fishing for ideas moding my t5 lights. (1 Viewer)

[gabe_j]

ok so after a mishap with my ada tank (chipped corner who knows wtf happened but it chipped) i was rather forced into droping everything into a 40breeder i had. so after realizing i didn't have enough light pumping out of a 2x24 t5 set up to light 1/2 the tank. i looked locally for some deals and met up with a friendly local who i had bought/sold/traded with who just so happened to be holding a 150 metal halide fixture including the 20k radium that i could borrow. thanks slagboy! it is working out very well! mabe too well i started to get a little tissue pulling off of a chalice i have. but it should recover in the shade nicely.

ok so now that i've got the backstory covered. lets get into what i'm thinking!

i basically have a coralife fixture just chilling on half of my tank with a geisseman actinic plus bulb keeping the blues up. but since i have a 2 bulb set up i figured why not take it apart, cut the reflector in half, and re wire it so i can run 1 bulb on either side of the mh to get more light/better coverage? any ideas here folks? or is this a straight away chopshop brewing? i've got access to a bandsaw to cut the reflector on so don't think i'll be going at this with a hack saw or anything crazy. hell i could just as easily throw it on the mill and make a long cleaner cut right down the length of the reflector. or should i just get some tek reflectors $40 a pair. and use that instead of choping the old one up? yea so basically i'm just looking for more ideas that the random stuff i'm thinking up at 7 am.

discuss, thanks.

 

[soymilk]

I don't know if it's worth it. One 24" t5ho bulb only provides like 50par in a little 3-4 inch span at 8 inches. Unless Its for your own personal enjoyment, I wouldn't bother.

I would rather just look for a 36" fixture or get another mh.

 

[gabe_j]

well thats the thing is i don't really thing i need the extra par enough to justify another light. was just just going to run 1 actinic for the front and one for the back of the tank. really its more for pop than to add substantial light to the tank. so really it'd be 2 t5's both actinic bulbs. kinda like this but with just 1x24 on each side instead of two.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-55907585196829_2133_1302161

probably adding an ati aquablue +, or running 1 purple plus and 1 actinic. to help bring out the red.

 

[zeek]

I would, I am currently fighting the light war myself, I've gone trough 4 different set-ups and im still unhappy I like the 16k+ blueish look but my stinking 29g is so oddly size shapped is hard to get high enough wattage on the smaller 24-30" lights and keep it slim enough.

Right now I went with what has been the best so far a 2 65w pc light But there is no blue look to it whatsoever so I did the exact same, put my 24w t5s on the back with 2 actinic bulbs and it barely shows, my 10k is so friggin strong the actinics barely show Unless I buy a whole other light and we are back at the not enough room issue... AAARGH.

...nedless to say im starting to look into LEDs lol.

 

[gabe_j]

Oh to hell with it if I have any time this weekend I'll do the mod and leave it semi finished the (coralife reflectors) till I can order some tek 2 reflectors. I hear they are all the rage. Lol anywho good luck to you too z.