Switch to T5--light rack build

[gwhiz]

I changed this weekend from VHO lighting to T5's. I thought that I'd document the change here--perhaps it'll spark some ideas.

I had four 72" VHO's (2 Atinic White, and 2 Super Actinic) and one 4ft T5 (Hagen PowerGlo) driven by IceCap ballasts. I wanted to keep the IceCap Ballasts, but change over to all T5 lighting.

My tank is a 175 gal bowfront on a custom built stand. It really doesn't have a canopy--the cabinet front simply extends to the ceiling. It's open to the back (there's a small fish room behind the tank). The existing lights were mounted on a rack that is hung from the ceiling on a pulley system so they can be pulled up out of the way for servicing the tank.

My original plan was to simply change the bulbs and end caps and use the existing rack, but it got to be a bit more complicated, so I ended up building a new rack.

The tank and stand look like this....

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I pulled the existing rack out....the VHO's are inside, the T5 hangs on the front.

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Took it apart and tried to remove the reflector....:mad2: !

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But since I'd used a mirror (I know, I know...) and glued it on really well....it was time to move to 'Plan B'. Build a new rack! I could make it wider and build it as an open frame with with lots of room for air flow to help in keeping the bulbs cool.

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A bit more construction...a test of my electrical skills and it was complete. I added a fan on each end to assist with keeping the overdriven bulbs cool. But will it work!?

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Lights on!

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Before---the tank with the VHO lights...

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First T5 configuration....a bit too blue?

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After moving one bulb and a changing another... (sorryfor the glare...)

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With new lights....

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[james s_]

Looks good. Nice work!

 

[jefft]

Nice job!

 

[haninja]

<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Wow, what a difference. Nice job.</span>

 

[roundman]

Very nice tank and a good job on the lights

 

[gwhiz]

Thanks guys. I've got room to add another 4ft bulb on the front of the rack, which I'll do when I get another ballast.

 

[soarin']

Nice work! It's interesting how much more open everything seems to be in the pic of the second t5 configuration -- did you notice that the corals seemed to "perk up" after you switched bulbs?

 

[cameron]

What bulb config did you end up using?

 

[gwhiz]

Soarin';121235 wrote: Nice work! It's interesting how much more open everything seems to be in the pic of the second t5 configuration -- did you notice that the corals seemed to "perk up" after you switched bulbs?

A bit, but not a lot. The photos are a bit misleading. The first two photos were taken right after lights on while the 3rd was taken after the lights had been on for a while.

 

[gwhiz]

Front to back-
ATI Actinic
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500k
ATI ProColor
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus

The Actinic doesn't seem to do much. I may try swapping it out for another Blue Plus or putting one of the VHO Actinic's back in.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Nice upgrade... Looks awesome!!!

Now just let me know what you are fixing to do with those VHOs.

 

[oz]

****.

 

[gwhiz]

I finally got the light rack mounted on slides so I thought I'd post a couple of pics to wrap up this build thread. I used stainless steel full extension slides so the light rack can entirely clear my tank top. I also mounted them so the rack can be tilted up to allow access from the back.

I ended up adding a 7th bulb on the front of the rack to cover the 'bow' in the front of the aquarium. I haven't wired it yet--that's on this week's todo list!

Here it is closed from the front (just showing the right hand side)....

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And Open..

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And from the back...closed...

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Opened...

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And Tilted up....

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I've still got to secure the wiring (and remount the power strip that fell off the wall!) but it works!

 

[jade76]

george, THATS what Im talkin bout'!! thats really cool how ya mounted your lights.