Cold cathode fluoro, been there, done that, pics to follow

[Agu]

Read about cold cathode flourescent bulbs here and decided to check them out.

Researched online and found a place that sells 10K lamps so I had them spec out some bulbs. Turns out they sell bare lamps with all accessories sold as add ons. Once I got my electrical engineering degree I could build the lights from scratch, for about $25 per bulb. Decided that wasn't going to happen.

Ordered three pairs of CCFL bulbs from a case mod website for about $25 including shipping.Got two pairs of white of dubious kelvin and one pair of blue of even more dubious kelvin. I retrofitted them into a burnt out Coralife fixture to take advantage of the reflector.

Here's a pic,

At the right are the 6 bulbs in the fixture. At the left are the power inverters (similar to the ballast on a normal fluoro bulb). Up top is the 12V 500mA transformer that supplies power to the bulbs. Original light came with a molex plug to plug into your computer power supply. I cut them off and used a wire nuts to connect them to the power supply.

Lighting pics to follow......

 

[yankeereefer]

tagging along

 

[glassbox-design]

very cool idea... just how off are the kelvin claims though...?

 

[Pattylucylaura]

Interested also can't wait to see pics and what kind of growth you may or may not get. Which company did you find the bulbs at I tried a couple but never returned my emails about K rating.

 

[Agu]

Found Technical specs at this site,

JKL Components

and here's what they recommended,



"Thank you for contacting JKL Components.

All light sources will have some color shift over time. CCFLs contain phosphors and as the phosphors age, slight color shift is common.

JKL Part number BF26250-24B is a 2.6mm x 250mm CCFL with a color temperature of 9400K.

To drive the CCFLs, I would recommend using inverter part number BXA-12579. BXA-12579 is a 12v DC dual output (operates 2 CCFLs).

Other accessories to consider are the input and output connecting harnesses for the inverter, reference JKL part numbers BXC-10605 and BXC-10569, and silicone rubber end caps that go on the ends of the CCFLs, reference part number BF2.6/RC.

I have attached specifications for all of the above part numbers for your review.

Given your unusual application, I am not sure how many CCFLs you may need for your desired results.

You will obtain best pricing on small quantities from our distributor, Dig-Key http://www.digikey.com/


Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional assistance."

Like I mentioned, one pair of lights looked to cost about $50 assuming I could wire them correctly. So instead I bought three pairs of lights here, two white and one blue from Xoxide

 

[Agu]

Tank is a 5.5 gallon, CCFL is on the left side and I tried various bulbs on the right side as comparisons,

CCFL by itself,

CCFL on left vs 18w 50/50 pc in Current fixture.....

CCFL vs 10w All Glass 6500k bulb......

 

[glassbox-design]

thanks for the pics agu.

individual reflectors would help tremendously...perhaps some thin bent polished aluminum?

 

[Agu]

CCFL vs GE curly PC 26w "daylight".....

CCFL VS 25w LOA curly PC 6500 (?)

 

[Slakker]

Hmm...looks like CCFLs aren't really all that bright.

 

[Agu]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10499416#post10499416 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Slakker
Hmm...looks like CCFLs aren't really all that bright.

My conclusion too, esp when an $8 daylight curly pc with a white plastic reflector has better color and looks brighter (at least to me).

 

[glassbox-design]

My conclusion too, esp when an $8 daylight curly pc with a white plastic reflector has better color and looks brighter (at least to me).

....lol i agree with that observation. i wonder if there is a practical use for them in reefkeeping?

i am not familiar with them at all...can they be over driven? better bulbs/power supply?

what's there lumen/watt?

 

[Agu]

I have to post a disclaimer here. I bought the cheapest plug and play cold cathode lighting available.

They may not be representative of other bulb/inverter combinations. Other inverters may overdrive the bulbs more. Other bulbs may have more intensity and better color.


I don't want people to give up on this concept. Rather I hope people take the info supplied to try the idea at the next level.

what's there lumen/watt?

They're rated by candela per square meter , whatever that means ? Best explanation I could find was,

The candela per meter squared (cd / m2) is the standard unit of luminance. It represents a luminous intensity of one candela radiating from a surface whose area is one square meter.

 

[purebullet417]

get some uv bulbs and put some nice zoos in there. put the uvs on only and watch how they look

 

[Agu]

Maybe the blue CCFL will function as actinics on nano tanks? Don't have the UV bulbs to check out, do you have any pics ? I'll try them over tanks with corals and post pics.

 

[purebullet417]

i dont have pics but uv bulbs make things look sick on computers(what ccfls are made for) so i assume that uvs will really bring out the florescents in zoos.

 

[Agu]

Got a PM from a person using the blue bulbs (not the UV) for night lights (on a substantially larger tank). They're too bright for night lights but they make the fluorescent coral colors really "pop" as actinics.

Maybe CCFL have a future as actinics on nano tanks ?

 

[BlakDuc]

Is the word "cold" in cold cathode really the case? Do they burn cold?

 

[nynex]

Agu first off you wernt using a strong enough power supply. I had those same
CC lamps but mine were 4inch. Each dual setup has a current draw of 500ma.

So to power 3 sets like you have..you would have to use a 1.5amp (1500ma)
power supply. So my guess is you are under powering them very much..In
which case they are gonna look pretty dim like in your photos.

Next to my 3 gal saltwater pico on our bar we also had a 2 gal acrylic pico for our
betta. I had freshwater sand and a few plants in with him. I didnt want to spend
money on an 18 watt PC clip on when I knew he or the plants really didnt need that
much light. So I built an acrylic Cold Cathode light hood out of some spare acrylic I
had and I bought 2 dual 4 inch cold cathode kits for like $10 off of ebay .

The current Forward Draw on one dual set of the 4 inch is 500ma. Says it right on
the side of the box. So to power both of the dual setups...4 lamps in total. I used a
12 volt 1000ma(1 amp). With that they were pretty decent for the freshwater 2 gal.
But I wouldnt use them for saltwater..maybe a fish/invert only 2 or 3 gal nano.

 

[Agu]

From my checking things out I thought that cold cathodes only draw 30 to 40 mA per bulb. Going to have to find a stronger transformer and try again.

Thanks for the heads up :thumbsup:

 

[mangus7175]

tagging along...great info