12 40 watt bulbs ($15 or so), get 2 pairs of endcaps ($20) and do a DIY retrofit myself. That way you won't get any shadowing or ventilation problems. Bad thing is that it will cost more money.

[jenajet]

I was actually planning on removing the light from the black casing and mounting to the top of the canopy. I may not even run them during the day with the mh. I just want something that can give them a little time to adjust before the mh kick in. So they probably will only be on 2 to 4 hours max a day.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by jenajet

I was actually planning on removing the light from the black casing and mounting to the top of the canopy. I may not even run them during the day with the mh. I just want something that can give them a little time to adjust before the mh kick in. So they probably will only be on 2 to 4 hours max a day.

That should work, but do the lights you want to recycle have the little plug in starters? those can be a pain when exposed to salt creep, as well as the standard slide and turn tube style flourescent fixture ends. If they are mounted up high enough shouldn't be a problem. You could put them on a cheapo Intermatic timer from Walmart or similar to have them go off and on automatically

[jenajet]

Yep, got timers. They are the prong but will be about 10 inches off the water. They are not going to be used for additional lighting as far as par or anything like that. Just a wake up call for the fishies.

[Doug1]

Then check them occasionally for salt creep and you should be OK

[jenajet]

okay thanks.