Minibow with PC light

Jeremy1973 · 03-17-2004, 09:15 AM

Has anyone here bought the Mini-Bow, but taken out the bulb and screwed in that 15W PC light? I think it is 15W, but I know the bulb fits in the same socket at the original bulb on the minibow 5. I think it was 5..maybe 3. Anyway...

Has anyone done this? Any heat issues or anything to be made aware of?

SaltBlock · 03-17-2004, 10:27 AM

I dont see why that wouldn't work.

Is the tank a stand alone or part of a larger system?

1 15 watt wouldn't affect your water temp if it is part of a larger system, but if it's a stand alone, you might see some temperature flux mainly because the hoods on those things are so tight. I have 2 13 watt PCs on mt 5 gal hex fuge. I drilled several series of 3/8" holes and it does just fine. However, if I were to permanently disconnect it from the main tank, I would definitely get a fan or two. Check out http://www.orionfans.com/html/our_products.html

AEB

Jeremy1973 · 03-17-2004, 11:59 AM

This is a stand alone tank for at work. I don't know where I would put fans. The mini-bow has a selfcontained hood. I will do more research but thanks for the input, I feel better when someone else says the same thing I think. :-)

ckreef · 03-17-2004, 04:49 PM

My son has a Minibow 2.5 with a screw in 10watt 6500k bulb. No heat issues to deal with from the bulb itself but it is just barely enough light.

SaltBlock · 03-17-2004, 05:35 PM

Right, 3-4 watts/gal is pretty skimpy.

J1973, isn't there a way you could cut a 1.25" hole in the top of the hood, then mount a 1.5" (40mm) fan to the outside of the hood? Might look a little funny because you will be able to see the fan, but if heat becomes an issue, it would be worth it.

Might even consider building a hood, wouldn't cost much in materials and you could allow room for additional lighting and fans if needed.

What are you going to keep in this "desk tank?"

AEB

Jeremy1973 · 03-18-2004, 10:51 AM

Ok, bought it last night...is the clear bulb that came with it going to be ok for a reef tank? I will keep mushrooms, zoa's, and that is about it.

SaltBlock · 03-18-2004, 12:17 PM

I'm not sure what K value those bulbs have, but my experience with normal incandescent is that they are good for growing algae and that's about it.

AEB

Jeremy1973 · 03-18-2004, 02:28 PM

That is what I am thinking it will grow. I plan on keeping very low light need items in there, such as mushrooms, maybe a couple of zoa's varieties. GSP. I have done it before in a 10 gallon nano, but I have PC lighting on it. That is why I am thinking of putting in the PC screw in bulb.

This tank will also house my mystery crab. I rescued him from Mrs. Smith's tank, (I couldn't see him get killed), some snails, maybe a yellow clown goby. But it would be a very minimal tank. More for the microfauna life. It will have a sand bed...maybe an 1or 2 at most, LR. I am adding a second PH to help with good current flow.

I guess if I need to, I do have a another PC light at home that I can put on there instead. I can do that, put on a different covering, and then that will bump my w/gal ratio to about 10 or so. *the creative juices are flowing now*

SaltBlock · 03-18-2004, 06:07 PM

I use those 13 watt 50/50 (10000K/03) actinics from hellolights.com

The color is a nice white/blue (haven't been able to capture it "essence" on the digicam yet)

Have you found any of those mogul base PCs in differnt K values? I did a quick search and came up with nothing. I'm not sure you would avoid all the algae problems if you used a regular PC (I think most are around 3500-5000K)

AEB

ckreef · 03-18-2004, 07:38 PM

The screw in pc's can be found in both a 6500k version and also a 50/50.

SaltBlock · 03-18-2004, 10:38 PM

Where can we get these?

AEB