# DIY lighting in a custom canopy



## ChewyCashew84 (Sep 2, 2010)

Hi,
I'm in the process of planning a 55-75 gallon tank. I just can't get over how expensive lighting is. Would it be foolish/difficult to make your own T8 "Fixture"? My hope is that there's a way to just mount a ballast and end-caps under the canopy and call it a day. It would cut the cost from $350 down to $75. I want a lot of plants, so I'm planning on having 4 tubes. I think I found an acceptable ballast...

B432I120RH-A Ballast: Light Bulbs Etc, Inc.

Anyone have experience in this?


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*I am currently making my fixture for a 55g tank right now. I am planning to have 184 watts. At Home Depot, I bought an extension cord for $6, 8 light sockets for $3 each and 5ft of wires black and white for $4. I already had wood laying around and I am already done with the frame. I am now screwing all the sockets in.

Its very easy... the hardest part for me was to make the frame because Im limited on tools so I had to cut everything by hand with a hand saw. All you do is attach the extension cord to the light socket. and plug it in. Thats for 1 bulb. If you want more than 1 bulb.. like how im going to have 8 bulbs.. you simply connect more than 1 socket. Im not going to spend $200-$300 on a fixture when i can make it myself for less than $40.

EDIT: Oh yes I am using pigtail CFL 6500K 23w Bulbs. 8 of them.*


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## ChewyCashew84 (Sep 2, 2010)

I didn't even think of that. I was planning on using 48" fluorscent tubes. CFLs would be way easier to wire up. Thanks for the idea!


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

You could also build a canopy and pick up a couple shop lights from walmart and mount them inside the canopy


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

archer772 said:


> You could also build a canopy and pick up a couple shop lights from walmart and mount them inside the canopy


*Do they have tubes of 6500K?*


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

NursePlaty said:


> *Do they have tubes of 6500K?*


You can get them no problem


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## ChewyCashew84 (Sep 2, 2010)

I'm not sure which would be more practical for me. I'm leaning toward a 75 gallon, and if that's the case I'm going to be shooting for 225 watts. I can get 23 watt CFLs, but that means I'd need 10 bulbs. Cumbersome, but cheap.

However, the affordable tube lights are only 40 watts. I'd need 6 tubes, 3 fixtures.

Am I supposed to put a glass lid on the tank between the water and the lights?


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

Are you planning on running presurized CO2??


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## ChewyCashew84 (Sep 2, 2010)

I'm up in the air about that at the moment. I kind of want to do a system with a sump, in which case I would do a CO2 system. But then again, I've got to cap my costs somewhere, and it seems like a sump isn't exactly necessary in a freshwater tank this size. Wether I have a CO2 system or not, I actually might just do a glass lid anyway to help control evaporation.


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

I think 4 32 watt T-8's over a 75 would be plenty with out CO2 and maybe even with CO2


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*You can always make 10 sockets and if you decide to go with no CO2, unscrew 2-3 bulbs out to reduce light and just use 7 bulbs. If you end up getting CO2 later on, screw back in the 2-3 bulbs. 

For the glass lid, I did not use a glass lid because I believed it would block and reflect off some of my light. Instead I covered all my wires with electric tape. *


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## ChewyCashew84 (Sep 2, 2010)

True. I was basing my wattage requirement estimate on a website I found that said for a planted tank you should shoot for 3 watts per gallon.


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