I haven't set up my tank yet but as I'm accumulating everything I decided to get the T5's squared away. I recently picked up a pair of LET 80w retrofits from Carlos and started doing some searching online for mounting options. Other than info installing them in a hood or adding them to an existing fixture the only thing I found was a guy that mounted them to 2x4's. Not something I was interested in doing. So I went to Homedepot and wandered around looking for something a little better but keeping a budget in mind. I couldn't find anything that I thought would work and was just about to leave when I decided to go check the back of the building materials dept, jackpot. Here's what I came up with...
They have rain deflectors that are the exact width of 2 raised T5 socket mounts. They are 10' long and I need a total of 59-1/4 to make the fixture. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gibraltar-Building-Products-7-1-2-in-x-1-1-2-in-x-10-ft-Galvanized-Steel-Water-Diverter-17690/100319762">This is close</a> to what I got but 5". So they're perfect when cut almost in half. At $10 and change they fit the budget. The total assembled cost will run me about $15-20 per 2 bulb fixture, be very light, can be hung or mounted and look fairly professional. This price obviously doesn't include the cost of the LET kit.
If there's interest I will detail the build and post the DIY.
They have rain deflectors that are the exact width of 2 raised T5 socket mounts. They are 10' long and I need a total of 59-1/4 to make the fixture. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gibraltar-Building-Products-7-1-2-in-x-1-1-2-in-x-10-ft-Galvanized-Steel-Water-Diverter-17690/100319762">This is close</a> to what I got but 5". So they're perfect when cut almost in half. At $10 and change they fit the budget. The total assembled cost will run me about $15-20 per 2 bulb fixture, be very light, can be hung or mounted and look fairly professional. This price obviously doesn't include the cost of the LET kit.
If there's interest I will detail the build and post the DIY.
! just a thought
