DIY Lighting

Hi All

I was wondering if any one can help me regarding lighting. During the next week or two I will be constructing a DIY cabinet for my 1.2m tank , I will also make a DIY canopy. In my current set up I have two T8 bulbs 30w. I am planning to add two T5 bulbs to this in the new canopy along with the two T8's . I went and had a look at the T5 ballasts add they are rather costly. Now here is my question, is there any way to make a sort of ballast system for the T5's that is not as expensive as the ballasts from the pet stores . Please excuse me if it seem stupid but still have a lot to learn about lighting .

TIA
Peter West

P.S. What wattage or length would I need for a 1.2m.

 

PeterWest,

Forget the Pet Stores... all they are interested in is getting $$$. I cannot advice you on what to buy, or how to put it together.. as I've never DIY'd these types of lights. (I fell into the trap of the LPS and bought their stock standard stuff for a T5 fitting.)

When you know what to buy, (I beleive it'll be one or two electrical ballasts, globes, globe holders, end caps), go to your local Lighting Specialist, or Electrical wholesaler, and but the stuff from them. Make sure that you get the right globes tho. You want something in the daylight range. (6,500Kelvin for plant growth). I'll leave the rest for the lighting people to answer

 

Thanks Zoom

I only plan to get the ballast somewhere else but the bulbs will be from the LPS

 

Peter,forget the LPS tubes.Rather order the tubes you want from electrical wholesaler,it's going to save lots of money for what is essentially the same thing.

 

If you going to go with 4 globes, I would suggest getting 1 x 10,000k globe. and 3 x 6,500k globes. The 10,000 put onto a timer to only switch on for the few hours that you are at home. Some people beleive that it can stimulate algae growth.

The 6,500k globes would be better suited for the plant growth.

This is what I would do. (I have 2 x 6,500 and 1 x 10,000k in my current set up.)

 

Thanks Guys

@Rudi, can you maybe recommend a electrical wholesaler for me because i dont really know where to start?

@Zoom, if I just stick with the two bulbs would you just recommend the two 6,500k globes or one 10,000k and one 6,500k globes

 

Peter why dont you go the CFL route i use them in my tank and many others have moved to cfl as well. Go with the phillips genie. And you are going the diy route so this would be a good option

 

@snyper, I am planning to go to a heavily planted tank so I am not so sure about using those, but will keep them in mind for my other tanks

Just wanted to know if something like this would work, if so I would take this opposed to something DIY

http://www.eaglelighting.co.za/index.php?SCREEN=product&ID=1065

 

Snyper, whilst I agree with you on this, I also disagree. Rudi will be proud of me for this, because I am a very big fan of CFL's, however the T5 does have it's place still in the industry.

CFL's are only effective when placed at the right angle, i.e facing down! This forces you to have to build a rather tall canopy. Placing CFL horizontally does not work effectively, and this issue has been discussed to death in other threads.

When choosing between a CFL and a t5, you need to look also at the depth of the tank. Where a CLF can be highly effective in a small tank, (which is also very shallow), it cain fail dismally on a very deep tank, because the PAR rating is not high enough.

If PeterWest is going for a heaviy planted tank, I would recommend the T5 route. 2 x 6,500k will be good, but I would highly recommend going with 4 globes if you want to go for heavily planted.

On a low to medium tech, multiple CFL's spaced out evenly under the tank, (+/-8 x) would be perfect. Unfortunately even though I am a very big fan of the CFL in tank, I find them very bulky in the hoods, and a t5 fitting just fit's in neater. The other problem with CFL's is the point of moisture. If ANY moisture gets into them, they blow. At at approx R30-R40.00 per CFL, this could become costly. I blew BOTH my CFLs over the weekend due to moisture getting into the ballast section of rth CFL (i.e base area)

 

Peter i do believe that i have quite a heavily planted tank and just to give you an idea of how well they work i use 1x10w red spec light. 2x11w cfl phillips genie lights for my 72l giving me only 1.6watts p gallon which is low lighting and have a look at how nicely my plants have grown in just one month
With a 1.2m you could easily attach 10/12 cfl at 18w+

Its the same tank just changed the filter

Good point i run mine horizontally with a reflector and i have added then to my main tank, both my nanos and kellys nano and i have run them about 2 months now with no problems. I do get a bit of moisture in the hood but the waterproof sockets(which seem so illusive at the moment as no one can get them) have helped alot. The T5s will look alot better but if cash is a problem the CFL route is definately an option

 

It will be cheaper to go the T5's in this case, and give a better result. If I recall, I've seen people say they's been able to get T5 globes for just under R100.00 (?) 10 x CFL Phillips Genie @ R35.00 p/globe = R350.00 on GLOBES ALONE. Yes your wattage is high (plus you paying for high electricity costs), but the T5 will give you a higher PAR value, meaning better light.

Snyper I agree with you 110% on the CFL route... for the smaller tanks. Unfortunately I have to agree with the other members when I had this arguement that T5's are more economical in the long run and their technology is a little more advanced when it comes to the bigger tanks. I am pretty sure it will be cheaper to do 3 x T5 globes here with the ballasts than 10-12 CFL's.

 

Peter,you don't mention where you live,so it's a bit difficult to recommend a place.Search in your local Yellow Pages for a wholesaler or if there is a Lamphouse near you,they will have all the light tubes you need.That light fixture looks very stylish,I would definitely go with that.If you want to use only two tubes,go with 1x Sylvania Grolux and 1x Sylvania Luxline 865.Grolux is in the red spectrum and a bit expensive but worth it.The 865 balances the red perfectly and is cheap.:bigsmile:
You haven't mentioned your tank depth,this will help a lot.
My 2x 865 cost R50 each,and the whole lighting system cost aprox. R1000.That includes 2x balasts and 7 t5 tubes.

 

thanks for the reply guys
my tanks depth is 45cm

 

Yer, I paid about R60 for my T5 tubes, but they were not able to tell me the K rating!

Either way, the plants seem to be doing well!

I bought these tubes before I started to understand about K ratings!

G!

 

Hi Peter - Look for a lamphouse or a Voltex ( you might need a FRIEND to buy there as they are wholesalers ) Bellville Electrical, etc etc.

Buy 2 electronic double ballasts for the wattage you are gonna use. I would go 2 x 10000K on one ballast which is timed and 2x 6500K on the other ballast - no timer.

The electronic ballasts should set you back about R150 - R200.
The wholesalers dont know jack about Kelvin ratings so you need to talk to them SLOWLY !!!!