anyone ever make a dual linear bulb fixture?

[SS4Luck]

Okay, so i want to run an 18" light over my setup (18x18x36 cage) that has a 5.0 and a 2700K linear. Well i already have problems fitting everything on the top of my cage, let alone a second light setup for my plant light, so i figured i would just make my own.

Im in LOVE with this exo terra unit ( http://exo-terra.com/en/products/dual_top.php ) but at $160+ there is no way Im buying that. I figure if im makign my own, i could space everything out and basically make the "Jordan version" of the exo terra and include the heat in there too. I heat my turtles with a 40W mini flood light which shouldnt be too hard to include a normal fixture in the middle of the thing.

I kinda wanna get the Exo Terra Light cycle unit ( http://exo-terra.com/en/products/light_cycle_unit.php ) cuz i have seen how the reptiles ive kept outside vs. inside act with the more natural light cycle and it seems like it would help. Plus with those mounting points from the exto terra it seems like it would be easier to mount everything into a metal housing i could make. Plus it can be used for multiple length bulbs so as the setup(s) grow i could jsut throw different length bulbs in there. Has anyone ever used it?

Ill keep everyone updated on how this goes. Ill pry tackle at least part of it this weekend and see how it turns out

 

[summoner12]

If you want to MAKE it..... Home Depot sells dual lamp ballasts and the lamp end clips... I imagine you could make a dual fixture for about 30-40 bucks and use aluminum foil as a reflector. You want the lamps to be 18"? I would make it 24"... just so that if you up grade the cage you can span a larger cage... or use dual 48" fixtures and span the fixture over a couple of cages. It is a pretty cost effective method since you can get a decent Home Depot fixture for $20.

I use foil on every fixture I buy... no matter who makes it. The foil improves lamp performance nearly doubling the lamps output.

 

[SS4Luck]

I don't want to make one, but i haven't found any dual fixture 18" T8s, i haven't even found a dual 18" anything for that matter.

The reason i wanna go 18" right now is i know i will end up with a few large cages, but i do not know when (sometime in the next 4 months or so) and i figure its just the easy way to make my own. I didn't know home depot sold the balasts and clips and everything. Thats why i figured i would go with the light control thing from exo terra. There isn't a limit to the bulb size so when i expanded all i would have to do is make a new hood, its plug and play and i really like the fade in/out idea that it has.

i remember a while back when you got that huge ass control box that controlled a ton of things for you and what you said about it and i just remember how the iguanas i used to keep were and how they acted outdoors vs in when the sun gradually came up they came out of their house looking for food and knew when it was starting to get darker it was bed time and headed back in. It just seems nice

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Check out Diy they sell a dual light fixture. It even has two seperate toggle switches so you can have control over each bulb. Has a built in reflector also. Nicest fixture Ive ever bought and its alot cheaper than that exo terra unit.

 

[steelheadchaser]

I have the Exo-Terra Light cycle unit. The tubes are clipped into a pair of Arcadia reflectors (which were too expensive with shipping for what they are). They rest on top of the screen cage. I would save some money and use foil as Summoner suggested if I had to do it again. Also, the Light Cycle unit doesn't provide a seemless transition from off to fully on. The lights come on initially at a reduced power and then power-up to full brightness over about a 20 minute period. Going off is just the opposite- they fade to about half power and then suddenly turn off.

I currently have a Herpstat ND, and several timers for lighting and misting, but I am intrigued by the versatility of the Eco Zone unit Summoner is using.

 

[SS4Luck]

Check out Diy they sell a dual light fixture. It even has two seperate toggle switches so you can have control over each bulb. Has a built in reflector also. Nicest fixture Ive ever bought and its alot cheaper than that exo terra unit.

will do, i forgot they had it.

I have the Exo-Terra Light cycle unit. The tubes are clipped into a pair of Arcadia reflectors (which were too expensive with shipping for what they are). They rest on top of the screen cage. I would save some money and use foil as Summoner suggested if I had to do it again. Also, the Light Cycle unit doesn't provide a seemless transition from off to fully on. The lights come on initially at a reduced power and then power-up to full brightness over about a 20 minute period. Going off is just the opposite- they fade to about half power and then suddenly turn off.

I currently have a Herpstat ND, and several timers for lighting and misting, but I am intrigued by the versatility of the Eco Zone unit Summoner is using.

I was going to make my own hood/houseing with tin foil, just buy all the electrical crap it needs. Its a shame that light cycle unit isnt nicer and the eco zone isnt cheaper :/

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Yeah one day, I may spring for one of those Eco Zone controllers. Im almost at the point now where I need one.

 

[Mr Wilson]

Lowes has a ton of fixtures for fluorescent bulbs. We got a dual fixture there that goes over our 2 24x24x48 cages, and they are inexpensive.

 

[SS4Luck]

Lowes has a ton of fixtures for fluorescent bulbs. We got a dual fixture there that goes over our 2 24x24x48 cages, and they are inexpensive.

the problem is i need a dual 18" fixture not 48" one. I picked up some 4 t8 balasts, 2 sets of mounting end caps and 2 cermic house fixtures this weekend, im still drawing everyhing out, but im thinking (and though it may be over kill, i think it will be cool) running two 5.0 bulbs, 2 grow lights, and 2 "heat" bulbs in one fixture. I think it will be amazing light, let the cham get 5.0 wherever he is, let me be able to provide one basking bulb and one warmer than ambient temps bulb (think 50W and 20W). Im going to make it out of just normal slat stock, tach welded together with tin foil as a reflector. Im going to cover the edges with hard plastic to keep down on sharp edges, and then paint everything heat resistant black that i have left over from painting the headers on my camaro. It HOPEFULLY will be done by the end of the weekend. It should be nifty

so far i have about $35 into everything, but i have 4 bulbs, and all the electrical things i need. I figure the flat stock will cost me around $10 and i already have the welding equip/tools needed. Ill keep everyone posted!


(imma try and have my GF take pics of everything as i build it also)

 

[Amanda1801]

we made them for the terrapin tanks cos they came without lids and use a similar attachment for the tortoise UV tubes....

All we did was got a piece of wood (or whatever material you want) for the top, attached some wooden "feet" in the right places to allow it to be raised and sit on top of the tank, got the linear bulbs and the attachments, and used clips (like a sprung U-shape) that screw into the wood to clip the bulbs into.

Pretty cheap but effective

 

[Mr Wilson]

I know you need a dual 18 inch fixture. I was just saying we got a large one for cheap.... they have many sizes

 

[SS4Luck]

I know you need a dual 18 inch fixture. I was just saying we got a large one for cheap.... they have many sizes

believe me i cant wait to step up to a big setup, but for now i am at problem central lol