2 strip lights into one?! IT CANT BE DONE! or can it...?

[rDr4g0n]

actually its pretty easy. im taking my 2 NO striplights (20w each) and placing them in one housing. this way i dont have to have 2 lights taking up all the top tank space. thats prime realestate!

so my plan is to use one power cable, and 2 switches. i plan to make a bracket from some plexi to mount the ends on, and to just bolt the tiny cute little ballasts onto the plastic housing.

oh and for extra power, because you know im all about POWER, im gonna spray paint the inside of the housing REFLECTIVE SILVER.

itll be brighter and hopefully wont start a fire! that rhymes! and so does the post title! ZING!

[rDr4g0n]

ive already gutted both fixtures and combined them into this one. i connected the lights and the 2 bulbs and they work just fine. heres is the housing with its guts hanging out waiting to be painted in my high tech paint booth.

[sasquatch]

Prime realestate lol! aint that the truth. carry on man

[billyr98]

with the NO lamps you shouldn't create much heat.. just make sure you keep an eye on it...

[rDr4g0n]

Originally Posted by billyr98

with the NO lamps you shouldn't create much heat.. just make sure you keep an eye on it...

i was considering a small fan, i got loads of em sitting around from computer repairs and stuff. if it does generate too much heat, ill probably make a little exhaust vent and put a fan in there. good point.

[rDr4g0n]

you can see the reflective paint (not mirror shiny, but reflective enough) and teh brackets that hold the light ends together. the tricky part will be mounting the brackets because they need to be perfectly even.

[aquaman3680]

Awesome! Cool project! Keep us posted!

Matt

[rDr4g0n]

i was gonna use some long screws and nuts to mount and adjust the height of the brackets, but the screws werent long enough, so its on hold till i get to home depot again.

[rDr4g0n]

now that im moving this light out of the way for my newer DIY lighting, i finally got the mounts just right lol. no pics, but i just used some screws to get everything in place and even.

ill be using this hood for my 10gallon specimin tank. i plan to collect interesting stuff from the ocean and observe it in this tank. this lighting should be enough.

[Dentoid]

You are 'da man! Be careful working with 120V, do we need to have the paramedic on call when you plug it in?

[rDr4g0n]

Originally Posted by Dentoid

You are 'da man! Be careful working with 120V, do we need to have the paramedic on call when you plug it in?

nahh this one is much safer than my other project. besides its mostly outta the way untill i actually setup that observation tank.

but ya when i call 911 they say "hi mr. john, how can we help you today... ahh i see you broke your leg again... yes the ambulance driver remembers where you live..."