DIY reef lighting with screw thread CFL?

[Gigaah]

Whats to say you can't use the incandesent replacement edison screw thread CFL bulbs to get enough watts for reef lighting? I have a 33g and a 55g. I can easily figure up a top made outa lexan or what ever to house the lights and get pretty even light depending on if i want 3 or 5 watts per gallon. I don't know the kelvin rating on usual reef lights. If I DIY'd the thing I could easily wire it up for day dusk night dawn with timer as well.

Any info is appreicated.

 

[phuture1]

i had the same idea. the only problem......i could ony find 5000k bulbs. i diy'd some t55s with good success. i got the fixtures at lowes on clerence for $10a piece.

 

[Gigaah]

I can get 6500 or was it 6700. are T5's 10k?

I'm not asking if its perfect ideal. But will it allow me to do coral with out spending hundreds of dollars?

Heat = non issue. fabricated hood would be enclosed and fan ventilated.

 

[Bifferwine]

Well, the lower the K rating, the more favorable the bulb color for algae growth (which is why refugium bulbs in the 6500 K range are perfect for growing macroalgae). You will probably have limited success with corals in that K range.

 

[ccCapt]

But will it allow me to do coral with out spending hundreds of dollars?.

No, not a chance. Wattage means nothing, it's PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) and those spiral CFL bulbs put out a tiny amount of PAR.
If you want to use a standard screw-in incandescent fixture, get a couple LED lamps.
nanocustoms

 

[Gigaah]

ok. I see a 120$ LED lamp. So what sort of equivelent is that? If I can equate it to a known lamp (say t5ho etc) I wouldn't know how many to get.

 

[ccCapt]

This should give you all the info you want to know about those LED's

Par 38 LED spotlights - Reef Central Online Community

 

[Gigaah]

Thank you. I think I gleened enough info off that to be usefull even tho its filled with "deleted post blah blah terms" stuff that evil said.