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TexGal's new light

16K views 39 replies 20 participants last post by  kevdu69 
#1 ·
TexGal has a 6' long tank that used to have 2 Coralife fixtures with Power Compact bulbs in them. We made an ultra slim housing for five 80 watt Giesemann Midday T5HO. Each bulb has an individual reflector. They can be turned on/off separately (2 front bulbs, 2 middle, 1 back).

The fixture vents from the top - it's covered with fiberglass mesh that allows for excellent ventilation. There is a leg support that neatly folds back when not in use.

The fixture is attached to the plastic rim of the tank with custom made hinges. The ballasts are remote (inder the tank) so the housing is as light as possible. There are no ugly electric cords seen everywhere under the hood. On the left and right there are 2 square pieces of aluminum that cover the end of the reflectors and bulbs so there is very little light spill - mainly from the back where the filter pipes go into the tank.

We expect huge changes in this tank with that kind of light intensity and quality. To start look at the album with details about the fixture:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/Drinda

--Nikolay
 
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#5 ·
In just 1.5 days since the light was installed the R. Macrandra and the R. Wallichi and R. Hippuris is sprouting new growth - at the tops and along the stems. It's amazing. I haven't seen growth this fast EVER!!! You can take a look in my thread here:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/large-aquariums-ponds/47782-125g-rescape-29.html

I can't thank Niko enough!! He is a real engineer, designer, and builder - all in a very pleasant, kind package! :p
 
#10 ·
Mulita,

No I don't have pictures of how I built it. But it's so simple that I can't explain why it took me so long to finish it. The enire housing costs about $10.

Let me know if you are interested in details.

--Nikolay
 
#12 · (Edited)
Mulita,

No I don't have pictures of how I built it. But it's so simple that I can't explain why it took me so long to finish it. The enire housing costs about $10.

Let me know if you are interested in details.

--Nikolay
That's really cheap for the whole item. I interest to know how was it built. I am not needing one now :), just curious. it really look nice.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Roof flashing - an L-shaped channel that you can find at any Home Depot/Lowe's.
Also inside there is a rectangular frame made of electric conduit - also at Home Depot/Lowe's.
The fiberglass mesh is a window screen that you can also find in HD/Lowe's. The frame for it is there too.

The rectangular frame is needed only if the tank is more than 4 ft. long. Drinda is 6' so it had to be there. It provides structural support.

If you have to make the rectangular frame imagine making a rectangle using 4 pipes. Then you make another rectangle using the L-shaped channel. Then you put rectangle 2 over the rectangle 1.

Here is another fixture that I made in a similar way:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/DaveS

Ask me more if I'm too unclear.

--Nikolay
 
#14 ·
Mulita,

The price is indeed around $10 for the housing. But you end up paying more because you have to buy more material than you actually use. You know - you need 6 ft. of something but they sell it in rolls of 25' and so on.

--Nikolay
 
#16 ·
The light fixtures are truly amazing. What if all the wires from the light went into a cheap metal lock box and the plugs came out of the box, it'd simplify the cabinet under the tank. On TexGal's fixture, don't the hinges put a lot of stress on the frame of the tank when the lights are in an upright position?
 
#18 ·
lildark185,

Drinda's tank has a lot of equipment in the stand. I didn't know if a box containing all 3 ballast will fit in there so I didn't buy a box. But in the past I have put a ballast in a box like the one you describe and it certainly makes things look more contained.

There is very little strain on the plastic frame when you open/close this big light fixture. I tested it many times on a thinner frame that gave in when touching with my fingers (55 gal. tank with the think black cheap frame). No issues whatsoever, I guess it's physics - a hinge movement doesn't produce much twist. Also big tanks like Drinda's have very thick plastic frame. As you may have seen from many posts that it's hell to remove the frame off a 10 gal. tank using knifes, plyers and a lot of effort. I can't imagine removing the frame off a tank like Drinda's.

Another thing is the overbuilt of American tanks. The glass is usually way thicker than it needs to be. I knew a LFS owner that literally stepped and stood on the edge of some of his tanks to service the tanks above them!

--Nikolay
 
#19 ·
I put together a MH tanks using ballasts from ballastwise.com - I noticed that they have something very similar to the Advance ICN2S39 54 watt ballast... at half the price:

http://www.ballastwise.com/images/upload/Documents/DXE254HO5.pdf

Hmmm.... my diy itch is starting up again...

Now, If I can just figure out how to fit 4 of these (60" bulbs & Reflectors...) in with my 150W MHs...
 
#21 · (Edited)
I put together a MH tanks using ballasts from ballastwise.com - I noticed that they have something very similar to the Advance ICN2S39 54 watt ballast... at half the price:

http://www.ballastwise.com/images/upload/Documents/DXE254HO5.pdf
That ballast looks crapy to me, the BF is lower than Advance and it lacks Program Start. Then the THD is 2-3x+ higher than good ballasts and its less efficient.

BTW, the Advance ballast you listed is for 2x 39w bulbs, the ICN2S54 is for 2x 54w T5HO bulbs.

The ICN2S54 costs $38.29 locally for me + tax, so $40.59

The one you listed says $29.99 + shipping, not a deal and I would not buy it.
 
#25 ·
Awesome...

But I'm still stuck - I need to figure out how I get 3 150DEs AND 4 54 W T5HOs under the hood of my 125!!!

I know - Rebuild the hood!

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRRGGGG!!!!!
 
#26 ·
Taekwondodo,

Rebuilding the hood is easy! I built TexGal's ligh housing in 25 minutes!

(...plus about six months of trial and error to learn how to do it...)

Try and you will see it's easy!

--Nikolay
 
#27 ·
yes, and your's (TG's) looks great, but that won't support BOTH the MHs and the T5HOs...
 
#28 ·
That is a great looking light. I think I'll borrow liberally from that concept. I only have two comments.

1. Do you have any concern with the cable tensioner putting a moment arm on the glass rim? It looks like it could snap the glass or the rim. Perhaps replacing the green cable with a rigid bar that absorbs the tension would be better.

2. What do you think of replacing the kickstand with a screen door (or even car trunk) piston? That way there's no chance of the hood accidentally crashing down during maintenance.
 
#31 ·
Jerp,

The stainless steel "clamp" that I made actually doesn't exert a lot of pressure on the plastic rim. There is a screw that holds the "clamp" tight horizontally. The green tension cable is only to keep the "clamp" from slipping. Both the screw and the tension cable are under very little torque/tension.

In addition the plastic rim of this and similar sized tanks is very thick. This thing does not brake snapping, it's not fragile at all, it's more "plastic-like".

I considered gas springs but I've never worked with them before. I looked them up and was fascinated with the idea of being able to open the light and leave it open in any position - half way up or full or anyway you want - like a car trunk. But Drinda lives hundreds of million of miles away from me and I had to make the fixture as simple as possible so there are no last minute complications when I install it. I just saw the following few days ago and I have to say - gas springs have a very sleek look and seem easy to install:



--Nikolay
 
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