I personally wouldn't use halogen bulbs over an aquarium. As BangGuy said, too much heat to be effective. A nice alternative would be a Par 38 bulb, which is a LED light bulb that can screw into a regular light bulb socket. It has the same par and lumen values as some other high end lights. The average Par38 bulb costs around 90$ Even then, it might be even more effective to get an ecoxotic panorama LED strip for ~$100. I'm going to go with two little ecoxotic panorama LED strips over my 20g high. Everything that I have read so far said that it is enough light to keep most LPS and even a few SPS and clams. .... Maybe with a little modification.
Personally, I would not use the absolute cheapest materials you could find when it comes to this hobby. Think about how much money you could save in the long run by just buying the right equipment the first time?
