My 29 gallon mixed reef
- Thread starter myzislow
- Start date
rebelprettyboy
Active Member
wow on the tank. Its really amazing. Beautiful corals in the tank... Wat fish u got? Whats that red and pink fish?
machinfrontofu
Member
wish my tank looked as good as yours!!
fishieness
Active Member
how did you attach the t5? i'm looking to do the same thing so just looking around and getting ideas of how to fasten it.
veni vidi vici
Active Member
WOW! And i think that sums it up for me.
myzislow
Member
Wow, thanks for the very nice compliments everyone, I'm glad you enjoyed
I'll try and get some pics of the t5 retrofit later today when I get my camera back.
I used a 24" sun blaze t5ho strip light and their matching reflector, and a giesemann pure actinic bulb.The setup is fairly inexpensive and does the job very nicely IMO. The reflector could be a bit more polished, though. I may have my buddies father build a super reflective one but for now this one is working great. It's a very noticeable difference with and without the reflector.
I'll explain more how we attached it when I posts some pics so it's easier to explain. It's not the best looking but not terrible either. One of my other friends though I bought the whole thing as a "kit", brackets and all
Thanks again.
I'll try and get some pics of the t5 retrofit later today when I get my camera back.
I used a 24" sun blaze t5ho strip light and their matching reflector, and a giesemann pure actinic bulb.The setup is fairly inexpensive and does the job very nicely IMO. The reflector could be a bit more polished, though. I may have my buddies father build a super reflective one but for now this one is working great. It's a very noticeable difference with and without the reflector.
I'll explain more how we attached it when I posts some pics so it's easier to explain. It's not the best looking but not terrible either. One of my other friends though I bought the whole thing as a "kit", brackets and all
Thanks again.
noah's nemo
Member
The colors are amazing,probably even better in person!Hey,what happen to your flame hawk?
bluering09
Member
This is my new dream tank!
myzislow
Member
Noah's nemo-Thanks so much, and you're right pictures do the colors no justice. I need a new camera!! The flamehawk unfortunately died for unknown reasons. Definitely a favorite fish of mine; so much personality!
bluering- quite the compliment, thanks a bunch!
For those wondering about the retrofit t5 setup here are some pics and explanation. It really wasn't hard at all and took less then an hour to do. This has been something I've wanted to do as long as I've owned the sun pod as I've missed actinic lighting a TON. Being that my tank is 30" long current doesn't make a fixture that has t5 or pc supplements in this size so this was my only option besides getting a whole new lighting system.
We started by getting some thin, but supportive, galvanized metal to make the brackets out of. We then shaped them to the contour of the sun pod. My plan was to initially do this mod to the rear of the sun pod but I ended up not having enough room, so in the front it had to go. On top of the sun pod are openings where you can attach there hanging mounting kit. I used these provided holes to attach the brackets using automotive body panel threaded clips that slid right into place. I secured the brackets using some bolts I had around the house.
an example of the the type clip I used:
Now that the brackets had a solid mounting point to the fixture, our focus became figuring out how to mount the strip light to the brackets.
The strip light has mounting slots at each end of the fixture. I had some some bolts and finishing nuts lying around the house that ended up working perfectly. The head of the bolt slides into the mounting slots for a snug, but perfect fit. I then drilled a whole in the bracket, tightened down the finishing nuts on each side, and that's it. After that I was ready to mount everything in place.
It came out pretty nice think. I still have to paint the brackets with a matte rustoleum type paint. I also plan on covering the white cord with a loom of some sort. I'm thinking maybe split silicone vacuum hose to cover the wires but still not sure.
On to the pics:
Hope that helps. If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask and I'll answer them as best I can.
bluering- quite the compliment, thanks a bunch!
For those wondering about the retrofit t5 setup here are some pics and explanation. It really wasn't hard at all and took less then an hour to do. This has been something I've wanted to do as long as I've owned the sun pod as I've missed actinic lighting a TON. Being that my tank is 30" long current doesn't make a fixture that has t5 or pc supplements in this size so this was my only option besides getting a whole new lighting system.
We started by getting some thin, but supportive, galvanized metal to make the brackets out of. We then shaped them to the contour of the sun pod. My plan was to initially do this mod to the rear of the sun pod but I ended up not having enough room, so in the front it had to go. On top of the sun pod are openings where you can attach there hanging mounting kit. I used these provided holes to attach the brackets using automotive body panel threaded clips that slid right into place. I secured the brackets using some bolts I had around the house.
an example of the the type clip I used:
Now that the brackets had a solid mounting point to the fixture, our focus became figuring out how to mount the strip light to the brackets.
The strip light has mounting slots at each end of the fixture. I had some some bolts and finishing nuts lying around the house that ended up working perfectly. The head of the bolt slides into the mounting slots for a snug, but perfect fit. I then drilled a whole in the bracket, tightened down the finishing nuts on each side, and that's it. After that I was ready to mount everything in place.
It came out pretty nice think. I still have to paint the brackets with a matte rustoleum type paint. I also plan on covering the white cord with a loom of some sort. I'm thinking maybe split silicone vacuum hose to cover the wires but still not sure.
On to the pics:
Hope that helps. If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask and I'll answer them as best I can.
fishieness
Active Member
wow. GREAT idea. I hadn't even thought of using the fasteners used to make it a pendant.
I'll definitely be doing that in the next few weeks.
I'll definitely be doing that in the next few weeks.
