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Who has exp with lights side-by-side?

3K views 22 replies 5 participants last post by  Mean Harri 
#1 ·
So far I always had hoods that I could put 4ft florescent in so they'd stretch across the whole tank.

The 45g I got has a hood where you have actually 2 lil 20-some inch hoods side by side across the tank.

This causes 2 issues I don't like right now:
1) The support bar in the center pretty much has a "dark zone" as there's no light across that area and somehow
2) The left side of my tank is plain dark (the right side with the lower wattage, lower kelvin bulb is brighter) not even the Java Fern wants to thrive there the way it should normally.

Is there any way I can bend a reflector a special way to resolve this? Or does anyone have any other idea for me at this point OTHERS then getting a new 4ft fixture?:|

Edit: What's actually funny this shallow 45g has much more wattage & lumens then my 55g and is sooooooo much dimmer.
 
#2 ·
Thank you for posting this question! My 55g has 2-24" lights. I never noticed it before, but once I did the chageover to black gravel/black background and planted it, we both noticed a dark spot directly in the middle of the tank.. I don't have a problem with the sides of my tank like you seem to have, but a "dark zone" right in the middle is definitely evident and it's exactly where the bulb doesn't run across as well. It'll be interesting to see if anyone has suggestions on how to fix this.
 
#3 ·
For that center dark spot I think one long light will have to be used. I guess you could try bending or adding a reflector to beam some light in the center. That would take some fooling around for sure. Or get a disco ball. You know, the shiny spinny ball at the club dance floor. That will cover the entire tank and room ;)
 
#5 ·
I hope so or I'll break out the tools here again cause I really can not have dinner any longer and see these 2 dim spots there, drives me NUTS lol
 
#6 ·
Eric your pretty handy...you think bending a reflector a lil twisted would do the trick and reflect it to have less dim spots?
 
#8 ·
Is there a reflector now? If there is and it can be temporarily removed that would maybe allow you to fidget with it moving and twisting it to see if you can direct the light. Can you raise your hood any? I wonder if raising it a little would spread the light pattern. If there is no reflector I'm sure one could be made. But it would have to be such that it didn't block light from another portion of the tank. That would assumingly require the entire hood to have a reflector put in. Could you slip some aluminum rain gutter above the existing bulbs? It's shiny.
 
#10 ·
Raising up good idea will fiddle with that 2mrw. No I have no reflectors on this at all right now. I was thinking (since that what I have on hand right now) cut up & twist up some metal flashing and see how I best bend that to reflect light at the best? What you think? No a whole gutter piece won't fit in there gotta be thinner like flashing, sheet metal that kinda stuff.....
 
#12 ·
See that's what I kinda had in mind you see how the inside is bend every 2" or whatever I was wondering if I bend up something similar for the SIDE part maybe that'll help the dim spot on the left?

Gee I hope anyone reading this understand what the heck I'm just talking about LOL
 
#13 ·
I'd get to drawing on MS Paint or something and post it but I am stupid in that department. If you could gather some light and reflect it towards where you need it then yeah. Should work. Even a small reflector positioned in the right spot could gather and throw it on target. Hmmm, lighting sounds like baseball now.
 
#14 ·
Shoot worst case: I'll get the 400 watts light from the backyard in....bet ya there ain't NO MORE dim spot left in the tank :)

I'll bend & built & fiddle around 2mrw see what new creation I can come up with lol so if I ain't back 2mrw night I had to use power tools and it went wrong :)
 
#16 ·
Been there & done that lol....you know what I then did next...in worries of my FISH I reached right into the tank to grab the lights and as it wouldn't be bad enough in itself.....it was while we lived overseas so it was 220 volts.....not very smart.....sometimes I really do "earn" my hair color
 
#17 ·
My solution was simple although some may not like this layout. I put a tall piece of driftwood just about in the center of the tank. It makes it less noticable that the center is dark since the wood is dark. I've since replaced those two 24" fixtures with 1- 4'. But the driftwood is still in the same spot.
 
#18 ·
I totally forgot to update here hadn't I? After fiddling around with bending the flashing and trying to not completely cut myself up I figured if I use tin foil to make the shape first to then have it lay outside with me that'd help me work the flashing better and while doing that I'm like heck let's see what double layered tin foil does - Works GREAT the super "dark side" on the right is gone the center is still a LIL dimmer then the rest I(!!!) thing but hubby say's I just got a picky eye.
But anyway it works for right now with the foil and long run whenever I don't have 5 mio things on a to do list already I wanna built another wood hood like I did for the 55g and have a 4ft light on it then).
That project gotta move after the 30g to be built now thou.....lol
 
#20 ·
Uhm yea...the normal stuff you use in your kitchen for cooking too!? It works to make the tank brighter - Not a good idea?
 
#21 ·
hey nat, i hadn't chimed in here as the thread got more diy than my 'expertise' allows for, but just wanted to throw in a little comment. you know your hoods that you posted pics of a while back that come with two incadescent lights? well, i have that hood on my ten gallon and on one side there is daylight and on one side there is a light heavier on the blues. they are both compact fluorescents, 9 w each, and my tank looks pretty balanced and all the plants are doing pretty well in there. i keep thinking back to byron's post about how the best 'combo' in the cited studies seemed to be a daylight mixed with cool blue. well all the plants seem to be thriving despite the side-by-side and varied spectrum issue. sorry! i know it's slightly off topic but its my two cents. sounds like you might have a more visual thing though and not a plant growth issue.
 
#22 ·
The plants in the 45g are thriving as well and yes I also have mixed bulbs in there. I just don't like the 'dim' line in the middle where to support bar is lol call me picky....
 
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