DIY shop lights

[robert18]

I want to DIY some light sfor my 65 gal tank and I have heard that you can just get shop lights from the local hardware store but all of the fixtures I see at lowes are 48" or 24" I have a 36" tank, does anyone know if I took these fixtures apart could you run longer bulbs or shorter bulbs in them as long as you keep the same bulb size like T8s.

[Tjones]

just make sure the flourescent lamps you are going to use fit the socket on the lamp holder and that the ballast you have will power the size of lamp you selected. and i can't stress enough be carefull with the ballast make sure it's dissconected from the power suply before you mess with it they are very high voltage and it hurts... speaking from experience of course :(

[cocoa_pleco]

you cant use a different size bulb, they are likely a different wattage and could blow. I would look into getting some retrofit fluorescent endcaps that are 36" from ebay

[botanicalbill]

Ballasts, the new electric ones should work. Like stated above, make sure its the right size cleat, T12 or T8. You’ll most likely want a T8. Then look at the ballast. It should be rated for about 5-6 different bulb configurations. Such as the one I used on my homemade light fixture, it can support 2, 3 or four bulbs and different sizes by wattage. It ranges from 48" to 18" bulbs but it lists them as wattage. Let me find an image of the ballast and post that too.

There should be a picture, its not too clear but I think you’ll get the idea. It lists (#) that’s the number of bulbs and then next to it is the wattage of each bulb. I think they list opperating temps or running temps too.

I am actually over powering my bulbs. They are 15w and the lowest this ballast goes it 17w. I have been using this set up for a year now and no problems. Ill note that I have a 12v computer fan that is hard wired into the hood to keep it cool.

[botanicalbill]

One more thing. The generic or low quality ballasts in the pre made fixtures might not have any sort of listing on it. You might want to buy the cleats and the ballast and then build your own fixture.

[Commodore 64]

One more thing. The generic or low quality ballasts in the pre made fixtures might not have any sort of listing on it. You might want to buy the cleats and the ballast and then build your own fixture.
You can ge tlucky though, the 9 dollar fixtures at our local HW store had electronic ballasts.

Which is nice, since you can overdrive bulbs with electronic ballasts. I've got one bulb running off a 4x ballast. Now that gets a tad hot.