Halogen Lighting????

[oceanarus]

I'm setting up a 6 gallon nano in my office at work and am wanting to upgrade from the pittifull 8 watt flourescent that comes with it. There is not a whole lot of room in the hood. I just noticed today at walmart they have a 20 watt halogen desk lamp for under 8 bucks. The bulb, socket and reflector is about 1" deep and about 2" in diameter. I guess the question here is why do I not hear anyone talking about halogen lights on reefs? Am I missing something here? It seems like they have a pretty intense white light, are small and cheap. Has anyone tried halogen lights on a reef and am I crazy for considering trying it?


See my 6 gal nano at home in my gallery.

[Nishant3789]

yer just crazy. lol sry, actually the matter has been debated very much, and the census says that it just doesnt have the right spectrum, they are usually around 4000K which isnt applicable to reef purposes, which we need at LEAST 5000K. so, the answer is sorry no. then again, i HAVE seen a halgoen lit tank at that aquarium/ride at epcot center in disney world, orlando. it of course, only had mushrooms in it. and low and behold they were surviveing and not only that, they were multiplying! i talked to the guys there and he said they were fine and they had been there for years. so, i guess u could go ahead and try it, but i wouldnt, oh and another thing, halogen lights get VERY HOT. they would heat up your water in an eclipse tank. the best bet on the 6 gallon eclipse would be a 2 or 3 X 13 watt. also a very popular option is a smartlight retrofit made especially just for eclipse hoods, it runs about 50 bux, though you can probably find it used from a local reefer cheaper, if u really need one PM me and ill give ua guy whos gota n extra that hell sell u for lke 30 or something i think. well hope i helped
nishant

[toddsmi]

I have done exactly what you are asking about. I have a 6 gallon Eclipse and my daughter wanted a BTA and a clownfish. So I converter it. I kept the 8 Watt aqua flor. inside and added (3) 10W 2" dia. round recess type halogens I bought at Walmart for $15 for the set. I installed then on that flap that opens in the top. It now doesn't close all the way but that also allows for air flow (cooling). The only thing I need to do now is put a reflector inside because the filter box somewhat blocks the new light. All in all I am very pleased with the results - but only time will tell. The water has a much more natural lighting look to it now with both types of lamps.

[tcarlson]

BTA and a Clown Fish in a 6 Gallon Tank? I don't think that is a good idea.

[toddsmi]

1 fish and 1 BTA (about 2" in dia) all by themselves in 6 gallons? Why not? Are you part of the fish police I've seen post so much on this site? Are you assuming I'll leave them in there if I see a negative effect? Please consider that some of us are indeed conscientious about our reef keeping.

[oceanarus]

FYI - attached is a picture of what I ended up doing about the lighting. In the tank I have a pair of tank raised clowns (wife bred them) and a red scooter blenny with various LPS corals and shrooms.

toddsmi - I don't think you are wrong go for it. From your description of current tanks, I think you are responsible enough to handle it (not that you need my permision). I have a pair of clowns and a mandarin goby in a 6 gal nano at home with tons of corals (more lighting than my at work tank though) and people want to give me flack about that. The tank has been set up for almost a year now (pictures in my gallery) with the only changes being the corals being moved up to my bigger tank as they get to large for the 6 gal.


Good Luck:)

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[tyler]

though it's about twice as efficient as incan. halogen isn't nearly as efficient as flouro (thus the heat) and imo the color is even too yellow for freshwater tanks. tried it for a day on a planted tank and brought the bulb back. ahsupply.com has some great prices on retros. do what you wanna, but i'd save my money for pc.