# ZooMed 36" combo hood (yes or no)



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

I'm thinking of getting a 36" zoomed combo reptile light for my terribilis tank. It has fixtures for 1 long flourescent bulb and 3 screw in bulbs. What do you think? If I get it what bulbs should I use? I'm thinking 3 fluorescent twists and the long fluorescent bulb. Do I need special bulbs or can I just get daylight bulbs at the wallmart?
Thanks


----------



## AaronAcker (Aug 15, 2007)

I'd say yes on the hood. The zoomed lids look nice. As for the lights, I use only the daylight compact spirals, great bulbs. Anything really in the tube spot,,, something 6500- 7500k should look nice.


----------



## johnachilli (Feb 8, 2007)

What size tank is that? I have the exo 3 screw in bulb hood over a 29 gal. the light out put is good I use 22 watt screw in CFLs daylight. Your tank looks a bit deep though, compared to the screw in CFL I don't think the one tube bulb would give you much extra.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

That would work...You'd just need regular wal-mart GE brand 6500k daylight screw in cfl bulbs, and one day light tube. But for probably the same money or less you can get a much nicer looking fixture that pumps out as much light.

Might check out this ebay seller. They sell Odyssea brand lighting. topdogsellers items - Get great deals on UV Bulb, Filter items on eBay Stores!

Here is another odyssea light from a different seller...
T6 Fluorescent Dual HO Light 36" 78w Aquarium Lighting - eBay (item 260687494202 end time Dec-04-10 01:27:59 PST)

A few issues with the odyssea lights...

1. You have to look closely between the duel and quad models on the T-5's...the quad cost more but give you more watts of lighting and moon lights

2. On the cfl lights it is the single that doesn't come with moon lights and is cheaper while it is actually the duel model that does have the moon lights and more wattage. 

3. They come with bulbs more suitable for marine tanks but they are so cheap that you can buy 6500k/6700k replacement bulbs and still be money ahead and you can use the old bulbs as temporary replacements once a daylight bulb burns out. Some people use 10000k and actinic lights on vivs...but there are potential issues there so I don't recommend it as more then a temporary solution. 

4. They are made overseas and are not UL listed, but are ce certified...I did some research on them and it seems a few years back there were some reliability issues but they seem to have gotten much better in the last couple years, lots of positive reviews. They are about the best bang for the buck I've seen lighting wise if you are willing to take a risk on a non UL listed product. Only this last issue is a performance concern, the rest is just about being careful to choose the right light with the features you want. 

I haven't bought any of these yet, but when I can finally upgrade my lighting I plan to based on the reviews and research I did. They seemed fairly reliable with a much better performance/safety profile in recent years.

If you wanna go for something more name brand and UL listed I'd go with something like the 36inch version of this...
AquaticLife T5 HO Light Link Fixture - FreshWater

Here is a cfl model that would probably do nicely and cost around the same as that zoomed. the 30inch version would probably be adequate but the 36 would probably be best at 96watts.
Freshwater Aqualight Deluxe Series


One thing you might look at is 30inch lights, some models especially dual cfl or quad t-5's are more then enough light for most tanks 36inches across and you only have 3 inches of unused tank top on either side so they still look pretty slick, and you've saved yourself a fair chunk of change. Looking at your tank, i'd say strive for a fixture that gives you between 2-3 watts per gallon since your tank looks fairly standard sized and you've used up some of height with false bottom/substrate area that should be plenty. Near 3 watts per gallon seems to be the sweet spot for most vivs, maybe 2 watts for tanks that aren't very tall like 40b and 20L's

You can easily add moon lights through several cheap after market options.
One of the best/cheapest options is getting one of these...
HerpSupplies.com - Lunar Light - LED - Lunar Light LED Fixture* Energy efficient - consumes less than 1 watt of ...
Then if you need to buying an extra light link that hooks to the original for about $10...
HerpSupplies.com - Lunar Link - LED - Lunar Links LED Lighting** Must have Lunar "Lights" before...

If it was me buying a light for that tank I'd get a dual cfl or quad t-5 oddysea with moon lights, or the coralife aqualight 36" freshwater fixture (or some other similar brand/model with comparable wattage)


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

The tank is 24" high X 36" long X 18" wide. I guess that makes it about 65 gallon. Right now I have 2 strip lights on it. Off the top of my head I was thinking the twist bulbs would be cheaper than the more specialized long fluorescent bulbs and do the job. I was at That Fish Place looking at lights today and kept going in circles. The ones that stand up from the tank a little are sharp looking.

This tank is my display tank in my computer room. It gets a lot of attention and I want the orchids to bloom and the tank to look good.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Michael Shrom said:


> The tank is 24" high X 36" long X 18" wide. I guess that makes it about 65 gallon. Right now I have 2 strip lights on it. Off the top of my head I was thinking the twist bulbs would be cheaper than the more specialized long fluorescent bulbs and do the job. I was at That Fish Place looking at lights today and kept going in circles. The ones that stand up from the tank a little are sharp looking.
> 
> This tank is my display tank in my computer room. It gets a lot of attention and I want the orchids to bloom and the tank to look good.


If you put 3 26watt(which is about the biggest you *commonly* find in "daylight") screw in cfl's into the zoomed and assuming the tube is around 20 watts that will give you around 98watts. I think that fixture is pretty big also so it will take up a lot of space on the tank meaning if it isn't enough you may not have room to add another light. If you go with one of the 30inch or 36inch t-5 or CFL aqualight types like I posted (the low profile styles) you'll probably have room to add back in 1 or both of your strips if it isn't enough light on its own. Thats a pretty tall tank so even with the height you used up with the substrate/drainage layer I think you'll want at least 2 watts per gallon. So some kind of lighting solution that puts out around 130 total watts. 

Really it just depends on how much you are willing to spend and if you are ok with using a non UL listed light. Those oddysea lights are basically the same as the coralife, current, and nova brand lights but half the price. I think a 154watt quad T-5 light would be about perfect for your setup but unless you go oddysea you basically won't find that for under $200 probably. If you want name brand stuff, the 30 inch or 36inch coral life freshwater aqualights are probably the way to go, and you can just throw one of your old fixtures in front of or behind it if it isn't quite enough on its own...maybe all 3 will fit up there 

Here are a few more options with some notes...

this one you'll probably wanna replace the actinic with a daylight...you can get away with using the 10000k it comes with if you don't mind things looking a little blue...or replace both with daylight...but that puts you at around 200 when you factor in shipping
30" 2x65 Coralife LUNAR Aqualight Deluxe Series
same deal with this one...
24" 2x65W Coralife Lunar Aqualight 
Notice it is shorter but still puts out 130watts of lighting. It is important to notice the configuration of the bulbs in some of these because they are offset to one side in some fixtures meaning you may not get even light across the tank. Like in these example pics... 
















2 bulbs side by side or mounted in the middle, or a config like this will give you more even light...(such config issues usually aren't a problem with t-5's)









This is probably one of the best bang for the buck name brand lights...
Amazon.com: Coralife Freshwater Aqualight, Single Linear Strip Light, 1X96W, 36 inch: Everything Else
Same one from another seller...
36" 1x96W Coralife FRESHWATER Aqualight, 1x 6,700K, -Square Pin

But I'm not sure if the bulb extends the full length of the fixture or is mounted off to one side, so that it may not provide even light. In this similar model it looks like the bulb is mounted where you'd want it, and I think it is mounted the same in the freshwater version 36inch, the 30 however is mounted offset which sux...
Coralife Aqualight Power Compact Fixture With Single 50/50 Lamp 
That fixture would work but i'd replace the 50/50 with a daylight bulb which would up the cost, so if the 36in freshwater bulb is configured in the middle or stretches the length of the fixture for even light that would be the way to go.
Once you jump above that wattage the price goes up substantially, so it may be worth using one or both of your old fixtures if it isn't adequate light (good chance it will be fine though unless you're growing really high light plants)

So ya lots of choices, that is kinda a difficult sized tank to light nicely (wattage and looks wise) on the cheap unless you are willing to go off brand and get an oddysea fixture in which case get the quad t-5 with moon lights is about perfect for your tank... buy some daylight replacement bulbs and you are good to go. Here are those again (Free shipping on the fixtures I believe)...
Cichlid version (cheapest, probably best option)
36" - 40" T5 HO Aquarium Light Hood Cichlid Marine 156W - eBay (item 300481867555 end time Nov-15-10 12:21:29 PST)

Marine version with little different fixture assembly and slightly more money...
36" T5 Light HO Aquarium Marine Reef Cichlid 156W Lunar - eBay (item 290494378672 end time Nov-29-10 12:59:54 PST)

4 pack of replacement bulbs for around $40, be sure to specify color temp.
T5 Light Bulb Aquarium 39W 39 watts (..) 3 ft 4 Pack - eBay (item 110575413465 end time Nov-16-10 13:30:30 PST)

I vote oddysea...but if it blows up and your house burns down don't blame me  ...I'd risk it for those prices!


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

here is a huge thread on oddysea lighting from a reef forum if you wanna get a feel for what people think of them...
Odyssea Lights - 3reef Forums

Here is an online store with similar pricing as the ebay sellers and may have more configuration options for oddysea lighting...
http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-Aquarium-Lighting-s/5.htm


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

Thanks Dave,
You talked me out of the ZooMed. The oddysea lights sound good. I would sooner go with a name brand but don't want to spend the money. I'll probably get a quad T -5 soon.

What is the advantage of moon lights? Is it just an aesthetic thing?


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Michael Shrom said:


> Thanks Dave,
> You talked me out of the ZooMed. The oddysea lights sound good. I would sooner go with a name brand but don't want to spend the money. I'll probably get a quad T -5 soon.
> 
> What is the advantage of moon lights? Is it just an aesthetic thing?


Rad, let me know how they work for you since I'll probably go in a similar direction eventually. The moon lights are mostly aesthetic to allow for some night time viewing. I think they can benefit corals and possibly other marine life but for us ya mostly aesthetic. Not sure much is known about the effect moon phases have on darts. In fact there is some concern that to much blue only light may not be good for the animals, but I don't think there is much on the subject one way or the other.

If there is a way to put them on timer it may be best to limit them to a couple hours a night only...or you can just shut them off totally and only flip them on when you are having guests over. Darts seem to have better color vision then alot of herps though so it is likely they would perceive red better then other herps also, so that leaves white which is probably the best for true moon lighting, since true moonlight is just really dim white light. And you can buy white moon lights if you wanna go that route instead of using the blue built into the fixture.


----------



## johnachilli (Feb 8, 2007)

I would agree that t-5 or a nice CF unit would be the best bet. A cheaper option might be to run 2 of the exo hoods on there giving you 6 screw in bulbs, which you could get about 150 watts out of.


----------



## Gamble (Aug 1, 2010)

Not trying to hijack but is 150watts going to be enuff for his big tank??? I have a 50gal with almost 120W (6500k) and my jewel orchids don't flower at all and my broms stay green and don't get any of the red coloring that they should and I was told u should aim for 3-4W per gallon for good growth on those plants. (Which is why mine are the way they are bc I obviously don't!)


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Gamble said:


> Not trying to hijack but is 150watts going to be enuff for his big tank??? I have a 50gal with almost 120W (6500k) and my jewel orchids don't flower at all and my broms stay green and don't get any of the red coloring that they should and I was told u should aim for 3-4W per gallon for good growth on those plants. (Which is why mine are the way they are bc I obviously don't!)


Will it be enough...yes. Will it be ideal?....Possibly not. Depends on what he is growing and where he has it placed in the viv. If you place your high light plants closer to the lights then the low light plants you can get away with having less total light then you might need for the high light plants if they were on the floor instead of midway up the tank or near the top...the catch is you have to factor in how tall the plant grows. You can't place a high light plant that grows a foot tall 6 inches from the top of the tank and expect it not to hit the lid, and probably need to be pruned constantly. Plant choice and placement are very important in a well designed viv. 

You may get away with 2 watts per gallon and be able to color up your broms if they are placed closer to the lights, but not so close that they bump the top as they grow. Keeping the top glass clean will increase available light also. Increasing the photo period may help also, say from 10 hours to 12 up to 16. BTW jewel orchids are generally low light plants, you shouldn't need 3-4 watts per gallon in most tanks for them unless it is an extremely tall tank. I have 4 species and they are only doing well in the darkest parts of the vivs they are in and/or shaded by other plants. It is possible they may need a period of higher light to flower but I don't remember ever hearing that...and the flowers by most standards are only ok, or even kinda crappy  Most just grow them for the foliage.


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

Most of the orchids are pretty high up. They are my main concern. I try to keep the broms pretty small so they don't choke out any orchids. I've had jewel orchids bloom under pretty low light.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

johnachilli said:


> I would agree that t-5 or a nice CF unit would be the best bet. A cheaper option might be to run 2 of the exo hoods on there giving you 6 screw in bulbs, which you could get about 150 watts out of.


That may work. My fear though was that there wouldn't be enough room. Most of the combo type hoods are rather huge and wide. He may be able to fit one on there and then add in one of his strip lights but maybe not...even less likely he'd get 2 combo hoods to fit. Also if he add another light but has to move one so that the lid hinges (depending on type of top he has) block a large portion of the light from one fixture then he gets minimal benefit. 

The flukers combo strips were pretty skinny...but I think they are discontinued I can hardly find any offered and the ones I found I couldn't be sure they included the tube light, or if they were just a tube light and left out the incandescent fixtures. I have 2 30inch ones over my 46bow, so that is 4 screw ins and 2 tube lights. They also have plugs on top to plug in other things which is kinda nice...but ya pretty hard to find now I think.

I only found them 2 places and they were both out of stock. Here is a pic though in case someone wants to check local pet stores...









I think I have the 30 inch which is actually slightly longer then 30 inches, could be the 36 though...I forget and no longer have the box. So it is either a couple inches longer then it should be, or a couple inches shorter  Some of these models just have screw in sockets, others have both screw in and tube to make them combo lights, others MAY just be tubes, again I can't remember. If he could find 2 of the old flukers combo lights they'd probably work well but not sure that will be possible.


----------



## 2010tony (Oct 27, 2010)

I think led fluorescent light are enough for not big tanks, and not so long. It is easier to install. Personally, royal blue and cold white 20,000k kelvins are highly recommended.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

2010tony said:


> I think led fluorescent light are enough for not big tanks, and not so long. It is easier to install. Personally, royal blue and cold white 20,000k kelvins are highly recommended.


Um led and fluorescent are 2 different types of lighting, and 20000k is extremely blue and recommended in the US almost exclusively for salt water aquariums...maybe fresh, but not that've I've seen. Light in kelvins that high is a far cry from the color of regular noon time daylight, which is why 5000k-7000k is usually the zone people stick to.


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

Dendro Dave said:


> h
> 
> Here is an online store with similar pricing as the ebay sellers and may have more configuration options for oddysea lighting...
> http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-Aquarium-Lighting-s/5.htm



O.K. I'm getting ready to order a 36" quad t-5 oddysea light. Does a 36" fixture take 36" long bulbs?


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Michael Shrom said:


> O.K. I'm getting ready to order a 36" quad t-5 oddysea light. Does a 36" fixture take 36" long bulbs?


From aquatraders.com...

Odyssea 39W High Output T5 Bulb
Reg Price $9.90 

Wattage: 39W

Bulb Diameter: 5/8"

*Length: 33 7/8" (Pin to Pin)*

Socket Type: 2 Pin

Choice of: Daylight 12000K, Daylight 17000K, Actinic Blue

For some weird reason there is no choice of spectrum on the replacement bulbs from that site in the size you would need...the other sizes have the choice option but not that one. If you order extra bulbs from there you may wanna order by phone or something. I went all the way to the end, "place order" and it never gave me the option for bulb type...but its right there when u click on the other sizes. Sux...but actually I just looked again, and they don't offer a 6500k bulb in that size so If ordering the fixture from there you may wanna order some replacement bulbs from another site that has standard 6500K daylight bulbs in the HO 39watt T-5 size (which should all be the same length and fit 33-34 inches roughly, they vary slightly by brand)

Here is a link to one seller...
Zoo Med Ultra Sun Super Daylight T5 High Output Bulb 34"

But you should be able to pick them up locally at petco/petsmart, homedepot, lowes etc..etc... For bulbs that may be best since even with store mark up and taxes may be about the same as shipping costs and less worry of breakage. I'd get 2...you wanna at least replace the actinic. I don't think you'll like the look using all the bulbs that come with the fixture. the 2 1000k + 2 6500k would probably look ok, but the actinics will definitely turn everything really blue... But 4 6500k's would look best probably.


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

Thanks. I ordered the oddysea 36" quad t-5. I'll get bulbs when it comes in.


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Cool, let us know how it works out for ya


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

3. They come with bulbs more suitable for marine tanks but they are so cheap that you can buy 6500k/6700k replacement bulbs and still be money ahead and you can use the old bulbs as temporary replacements once a daylight bulb burns out. Some people use 10000k and actinic lights on vivs...but there are potential issues there so I don't recommend it as more then a temporary solution. 

I received my oddysea light today. What are the potential issues if I use the actinic and 10000k lights temporarily?


----------



## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Michael Shrom said:


> 3. They come with bulbs more suitable for marine tanks but they are so cheap that you can buy 6500k/6700k replacement bulbs and still be money ahead and you can use the old bulbs as temporary replacements once a daylight bulb burns out. Some people use 10000k and actinic lights on vivs...but there are potential issues there so I don't recommend it as more then a temporary solution.
> 
> I received my oddysea light today. What are the potential issues if I use the actinic and 10000k lights temporarily?


Mostly I think it may not be good to subject an animal to such long exposure of light so heavily skewed toward the blue...basically it would be like us always living in blue light...chances are it would stress us and maybe mess up our eyes. Also actinic lights are apparently from my research basically black lights without the Wood's glass filter to block visible light emission...so they put out a fair amount of uva, which could be damaging in the long run since glass doesn't filter it out much...but it does filter it some, so between that, and the walls of your house you have drastically cut the uva exposure compared to what a frog would get in the wild, so if the viv is well planted with places for the frog to escape uva exposure it may not be a huge issue. hard to say it is kind of an unknown so for me I'd wanna limit exposure to few hours a day if I was using it for glow effects from minerals or some other special effect like I'm planning in future vivs, or for normal viv use only use the light on a temp basis till I got more suitable bulbs.


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

It looks like I'll wind up purchasing the bulbs on line. I can't find any at a decent price locally.


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

My oddyssea shorted out about 2 weeks ago. I bought an Aquasun quad t5 by zoo med to replace it. After 5 days one of the ballasts seems to have burnt out. Their was a big sizzle and 2 of the light ports won't work anymore. I thought I was stepping up. Now I'm thinking of a Nova extreme if I can get my money back on the Zoomed. Aargh!

Recommendations?


----------



## hypnoticaquatic (Dec 19, 2012)

Michael Shrom said:


> My oddyssea shorted out about 2 weeks ago. I bought an Aquasun quad t5 by zoo med to replace it. After 5 days one of the ballasts seems to have burnt out. Their was a big sizzle and 2 of the light ports won't work anymore. I thought I was stepping up. Now I'm thinking of a Nova extreme if I can get my money back on the Zoomed. Aargh!
> 
> Recommendations?


nova's are soso you would really get more light from a 24inch t5ho from hydrofarm with a parabolic reflector id probably compair a single bulb with a parabolic reflector to one of 2bulb novas but would need a par meter to get exact #'s remember parabolic relectors can increase the light up to 300%. even with my coralife's ive had wire issues and burning bulbs out within a few weeks, hasnt happend anymore but just something to keep in mind. now i really just run these Dimmable LED Aquarium Light 120W Coral Reef Tank White Blue Grow Light 55x3 Watt | eBay having the ability to dim is key also can run just white or blue or both. if your handy to u can use the fans on it and fab some plexi to blow on the front for a fog/mist free front pannel. for cost id say go with the hydrofarm $45ish and can be daisy chained if you get multipul tank and want the same lighting schedule. here is another type (i havent used so i cant comment on it)AquaVibrant


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

I should have known better than buying Zoomed. For now I'm going to use the 2 36" lights on the ZooMed Aquasun that still work. I'm thinking about led the next time but am not ready to make the jump. I'll have to keep my eyes open and get a little more light knowledge.


Most of my orchids are high up in the tank and will bloom with just the 2 bulbs. It sure did look nice the 5 days that all 4 bulbs worked.


----------



## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

The oddyssea should be easy to fix, they only have a few parts inside. It would be cheaper too.


----------



## mantisdragon91 (Jun 2, 2010)

Michael Shrom said:


> My oddyssea shorted out about 2 weeks ago. I bought an Aquasun quad t5 by zoo med to replace it. After 5 days one of the ballasts seems to have burnt out. Their was a big sizzle and 2 of the light ports won't work anymore. I thought I was stepping up. Now I'm thinking of a Nova extreme if I can get my money back on the Zoomed. Aargh!
> 
> Recommendations?


Michael,

I'd recommend the LED strips from Tod at Lightyoureptiles. Low profile, great light spectrum, very long life and comparable in price to what a good T-5 setup will run you.


----------



## Michael Shrom (May 20, 2004)

I got my refund from That Fish Place for the zoomed light. The plastic parts of the oddysea light are brittle and snap easily. I'm still making up my mind on the new light.

My tank is a 36" X 18"x 24" deep display tank. Most of the orchids are pretty high up on cork bark. Terrarium lighting has changed a lot since I set my first one up about 40 years ago.


----------



## Venutus1 (Feb 13, 2010)

Dendro Dave said:


> Um led and fluorescent are 2 different types of lighting, and 20000k is extremely blue and recommended in the US almost exclusively for salt water aquariums...maybe fresh, but not that've I've seen. Light in kelvins that high is a far cry from the color of regular noon time daylight, which is why 5000k-7000k is usually the zone people stick to.


so true.
noon sun is 5.8 - 6.9k


----------



## BlueDacnis1 (Jan 17, 2012)

I would definitely go with the 13w led from Light Your Reptiles for the screw ins fantastic bulbs

Jerry A
AGE


----------

