Could'nt sleep last night had a idea in my little head

[white66]

couldnt sleep last night so started thinking about my tank as i do alot (sad i know) i was thinking about my lighting has anyone used car lights bulb before bare with on this one a standard bulb is 55w doesnt give off alot of heat and are cheap i can only find one thing on the web and its on youtube and it looks good what do you think?

[Hazey]

You need to check the kelvin of the lights. Get the wrong K & you will have nusance algae to contend with.
It's not about wattage

[Mr Dave]

My car won't fit over my tank

[white66]

You need to check the kelvin of the lights. Get the wrong K & you will have nusance algae to contend with.
It's not about wattage

HID bulbs 6000K
standard bulbs 3200K
and some are 7000K

[jrob3rts]

MartynIT tried a HID Bulb, believe it cooked itself but not considered a success from what I understand.

[Hazey]

Well you want between 10k & 20k

6500k for growing algae in sumps
So it's a no, no imo

[white66]

thanks will keep thinking of some more stupid idea

[jrob3rts]

Well you want between 10k & 20k

6500k for growing algae in sumps
So it's a no, no imo

You can get 10K, 14K and so on too, but based on Martyn's experience of it lasting weeks, I would not consider it cost effective.

[tommypope]

10k is the most used hid bulb but you are looking between £80-£100 each then you will need to make them work over your tank and will ned to make up some sort of reflector some realistly looking at £150-£200 you can get a halide for less and it is designed to work and easier to get bits for

i have used hid bulbs (in my car) myself and whent through 2 sets in the space of a year and are very unreliable switching on and off when thay please

[jas]

Coral farms over here often use the iwasaki 6500 k MH for fast coral growth. I tried it and the tank looks like someone pee'd in it. Eventhough to your eyes the light will look slightly bluish thevtank will be yellow...I would never go lower than 10k for the appearance.