Introduction
Finally, compact fluorescent lighting is becoming more common, and with manufacturers aiming at the mass market, it is available at a much lower cost than previously available. The Lights of America fixtures are useful to the DIY community due to the 65 watt, 6500k bulb fixtures available (at the time of writing, ~ $25 US). For comparison, a single 55 watt retro kit runs around $60 US. The 65 watt bulb is also quite a bit more compact lengthwise, allowing nanoreef tanks to exchange some vertical canopy height for far more light than possible using the usual 13 watt retro kits.

Click for full size image.

Dimensions   L W H Lights of America 65 watt 10" 2 3/4" 2 3/4" 13 watt retro 7.5" ~ 1 1/2" ~ 1" 55 watt retro 21 1/2" ~ 1 1/2" ~ 1" Note: length includes socket; retro kit width and height estimated

Personal motivation - while setting up a refugium, the LOA fixture seemed completely ideal to use as a grow light - so naturally, no Home Depot, Costco, or Wal-mart in my area carried the product any longer. However, Home Depot stores should now carry a similar fixture manufactured by Lumark, with specs identical to the Lights of America fixture. Later, I came across a LOA fixture, allowing for a crude comparison as given below.

And so, here are a few pointers on converting these fixtures into very simple and easy to integrate retro kits - along with a direct comparison of the Lights of America and Lumark fixtures.

Lights of America Fixtures
As a warning, many folks on the Reefs.org and Reef Central boards have had problems with LOA fixtures burning out. Heat buildup in enclosed spaces is a likely issue, along with low construction quality.

I picked up this fixture at a Home Depot - look in the work light/outdoor security light area. Lights of America also makes another model in a pendant type shape, using the same bulb and ballast (model 9266). Construction techniques on that model should be similar enough to enable easy disassembly as well.

The fixture is nearly completely plastic. This picture shows the mogul socket after the reflector has been removed.

To begin disassembling the fixture, pop off the cap at the top of the fixture. You can then remove the top half of the fixture by pulling back on two clips holding the part in place (located where the power wires exit the fixture).

LOA fixture with the top removed - the PCB is the inverter responsible for driving the compact fluorescent bulb. To completely remove the PCB, pull on the photoreceptor and it will slip out of its socket.

To remove the mogul socket from the fixture, unscrew at at the indicated points. To completely remove the socket, you'll need to cut its power wires. Note screws conveniently prestripped by LOA (really).

Lumark Fixtures

Again, Home Depot was the source for this fixture. Specifications on the bottom of the box indicate that the bulb is 6400k.

Also again, most of the enclosure is made of plastic. Begin by removing the reflector, held around the mogul socket with three screws. Then remove the ballast housing to the left of socket, held in place with two screws.

Basic guts of the fixture. To remove the ballast completely, remove the photoreceptor by squeezing its clips together.

To remove the mogul socket, unscrew the two indicated screws.

The Lumark completely gutted. From here it is pretty easy to integrate the lamp setup in a canopy.



Canopy Integration

After getting the inverter and socket of the fixtures out, integration is simply a matter of splicing on a power cord, screwing in the mogul socket, and finding a place for the ballast circuitry. Inexpensive household extension cords are a convenient source of cabling for this type of work. Consider extending the wiring from the inverter to the bulb to avoid having to keep the circuitry near a hot region - heat heavily reduces the lifespan of solid state electronics.

As far as heat goes, the bulbs produce as much heat as other compact fluorescent fixtures tend to. In this (under construction) canopy for a 5 gallon refugium, I added a small computer fan pushing air at the top end of the bulb flowing back towards the mogul socket (fan throttled back enough to be rendered noiseless). I measured temperatures around the canopy to see how just how the bulb would affect the overall system temperature. Using a multimeter and temperature probe, the glass of the bulb was quite hot at 196°F. The air immediately surrounding the air averaged 100°F, and 2" below at the water's surface, only 87°F. Considering that the fixtures were originally designed with the bulb oriented vertically and passive vent slits for cooling, there should be no problems with bulb overheating in this sort of setup. System temperature was completely unaffected by the addition of the refugium (in a small setup as well, 20 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump), a combination of flow through the refugium and evaporation.


Fixture Comparison

Overall, the Lights of America fixture is far more cheaply manufactured than the Lumark. I'm inclined to agree with the specialty lighting shops who gave a disapproving look at the mention of the company during my search for the fixture. To start, the mogul socket included with the LOA fixture used a plastic housing around the internal connectors. While the plastic is almost certainly rated for the temperatures and voltages involved, the Lumark went ahead and included a standard ceramic mogul socket. It's nice to know that if you ever need a socket for your metal halide bulb in an emergency, you can swipe it off of the Lumark.

The inverters are quite differently designed. There isn't much need for a circuit analysis to see which inverter has a sane design topology - the Lumark wins that quite easily. The LOA inverter has no fuse! Unbelievable for a component operating from main power lines.

In the end, however, either fixture will get you a great deal of light in a very small space - good luck!

Contact - nikhilc@mail.utexas.edu