Anyone make a DIY T-8 set up?

[Burks]

Still looking at various options to light my tank (as to which I'm getting zero help).

Has anyone put together their own T-5 setup piece by piece? Those retrofit kits are pretty darn expensive and it looks like it could be put together for much less.

 

[rkilling1]

This should probably go in the DIY section I would think, but T-5 is a good option and so would T-8's.

If you are looking for a cheap alternative here is a PM I sent someone yesterday in reference to purchasing shotlights from home depot:

I don't have a link to the exact light, sorry. What I do is buy two of them and take the ballast out of one of them and put it into the other and run one bulb per ballast. So instead of 64 watts per shoplight, I am getting 110 watts. Here is what I used to do the mode:

http://www.geocities.com/teeley2/overdrv1.html

It cost me 22 bucks total (including bulbs) to put 110 watts of T-8 over my 75 gal tank. (I am now using twice as much) That is the same as 154 watts of T-12 (T-8's put out more light then a T-12) or 2.05 WPG of lumen output for 22 bucks.

Be forwarned. Just because it's cheap to put so much light over your tank, don't mean you should do so. I lot of bad things happen to those who do so without the proper ferts and CO2.

HTH

Granted there is no reflector and the shoplight is made to light a room, but for the money, you get a fair amount of light into the tank. ie money per watt is pretty good.

 

[Burks]

This should probably go in the DIY section I would think, but T-5 is a good option and so would T-8's.
.

I wasn't 100% sure where to put it. Kind of fit bother areas. But I will also post it there just in case no one checks here.

Thanks for the link. I'll look into that.

 

[rkilling1]

What size tank are we talking about Burks?

What are you looking at doing with it?

 

[Burks]

What size tank are we tank about Burks?

What are you looking at doing with it?

Doh! I always forget something in my posts.

36x18x16 (40g breeder). Basically it will be used as a large plant grow out tank for the first few months.

Powerhead for circulation
Substrate - Regular small gravel.
Ferts - Greg Watson's following the EI dosing exactly.
No Filter
DIY Yeast CO2 + Excel
Plants - Different mosses, Rotala macrandra, Sunset Hygro, Ludwigia inclinata.

I don't plan on having any shrimp/fish for a few months after setting this up.

Basically it will be used to grow out some plants and try a few things out. And yes I will be going pressurized CO2 but not until I get everything going really well. The plants will help pay for that.

I had thought about:

1x96w AH Supply - Lots of light but sub-par coverage. It's a wide tank.
2x96w AH Supply - TONS of light but maybe a bit too much.
2x55w AH Supply - Ability to stagger the lights but will still get low areas of light. Not a big fan of that.

These T-5 lights really catch my eye and seem to be a good choice. The bulb life is really nice as well and I'll be able to get full coverage.

May be going at it the wrong way....who knows.

 

[rkilling1]

what kind of light do you have on it now?

 

[Burks]

what kind of light do you have on it now?

Nothing. Still planning stuff out. Tank is sitting empty (except when my cats sleep in it).

My apologies rich..........kind of.

 

[rkilling1]

Those AH supply setups look nice, but what are you going to put them in?

(Just brain storming here) If you can get ahold of a twin tube 36" strip light, I would just 2 x ODNO the fixture using those shop light ballasts from home depot. Only costs 16 dollars (for two shoplights) and would put the 36" twin tube @ 102 watts or a T-12 lumen equivalent of 143 watts, for a total of 3.6 WPG. You can grow a lot of plants at 3.6 WPG. Plus the T-8 bulbs are very cheap at home depot.

Just giving you options.

 

[Burks]

I'm going to build a canopy to match the stand I'm also building with my dad. I like the look of those and it hides that ugly black trim. With any set up I was going to use the canopy so DIY lighting fit perfectly.

I'm completely open to ideas. That's why I ask these types of questions, can't think of everything. I'm going to read that article you mentioned above tomorrow. Just haven't found time to do so today.

Hows the fire risk on these over driven bulbs? Are there T-8 bulbs out there that don't give off that nasty yellow? I've seen pictures of 48" bulbs that were rated at 6500k (little lower than I wanted) but would work.

 

[rkilling1]

The fire risk? I have 4 T-8 48" bulbs running at 2 x ODNO and I do not have any kind of forced air cirulation running on either of the fixtures. I can touch the bulbs (not for very long mind you).

Here is a pic of my tank running 4 of those 6500K bulbs at 2 x ODNO:

To me, I do not see any yellow at all. Of coarse photos and seeing it in person are two different things. I really like the 6500K bulbs.

EDIT: IF you are going to make a canopy, Then I would really look into ripping the ballast out of the shoplight and using them. They shoplights also come with the bulb ends and everything you would need to wire up the fixture. All you would need is a reflector.

 

[Burks]

Wow that looks really good! Very impressed. Now I'm really considering this type of lighting. It's about 1/5 of what I was looking to spend! Even if I have to replace the bulbs regularly that's fine with me.

Could of sworn I read someplace that overdriving bulbs could lead to fire problems. Must of misread it.

I just hope I can find those 6500k bulbs in 36".

For the reflector I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe order one from AH Supply since those things rock. I'm using their 1x36w kit and just love it (wallet sure didn't!).

Do you have any pictures of the lights and how you have them mounted?

 

[rkilling1]

You would only have to replace the bulbs every 6 months and the bulbs only cost 6 bucks!

I know they sell 'aquarium' bulbs that are 36", but I did not look to see what the K value was.

I am in the process of making a light for the 28 gallon tank and I am using flashing. 10" by 10' flashing was only 6 bucks at HD. It is a very good reflector, but not as good as one you would purchase from coralife.

I can post pics of it if you would like.

 

[Burks]

Please do if it isn't too much trouble.

Didn't even consider flashing. Man I need to write this stuff down for my trip to Home Depot tomorrow. Just going to price stuff and see whats available in my area. What my HD has the one near my parents doesn't (go figure).

At $6 each I can deal with that. $24 a year is better than replacing a $32 bulb plus shipping. Another good thing is I don't have to worry about electricty costs either. Energy savings? Forget about it!

I won't be able to reply until tomorrow (technically later today). Need to get up at 6:30 for class. Ugh...last class before break!

I appreciate all the help. Looking forward to chatting again and I hope this thread gives some other people another option.

 

[rkilling1]

The first pic shows the shoplights that have the sunpark SL-15 ballast that you would need to overdrive your lights with. The box is grey and white and the part number is 732-334. (The only thing missing from this picture, that will be putting 4WPG over my 28 gallon aquarium, is some nails and paint!)

The next pic is what is looks like right after I removed the ballast from the shoplight. 3 screws is all it takes.

The last pic is just my homemade reflector from that flashing. It's better then nothing.

You want cheap. Two shoplights - 16 bucks, flashing - 6 bucks, bulbs - 12 bucks max for two. Total 34 dollars and you don't have to pay shipping. That and anytime you feel like adding some more light, off to HD you go.

I currently have 7 shoplight ballasts running on different aquariums. You just can't beat the price. Some of them are running on nice well built strip-light fixtures and some on just shoplights.

 

[Burks]

Very nice. After reading the article the whole thing looks pretty straight forward, although expect a PM with me yelling about something.

Do the end caps on those just attach with a screw or two? Still trying to visualize everything in my head.

It looks like they do make a 36" 6500k bulb (if this is the correct style/type I need): http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page/001/PROD/T8/F30T8-D

Even if it cuts the life of the bulb in 1/3, that's still about 200 days with those.

 

[rkilling1]

Thats the type of bulb, Yes.

As for the end caps, in the shoplight they are clipped in. Once you unscrew the shoplight cover to take out the ballast, they just fall out. The end caps have a slot for screws so you can mount them as you need to. The hard part is getting the wires out of the end cap sockets. But since I have done this so many times, I have come to terms with it. All you have to do is insert a safety pin into the socket that is holding the wire and the wire will pull right out.

All and all a very easy mode and very cost effective, but please remember, we are dealing with 110 volts of electricity.

 

[Burks]

All and all a very easy mode and very cost effective, but please remember, we are dealing with 110 volts of electricity.

That's where dad comes in handy. We put together my AH Supply kit without any real problems, except how much wire to leave. He's done a decent bit of electrical wiring so I'm sure we can figure this out.

Well I thank you for all your help. If I have any questions this week I'll try to get in touch.

Have a good Thanksgiving. Friday is going to be fun

 

[mr funktastic]

i made a light for my 20 gal tall tank using t-8's. i dont like the idea of running overdrive casue of heat and bulb life.u can get alot of light using t-8's without the additional heat and bulb life. u could do a 4X 36" t-8(i think its 25 watts a bulb at 36") and be getting 100 watts of t-8 over the tank. if at anytime u wanted to make this more u could overdrive by buying a second ballast. still a very cheap method and givs u all the light u need. here is the link....
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=75738&highlight=

 

[rkilling1]

i made a light for my 20 gal tall tank using t-8's. i dont like the idea of running overdrive casue of heat and bulb life.u can get alot of light using t-8's without the additional heat and bulb life. u could do a 4X 36" t-8(i think its 25 watts a bulb at 36") and be getting 100 watts of t-8 over the tank. if at anytime u wanted to make this more u could overdrive by buying a second ballast. still a very cheap method and givs u all the light u need. here is the link....
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=75738&highlight=

What heat? I am running all ODNO bulbs with no forced air circulation laying right on top of my tank. (you want heat look into HO t-5's or CF lighting)

I do understand that there may not be a need to overdrive the bulbs if you have the room (4 bulbs take up a lot more room then 2 bulbs), but everything I have mentioned still stands. Then just don't run two bulbs run four. The ballasts are still the same, the end caps are still the same, the shoplights are still the same, the everything is still the same, but now it costs you more up front, but in the long run it saves you more, Plus you are putting more light into the take. (I failed to mention that option mr funktastic, thanks)

Calculation time.

ODNO or 2 bulbs: 2 x 30 x 1.7 (ODNO) x 1.4 (t-8 vs t-12 light output) / 40 = 3.57 WPG lumen output.

Without ODNO or 4 bulbs 4 x 30 x 1.4 (t-8 vs t-12 light output) / 40 = 4.2 WPG lumen output

Same parts, but with two more bulbs and twice as much space. You should never have the need to up the lighting from 4.2 WPG.

 

[Burks]

I went to Home Depot today and they only had one type of 36" bulb, cool white. Probably had 50 or so of the $8 fixtures so that's a good sign. Only 36" fixture was $24 so I'll be hacking the 48" version down to size.

Didn't buy them today because I can get them at my parents when I visit for the week. 48" fixtures won't fit in a Neon with a large cat carrier, clothes, and a 40g breeder tank.