Cheap Aquarium Lighting
In the article I’m going to tell you about Cheap Aquarium Lighting. Fish keeping can be an expensive hobby and if there ways to save money, these tips are always welcomed by the people who can actually make the savings. When we are first setting up our fish tanks, we may invest in a package that includes all of the items that we require all for one single price, we accept this as we think it is the cheapest way to get started in the hobby.
By looking around the internet it soon becomes obvious that there are other methods of saving money, we can easily purchase discount fish tanks by buying these second hand or looking for sales in the aquatic stores, filters can be purchased easily but often the aquarium lighting can be one expense that is more difficulty to reduce.
It is important to use the correct lighting levels dependant on the fish tank that you are running, planted tanks and reefs will require higher lighting levels than fish tanks that only contain artificial plants, and in fact many species of fish prefer lower lighting levels than others. There are a few sites on the internet that advertise second hand lighting units, these are a good option for obtaining your cheap aquarium lighting, always make sure that the sellers are genuine and the sites trusted before any money changes hands. I prefer to make the cheap aquarium lighting; it can be made to fit any fish tank and works out at the fraction of the price of a brand new aquarium lighting unit.
Making your own lighting unit may not give you the result of a streamlined unit that we are all used to today, what you do get is a lighting unit that is efficient, gives out the lighting levels that you require for your fish tank, and if you are building up a discount fish tank that you have just purchased, the total set up budget is greatly reduced.
There are basically four main items that your lighting unit will require, a firm base to attach your lighting unit to, a ballast unit that will transform the power to the correct level, the tube holders that connect to the ballast unit and the correct tubes for your unit. It is very important that the lighting unit is stable on your fish tank, you can either construct a simple lid that sits on top of your fish tank or you can make a flat base that the lighting unit attaches to and this is simply turned over when in use and rests on the top of the fish tank.
The base is made from wood and cut to the same size as the length and width of the fish tank. To mount the base on the top of the fish tank, I simply screw a block either side of the base, this lifts the lighting unit well clear of the water surface, as we all know electricity and water do not mix. Treat the wood with a non-toxic water proof varnish to protect it and then attach the tube holders to the wood at the correct distance for fitting the tubes.
The holders are connect to the ballast unit by means of wiring and are usually purchased pre-wired so that makes life a lot easier, make sure that the ballast is rated at the same wattage as the tubes.
The tubes simply click into the holders and the lighting unit is complete, turn the base over and sit this on top of the fish tank and your cheap aquarium lighting is complete. The wiring is hidden at the back of the fish tank and once switched on; your fish tank will be illuminated. If the light is glaring from the front of the fish tank, you can block this by means of a simple edging attached to the front of the wooden base.
