DIY T5HO Lighting
- Thread starter al&burke
- Start date
2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///forum/thread/380130/diy-t5ho-lighting#post_3307645
Ballasts, sockets, reflectors. I want to make a 4 bulb fixture, with maybe 3 led's in it for moonlight. My tanks is 65 gallons 3 ft long - right now I have a single set of 2 T5HO.
Are there specific ballasts, sockets and reflectors that you are wanting? You can get the LET or SLR retro kits over at reefgeek. com. They have 2 choices of each, the basic ones come with high quality reflectors, moisture proof endcaps and a good ballast. Or you can upgrade them, still get the high quality german reflectors, sockets with moister proof endcaps and an IceCap 660 ballast which over drives the bulbs and essentially turns them into VHO T5's for a little more money.
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///forum/thread/380130/diy-t5ho-lighting#post_3307645
Ballasts, sockets, reflectors. I want to make a 4 bulb fixture, with maybe 3 led's in it for moonlight. My tanks is 65 gallons 3 ft long - right now I have a single set of 2 T5HO.
Are there specific ballasts, sockets and reflectors that you are wanting? You can get the LET or SLR retro kits over at reefgeek. com. They have 2 choices of each, the basic ones come with high quality reflectors, moisture proof endcaps and a good ballast. Or you can upgrade them, still get the high quality german reflectors, sockets with moister proof endcaps and an IceCap 660 ballast which over drives the bulbs and essentially turns them into VHO T5's for a little more money.
acrylic51
Active Member
Quote:Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/380130/diy-t5ho-lighting#post_3307647
Are there specific ballasts, sockets and reflectors that you are wanting? You can get the LET or SLR retro kits over at reefgeek. com. They have 2 choices of each, the basic ones come with high quality reflectors, moisture proof endcaps and a good ballast. Or you can upgrade them, still get the high quality german reflectors, sockets with moister proof endcaps and an IceCap 660 ballast which over drives the bulbs and essentially turns them into VHO T5's for a little more money.
Agree
Are there specific ballasts, sockets and reflectors that you are wanting? You can get the LET or SLR retro kits over at reefgeek. com. They have 2 choices of each, the basic ones come with high quality reflectors, moisture proof endcaps and a good ballast. Or you can upgrade them, still get the high quality german reflectors, sockets with moister proof endcaps and an IceCap 660 ballast which over drives the bulbs and essentially turns them into VHO T5's for a little more money.
Agree
2quills
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///forum/thread/380130/diy-t5ho-lighting#post_3307657
Thanks SHawn & Corey, How many ballasts would I have to get for 4 bulbs - 39 watts each I assume.
The kits come with 1 ballast for 2 bulbs so 2 ballasts totall. If you chose to buy everything seperate then just make sure you get a 2 bulb ballast. That way you can have 2 power cords....1 for your whites and 1 for you blues. Honestly it's probably a little bit cheaper just getting the kits as apposed to buying separate. IceCap 660 ballasts have a really good reputation in the hobby.
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///forum/thread/380130/diy-t5ho-lighting#post_3307657
Thanks SHawn & Corey, How many ballasts would I have to get for 4 bulbs - 39 watts each I assume.
The kits come with 1 ballast for 2 bulbs so 2 ballasts totall. If you chose to buy everything seperate then just make sure you get a 2 bulb ballast. That way you can have 2 power cords....1 for your whites and 1 for you blues. Honestly it's probably a little bit cheaper just getting the kits as apposed to buying separate. IceCap 660 ballasts have a really good reputation in the hobby.
wangotango
Active Member
One thing to add. If you do go with a retrofit that overdrives the bulbs (which isn't really necessary on tanks less than 24" deep IMO) you will also want to buy a couple of fans to help get rid of the heat. Heat and overdriving are going to cut down on your lamp life.
2quills
Well-Known Member
Actually you want the fans blowing on the encaps because that's where most of the heat is produced. And yes, if you do go with the higher output kits you do want to cool them in order for them to run more efficiently. Whether you need them or not is really all dependant on what you want to keep in your tank and where. According to the guys at reefgeek, even if you go with the better kit which is the LET kit with the IceCap ballasts you'll still have to be selective on where you place things like sps and clams if you wish to keep those in a 24" tank.