lighting questions for the diy guys.

[rotarygeek]

ok so im trying to upgrade my lighting on my 30 gallon dt. right now it has a regular strip light in the hood. i as looking on egay and found t5 retrofit kits for pretty cheap, but i dont know what all is involved with retrofitting a strip light to a t5. and they had a 24 inch t5 light for like 50 bucks shipped, but i have never heard of the brand before. is either of these a good option? its going on a fowlr tank. im just dissapointed with the the regular lighting. also at a local smart petstore they have a 24 inch t5 light strip for 139.99 from fluval. thats what ill end up with if i cant go cheaper.

 

[camanuch]

im in the process of redoing my lights as well.. t5ho's to be exact. ive seen everything you need to rebuild a fixture for like 70$ without bulb and work. if you want to build it yourself that is definately possible. P>M me if you want some ideas

 

[scsinet]

Retrofit kits are really designed to add lighting to a self-built canopy, not to rig up a commercially made fixture for another purpose.
I'm sure it's doable, but it depends heavily on the specifics of your existing fixture and how DIY-able you are.
Generally you can be suspicious of any complete lighting systems that are oddly cheap. Many of the lights sold on that famous site where you bid on stuff are either noname Chinese knock-offs. These lights often have oddball parts that is hard as hell to find, so you are better off going with a known brand.

 

[wattsupdoc]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2527330
Retrofit kits are really designed to add lighting to a self-built canopy, not to rig up a commercially made fixture for another purpose.
I'm sure it's doable, but it depends heavily on the specifics of your existing fixture and how DIY-able you are.
Generally you can be suspicious of any complete lighting systems that are oddly cheap. Many of the lights sold on that famous site where you bid on stuff are either noname Chinese knock-offs. These lights often have oddball parts that is hard as hell to find, so you are better off going with a known brand.
Definetly not made for retro-ing a strip light. But could be done pretty simply.

There are equite a few good name retros as well as lights on thebay. but the one you're referring to ain't one of them. I know exactly which one your thinking of. You need to be sure they are T5HO, if it doesn't specifically state it is, it ain't. There are Tek lights on there

, sunlight supply I believe as well

there's a brand of fixture with a green background,(Catalina is what it is, I have one, seems to be great, be sure it has individual reflectors.)Look at the thread posted here titled T5 help or something like that, that's one of those in the pic. There are some other brands on there as well. Look at one, post up the name of the fixture and Someone will let you know if it's a doable deal.