hi im trying to set up 4 2 foot tanks as cheaply as possible and looking for ideas,

2 i want for africans so have used small lime chip as a substrate which alone has raised my ph to 7.5 which im thinking should be ok if it dosnt drop below this. all the tanks have undergravel filters which im hoping to power with the one airpump which will provide oxygen to the tanks as well. now im stuck on lighting, does anyone have any ideas on how to provide light inexpensively? the tanks will be about 2.7m long all together with a little gap between each tank

2ft tanks for africans? What are you planning to put in them?

Anyway about the best way to light 2.7m cheapily would be to source a couple of 4ft fluoros.. either that or you could DIY some normal light fittings and use 6500k energy savers above each tank..

hi ryan, dont worry mate only want the 2 tanks for quarentine, beaten up fish, and to put the odd female in that is holding, the other two are for rams and kribs. i saw you can buy 4 foot double bulb light units for 60 bucks at bunnings, might be a better option for me than playing with electricity. your idea sounds cheaper though

hi ryan, dont worry mate only want the 2 tanks for quarentine, beaten up fish, and to put the odd female in that is holding, the other two are for rams and kribs. i saw you can buy 4 foot double bulb light units for 60 bucks at bunnings, might be a better option for me than playing with electricity. your idea sounds cheaper though

You can get them for $35 on trade me. Thats what I did, also SamH did it.

Just have to wire them yourself

Just have to wire them yourself

and therein lies the catch :facepalm:

Not hard to wire up fluoros and test them Just make sure you find someone who knows what they are doing! Might also be the kind of thing you could show up to a sparky shop at 4pm on a friday afternoon with a box of beers and all the cable and plugs and get done..

and therein lies the catch :facepalm:

You need to do it with the ones from bunnings also (i've bought both)

$10 clamp desk lamps plus energy saver bulbs?

thanks everyone, ill make some inquirys

Not hard to wire up fluoros and test them Just make sure you find someone who knows what they are doing! Might also be the kind of thing you could show up to a sparky shop at 4pm on a friday afternoon with a box of beers and all the cable and plugs and get done..

Bourbons go down well to !drool:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Car-parts-accessories/Performance/Other/auction-372542807.htm

Is another option. Just need the transformer

You can get them for $35 on trade me. Thats what I did, also SamH did it. Just have to wire them yourself

hey josh. i found the lights you speak of on TM - thanks, it seems like it will be a much cheaper way to go.

so did you or samh also make any sort of enclosure/mount for the lights, or any waterproofing..? basically i just wanna know what other adjustments you made, aside from wiring.

cheers.

hey josh. i found the lights you speak of on TM - thanks, it seems like it will be a much cheaper way to go.

so did you or samh also make any sort of enclosure/mount for the lights, or any waterproofing..? basically i just wanna know what other adjustments you made, aside from wiring.

cheers.

I make sure I always use them over tanks with lids.

For awhile I made a casing out of poly and put tinfoil in as a reflector and my planted tank really took off but it kept falling apart. You could do it with wood to increase how much light goes into the tank.

Basically no improvements