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After seeing Niko's fancy light fixture from around 5 months ago I made plans to build my own slim fixture.
I wanted to share what I came up with since it was seeing his fixture that inspired my own.
I also see you are up to making fancier and cooler fixtures even now.
Specs:
2"x3" approx plastic vinyl raingutter downspout (found at Home Depot)
Supported by 3/4" conduit bent 90 degrees at the corners.
aluminum shower rod was used for the part inside the fixture itself.
4x T5HO reflectors inserted into the U-shaped gutter (chose Tek 2 reflectors because of size constraints)
4 x Giesseman 54W Midday Sun T5 HO
Build:
Cut the downspout using tablesaw into appropriate sized pieces (2 - 48" tubes)
Each 48" tube was then split down the thinner side forming two U-shaped structures.
The remaining approx 2 foot scraps were then split down the center again forming a __| (L shaped) to
act as trim to hide the aluminum rod supporting the upside down downspout light cavities.
Silicone was used to adhere the gutter to itself (hoping it holds up) forming the fixture itself.
Small pieces were cut to fit on each corner to hide the gap between the side piece and the front gutter.
Flipping the entire unit upside down silicone was applied into each U-shaped cavity where the reflector will touch the sides and bottom.
The aluminum shower rod was chosen to support the downspout because it is easier to cut holes into to allow the wires to reach the bulb end connections. In order to keep this fixture as slim as possible (barely thicker than the actual T5 reflectors used) I used Niko's trick of wrapping the wires tightly around the T5 bulb ends. Silicone was then applied to the makeshift sockets and allowed to cure.
The lights themselves are Giesseman Mid-day T5HO 48" bulbs. I really like the color that these bulbs produce.
I just finished moving and I am currently in the process of setting up the tank again so there is not much to show you there. Current inhabitants include a few pond snails (would like to get rid of them) and 5 olive nerites.
There are a couple of other shots of the fixture in place and operational on my 75 gallon tank found in the gallery linked below.
Light Fixture Gallery
Thanks for the inspiration Niko!
-Travis
I wanted to share what I came up with since it was seeing his fixture that inspired my own.
I also see you are up to making fancier and cooler fixtures even now.
Specs:
2"x3" approx plastic vinyl raingutter downspout (found at Home Depot)
Supported by 3/4" conduit bent 90 degrees at the corners.
aluminum shower rod was used for the part inside the fixture itself.
4x T5HO reflectors inserted into the U-shaped gutter (chose Tek 2 reflectors because of size constraints)
4 x Giesseman 54W Midday Sun T5 HO
Build:
Cut the downspout using tablesaw into appropriate sized pieces (2 - 48" tubes)
Each 48" tube was then split down the thinner side forming two U-shaped structures.
The remaining approx 2 foot scraps were then split down the center again forming a __| (L shaped) to
act as trim to hide the aluminum rod supporting the upside down downspout light cavities.
Silicone was used to adhere the gutter to itself (hoping it holds up) forming the fixture itself.
Small pieces were cut to fit on each corner to hide the gap between the side piece and the front gutter.
Flipping the entire unit upside down silicone was applied into each U-shaped cavity where the reflector will touch the sides and bottom.
The aluminum shower rod was chosen to support the downspout because it is easier to cut holes into to allow the wires to reach the bulb end connections. In order to keep this fixture as slim as possible (barely thicker than the actual T5 reflectors used) I used Niko's trick of wrapping the wires tightly around the T5 bulb ends. Silicone was then applied to the makeshift sockets and allowed to cure.
The lights themselves are Giesseman Mid-day T5HO 48" bulbs. I really like the color that these bulbs produce.
I just finished moving and I am currently in the process of setting up the tank again so there is not much to show you there. Current inhabitants include a few pond snails (would like to get rid of them) and 5 olive nerites.
There are a couple of other shots of the fixture in place and operational on my 75 gallon tank found in the gallery linked below.
Light Fixture Gallery
Thanks for the inspiration Niko!
-Travis