Aquarium light rerofit.

[blainep]

If you've been following several of my posts lately, I've been trying to cut back on the amount of electricity my fishroom uses.

I came across a screaming deal on 12inch T5 florescent fixtures today, so I bought a bunch of them.

Just to see if it would work, I took a dead 24 inch aquarium light and attempted to retrofit it to the new T5 fixture.

The job went way easier than I expected, so I retrofitted all of the 24 inch lamps I have with the new fixtures.

A few pictures of the job.

The dead T8 lamp, the new lamp and the box it came in.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2454.JPG

Taking apart the old lamp.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2456.JPG

http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2457.JPG

The screws that held the original ballast and light fixture were in the perfect position to mount the new light.
The mounting clips for the new light.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2459.JPG

Snap in the new fixture.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2460.JPG

String the new cord in.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2461.JPG

A quick plugin test.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2463.JPG

A tank with a standard light.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2465.JPG

With the retro fitted lamp.
http://tlfs.org/ntanks/lightretro/mini-DSCN2466.JPG

The only downside, the new lamps came with 'Warm White' bulbs that make the tank look horribly yellow.
I ran out and bought some 'Cool White' bulbs, they're better as far as colour goes.

The tanks appear to be nearly as bright as they were before, barely a noticeable difference.

The benefit - Original lamps, 5 of them, times 15 watts each = 75 watts.
The new lamps, 5 of them, at 8 watts each = 40 watts.
Nearly a 50% reduction in electrical consumption.

[Melody]

You are incredibly handy.

Can I have a Christmas orange? I love those things. ::D:

[blainep]

You are incredibly handy.

Can I have a Christmas orange? I love those things. ::D:

Like Red Green always says - 'If the women don't find you handsome, they can at least find you handy'

Help yourself to an orange !

[thegrandpoohbah]

Nice, clean retrofit. I picked up one of those fixtures from Princess Auto to light the bottom section of my stand. Hadn't thought to put them inside of an aquarium light fixture. Where did you get replacement bulbs from and how much better is the colour? Any pics?

[blainep]

Nice, clean retrofit. I picked up one of those fixtures from Princess Auto to light the bottom section of my stand. Hadn't thought to put them inside of an aquarium light fixture. Where did you get replacement bulbs from and how much better is the colour? Any pics?

I was really surprised at how easy that was. The new lights fit in perfectly !

I picked up the replacement bulbs at Rona, the 'cool white' is better than the 'warm white', it is still a little yellow for my tastes, but acceptable.

When I find a source for bulbs with a little more blue in them, I'll post where I find them.

[CACAdmin]

I have a dead 24 in. light I keep meaning to try to fix... balast is shot. I kept looking at possibilities for replacement and couldn't decide. :Research: You've provided the perfect solution... an economical too! :biggrin: Awesome, Blaine.:thumbup: Thanks!

[Soggybottom]

Nice work blaine!
Is there a cover over the bulb or is that a new type or something?

*drift*
I've been eating the mandarins for a few weeks now and have discovered by accident the best way to eat them. :yes: First they should be the Japanese ones because the Chinese ones can have seeds. Then you peel them and take off the stringies. Then break off the sections and put them on a plate and let them dry out for 10-15 minutes until they aren't damp on the outside. Then when you eat them they are almost crunchy but explode with juice when you bite down, mmmmm

[thegrandpoohbah]

Good point SB, that is a cover over the bulb. Blaine, you should take that cover off and see if it helps increase the brightness at all.

[blainep]

Good point SB, that is a cover over the bulb. Blaine, you should take that cover off and see if it helps increase the brightness at all.

Hadn't thought of that, I'll give it try tonight.

[DaFishMan]

Nice clean job :)

I see a couple things which may help,
You're saving hydro, but the tank looks dimmer. If you'd like to tweak it a bit...

You took out the old white reflector. Make a foil reflector or use flat white paint ;)
You can use Mylar even, which is the silver reflective plastic inside chip bags.
(We will help eat the chips LOL) Or, it's avail at the hardware store.

Next time you replace your tubes, Daylight or High Noon bulbs, a nicer color range to the eye AND good for plants (or a bit of green algae for the fish to munch)

Cheers !

[Melody]

I will support this endeavor selflessly.... gimme some of those chips!:Applaud: Good ideas!

[blainep]

Some very good ideas !

I thought about painting the inside of the fixtures, but that takes time and I am an impatient person ! :yes:

Actually, now that I know the plan works and well, I'll be taking the time to tweak things a bit now.

[DaFishMan]

Thanks ! *passes the chips*

I have to do something with one of my double light strips too. The white part inside is actually crumbling with longterm exposure to heat and age. It's toss and replace I think, or get a 36" 96 watt coralife unit LOL Stop me, QUICKLY !!!

[CACAdmin]

Just a thought...would it be possible to leave the white reflector from the original ballast in place?

[blainep]

Just a thought...would it be possible to leave the white reflector from the original ballast in place?

Not quite enough room with the original reflector ( in these lights ), the reflector has the ballast/wiring and sockets all built in to one.

Might work fine with other fixtures though. One nice feature to the replacement lights is that they have a very slim profile.

They're under cabinet lighting fixtures, so a person should be able to find them at most Home Depot/Rona type stores.

Where did that bag of chips get to .......

[CACAdmin]

I'll have to check the balast in my fixture... probably the same though. Will probably drop by Home Depot later in the week or next weekend.

Bag of chips? What chips. :WhoMe:

[Katalyst]

Bag of chips? What chips. :WhoMe:

[Brooklyn-ese] That's what I'm sayin'! [/Brooklyn-ese]

[DaFishMan]

"Where did that bag of chips get to ......." - blainp
"Bag of chips? What chips. :WhoMe: " - CACAdmin
"That's what I'm sayin'!" - Katalyst

:rofl:

I passed them to 'The Selfless One'. Did you eat ALL of the chips Piggy ? :wink:
:WhoMe:

Signed,
Bratt :BOLTS:

[PPulcher]

I have to do something with one of my double light strips too. The white part inside is actually crumbling with longterm exposure to heat and age. It's toss and replace I think, or get a 36" 96 watt coralife unit LOL Stop me, QUICKLY !!!

I picked up one of these over the Holidays to put over my 50 gallon Walstad project. I fired it up. It looks nice.

[CACAdmin]

I checked at Home Depot today and they don't appear to carry them. Off to Rona on the weekend. Blainep & PPulcher, out of curiosity, where did you buy yours? (Might save me time & trouble hunting them down).

[PPulcher]

I was posting about the 36" power compact fixture from Coralife. Big Al's carries them if they are local to you, or JLAquatics (http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=pc-alf36096) is another option.

[blainep]

My fixtures came from Princess Auto, but Rona had similar products.

Home Depot didn't seem to carry any T5 stuff.

[CACAdmin]

Thanks, Blaine. Princess Auto is only about 10 minutes from here.

[Soggybottom]

I picked up one of these over the Holidays to put over my 50 gallon Walstad project

Hmm, I googled this, you aren't using a filter? sounds pretty crazy!
You should do a diary thread:yes:

[PPulcher]

Hmm, I googled this, you aren't using a filter? sounds pretty crazy!
You should do a diary thread:yes:

Well I guess I'm not quite ready to drink the kool-aid. I'll be using a filter. I bought the tank used and it came with a HOB so I'll put it into service. Walstad does use filters, but they are for mechanical filtration and circulation. I think she likes the Hagen powerheads with the quick filter attachments.

When I actually get going on the project, I'll be posting a thread for sure. I have almost all the stuff ready, I just need to move some tanks around and extend the electrical circuit to get to the new tank area.

[Melody]

"Where did that bag of chips get to ......." - blainp
"Bag of chips? What chips. :WhoMe: " - CACAdmin
"That's what I'm sayin'!" - Katalyst

:rofl:

I passed them to 'The Selfless One'. Did you eat ALL of the chips Piggy ? :wink:
:WhoMe:

Signed,
Bratt :BOLTS:


<Stops mid-chew & quickly brushes crumbs off shirt> Why do I suddenly feel like everyone is staring at me? I thought you all were done with them. Orange anyone? Much better for you. :biggrin:

[ChrissyFishy]

:thumbup: I want to say good job and sneek some chips while melody and Dafishman are bugging each other:secret:she won't even notice until it is to late!!! :BOLTS:

[Melody]

HEY! Get back here! :BOLTS:

[DaFishMan]

That Chrissy she's a silly little monkey.. :yes:
She had an 8 hour headstart getaway on you Mel, speed up will you ? :twitcy:
*sneeks some chips*

[Melody]

I was hoping you'd be my hero and go get them for me, bratt, but I can see you can't be trusted! :NoWay:

So how are the lighting projects coming? Anyone else give it a whirl yet?

[DaFishMan]

I didn't eat ALL the chips ! *passes you the Chips* :notworthy:

"So how are the lighting projects coming? Anyone else give it a whirl yet?"

Not I. I need to replace my light tubes as well as clean the glass tank cover.
That should help a bit. Debating on the Coralife strip but think I want to keep the
watts down. Maybe change the ballasts to overdrive my lights :)

[Melody]

I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds impressive :idea::laugh: .

[blainep]

Quick update.

I painted the inside of one of the hoods with a gloss white spray paint and removed the diffuser from the bulb (cleaned the glass on the aquarium lid as well).
It made a noticeable difference to the amount of light in the tank.

I would say that the amount of light in the tank is nearly the same as it was with the original fixtures.

I won't be painting anymore hoods until the the weather warms up though, the whole house reeked of fumes from the paint, just nasty !

[DaFishMan]

Excellent job Blaine :)

I should follow your example and get off my duff to get some things done.
Some new fish to prepare for, and my apartment looks like a war zone !
I need a sign that says 'Beware: Nuclear Fallout' :twitcy:

Eek on the paint fumes :eek:
Gotta be careful with that, non-toxic paint at least I hope ?

[Melody]

Quick update.

I painted the inside of one of the hoods with a gloss white spray paint and removed the diffuser from the bulb (cleaned the glass on the aquarium lid as well).
It made a noticeable difference to the amount of light in the tank.

I would say that the amount of light in the tank is nearly the same as it was with the original fixtures.

I won't be painting anymore hoods until the the weather warms up though, the whole house reeked of fumes from the paint, just nasty !

Have you tried the reflectors meant for tanks Blaine? I think Hagen makes them? Glorified tinfoil basically...lol...but more durable. This is my 90G hood with them:

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f227/canadiansinternetdotcom/MM-90GCanopy.jpg

[blainep]

I've seen similar, but the price point (retail for sure) is to far out there for me. If nothing else, I'm cheap.
I was considering tin foil, it usually has a shiny side. I may yet try it out.

You got those chips eaten yet ?:wink:

[Melody]

<stops mid-chew again> Not ALL of them <offers bag of crumbs>.

Tinfoil works great actually, its just not durable. If its not in a place that you have to handle often it works just as well as any reflector.

By the way, I got that canopy (freshly repainted just for me), the bulbs (+2 extra bulbs) & reflector thingies for $50 :wink: .

[blainep]

I was thinking, if I could get the tinfoil to fit into the hood fairly well, that a small spot of silicone in each corner would probably hold it in place.

Good score for $50.00

Crumbs ..... Gee ..... Thanks :rolleyes:

[Pamelajo]

Blaine when looking for tinfoil look for the heavy duty stuff, or BBQ kind it is a lot thicker and stands up way better.

[blainep]

Good idea, thanks

[CACAdmin]

Popped into London Drugs today (had a few minutes to kill before I started work) and spotted a 12" T5 lamp. It's not wired but runs on batteries. I thought what the heck, I've got rechargeables and if nothing else it would free up an outlet.

Got it home tonight. It takes 8 :Eek: 'AA' batteries. Don't think this is going to save me any money ::(: ... will take it back & have a look for the one you got Blaine.

[thegrandpoohbah]

Jay, try Princess Auto out in Coquitlam. That's where I got mine.

[CACAdmin]

Thanks... that's where I'm headed today.

[CACAdmin]

Princess Auto was out of most of them... had some... all boxes had been torn open and most were 22" ones. Found only one 12" one in a box.. and one loose on the shelf. Grabbed the 12" boxed one and also picked up some aluminum foil tape.

Got home, gutted the old light and made a bigger hole in the plastic to allow for the cord to pass through. Only then did I discover the mounting brackets were missing from the box.... Grrrrr! I guess it'll mean another trip to Princess Auto for the missing brackets. :mad:

[grumpystiltskin]

Oh thats so annoying isnt it !!
Is there a way you can temporarily set it up to see what it looks like, maybe some strong twist ties, or the electrical ties, then when you get the brackets you can make it permanent .

[thegrandpoohbah]

Time for some krazy glue!

[CACAdmin]

Update: Back to Princess Auto... not one of the lights they had there had any clips. Kept the light anyways. Off to Home Depot to see if I could find some sort of clip I could use... nada! Ended up picking up a stip of velcro... this will work as the light is very light and I've used a stip the entire length of the light.

However, I had to mount the light on the side of the original housing as that is the only non-curved place to mount it. I lined the the plastic houseing area with aluminum tape first. I'll post pics later.

Just a warning for anyone thinking of using aluminum tape: it's very, very thin and tears & crumples easily so it's a pain in the butt to work with. Getting a smooth finish can be an challenge (one which I did not succeed in accomplishing :rolleyes: ).

The yellow color of the light I wasn't crazy about so swapped the bulb with the one from London Drugs (have decided to keep that one as a light for my balcony... something I've never been able to have as there is no electrical outlet.)

[blainep]

The bulbs that come with those Princess Auto lights are a nasty yellow. I've changed out about half of them so far.
Good thing they're cheap to buy, it almost doubles the cost to change the bulb.

Looking forward to a pic or two Jay, I'd like to see how you have it mounted in.

[thegrandpoohbah]

Blaine, where in Calgary did you find the replacement bulbs and how much did they cost?

[CACAdmin]

Well, now that I've finished my pizza & wine (lazy man's dinner), I finally got around to taking pics. Here's the tank with the new bulb (not the yellow one).
http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/jb_images/light-retrofit-tank.jpg

Here's a pic of how I had to mount it (I stood it on it's side so you can see the interior): http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/jb_images/light-retrofit-interior.jpg

I couldn't mount the light on the top because of the curve and the protruding plastic mounts (which are hidden by the light). Those mounts are where I could have attached the new ones if they had come with the light. So, as you can see, I had to mount it on its side (attached with velcro).

As you can see, aluminum foil tape covers the interior area normally filled by the white reflector with the exception of the vents. (I made a messy job of lining with the tape.:Embarassing:)

[blainep]

The first bulbs I bought came from Rona, out by Sunridge. If I remember, they were about $4.00 each.

[blainep]

Looks good Jay, looks like it lights up the tank well.

Any pizza left ?

[CACAdmin]

Ouch! I paid twice that and the brackets were missing! I guess I should have tried Rona first (however, the one close to me is a very small store). Oh well, not going to bother now as I only had the one light to do.

[blainep]

Ouch! I paid twice that and the brackets were missing! I guess I should have tried Rona first (however, the one close to me is a very small store). Oh well, not going to bother now as I only had the one light to do.

That's just the bulb, not the fixture. The fixtures were (thinking) $5.99, I think.

Seems to me Ronas fixtures started at about $25.00.

[CACAdmin]

Thnaks! That makes me feel a little better. Light fixture (with bulb)+tape+tax came to less than $15.

[DaFishMan]

I think you did ok with it :) *passes you the chips*

"Well, now that I've finished my pizza & wine (lazy man's dinner)"

I have that a couple times per week LOL. I'm having a glass of wine now that I'm reminded of it ! How could I forget I had wine in the fridge ? :err:

[CACAdmin]

Looks good Jay, looks like it lights up the tank well.

Any pizza left ?

It actually does a pretty good job & the tank is even a 25 'tall'. As for the pizza... there was last night but I just finished it off now... sorry, I guess I should have offered before I pigged out.:twitcy:

I think you did ok with it :) *passes you the chips*

"Well, now that I've finished my pizza & wine (lazy man's dinner)"

I have that a couple times per week LOL. I'm having a glass of wine now that I'm reminded of it ! How could I forget I had wine in the fridge ? :err:
Thanks for the chips <burp>... not that I need them after the pizza but what the heck, why not?! Glad to see you're not letting the wine go to waste. :DevilGrin: <passes the chips to Blaine as a peace offering>

[DaFishMan]

Be careful Blaine, I think he burped on them !! :eek:

[Melody]

:rofl: I heard it too!!!

This girly girl didn't understand most of this thread until we started talking about food :rolleyes: .

<taking pizza, new bag of chips and the rest of the wine and going home>

[DaFishMan]

<taking pizza, new bag of chips and the rest of the wine and going home>
How does she DO that ? :err:

[blainep]

Ya know, I'm as guilty as the next for taking a topic down the garden path, but I gotta say, it's a good thing we don't work together.

Absolutely nothing would get done ..............

Now back to the conversation at hand.

Did I hear someone opened a fresh bag of chips .......Looks like we're gonna need another pizza.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Melody]

How does she DO that ? :err:

Magic :wink:

[Melody]

Ya know, I'm as guilty as the next for taking a topic down the garden path, but I gotta say, it's a good thing we don't work together.

Absolutely nothing would get done ..............

Now back to the conversation at hand.

Did I hear someone opened a fresh bag of chips .......Looks like we're gonna need another pizza.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

ROFL I have never seen anything quite like this in any other forum. Just as casual as it can be, like we're sitting around the same fishroom, other people picking up where one left off... visitors must be very confused. :twitcy: I think we've been hanging out together for too long....lol.

[CACAdmin]

Of course, they're confused. But once they see how much fun we're having, they'll probably want to join us... better stock up on chips before they get here. And Melody, no running off with them this time, or we'll hold those plants hostage. :laugh:

[DaFishMan]

"Looks like we're gonna need another pizza"

*Orders pizza for everyone* I'll get some more chips too !

And I agree, gotta watch that Mel with the chips. She's sneaky :yes:

[Melody]

:DevilGrin: :BOLTS:

[Pamelajo]

Ya know, I'm as guilty as the next for taking a topic down the garden path, but I gotta say, it's a good thing we don't work together.

Absolutely nothing would get done ..............

Now back to the conversation at hand.

Did I hear someone opened a fresh bag of chips .......Looks like we're gonna need another pizza.

:rofl::rofl::rofl:
:yes::yes::yes:

[thegrandpoohbah]

Just in case anyone was interested, Rona only has the cool white replacement bulbs for the 13" (12" long 8W bulb) fixture. They are $3.99 each. I have not been able to find a whiter bulb for the 22" fixture. It seems the 13W T-5 bulb that it uses is not a very common size.

[CACAdmin]

Thanks Mr. GP. Awesome deal! I will pop into Roan this weekend and pick up a couple.

[blainep]

I see the Canadian Tire near me has a spot for the bulbs, but no bulbs. Out of stock I assume.
They were very close to the same price as well, I think just over the $4.00 mark.

I didn't look for the 22 inch bulbs, should have, I bought one of those as well.