Most watts on a PC for a 5.5 nano?

[daaaaaan]

I am building a 5.5 AGA nano tank, and i want to put upwards of 54 watts or more on the tank, but all I can find is a coralife 12" 36 watt fixture....I want the fixture to fit ontop of the tank, so max size it can be is 15x9.......

Anybody know of anything out there? I would like to have actinics and daylight bulbs if possible so i can have them on a timer for sunrise/sunset effect......

 

[1105]

If you want to do it yourself, you can get 64watts of PC lighting on a 5.5g tank. I have two 32w PC's on my 5.5g powered by a ballast I picked up from Lowes for $26. It was really easy to wire up and it's working great. Just be careful about the temp. My tank was running at 86 degrees until I put a fan on it, then it was at 73 degrees... Now a heater keeps it at 80.0-80.3 degrees.

 

[daaaaaan]

could you please send me as much info you can on which ballast you bought, and where you got the fixtures from? Im OK at wiring (ive done several car amp's, and similar items).....so if you could please inform me as much as you can.....thanks.

Also, any more pics?

 

[1105]

Sorry I don't have any more pictures of the lighting.

I bought the bulbs from www.hellolights.com along with the sockets
http://hellolights.com/28w5050.html 50/50
http://hellolights.com/28watacblu.html Actinic 03
http://www.hellolights.com/pcentypbas.html Socket

You will also need to get some clips to hold the bulbs in place, I picked some up from a LFS for under $2

I believe this is the ballast http://www.bulbs.com/products/product_detail.asp?page=ballasts&inventory=9184

I know when I bought it, it was for two bulbs (I believe T12's), 120v, and can power up to two 40watt bulbs. The particular one I have is made by Advance, but Sylvania also has nice ballasts. Just look for one that can power two bulbs, and it should say on the ballast how many watts each bulb can be for it to work.

Sorry for the bad pictures, but these were taken with my camera phone.

Here is a picture of my tank when I first started it

And one now

 

[daaaaaan]

Did you buy your stand/canopy, or did you make it? It looks like awesome quality!

 

[Pico Keeper]

I use a 2x24w pc retro in my 5.5g. Reefgeek.com also sells a 2x28w PC Retro that comes with reflectors for about a 100 bucks.
I'm actually going to throw a 70w MH and use my 2x24s for atinic supp..

 

[1105]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7588298#post7588298 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by daaaaaan
Did you buy your stand/canopy, or did you make it? It looks like awesome quality!

Thanks. That is something I threw together real quick for at work. It's nothing special. If you have anymore questions about the lights feel free to ask.