DIY T5 Lights

[Vinceire]

Hi Reefers,

Just want to share my first try at DIY T5 Lights.

Was sorting through my storeroom and found a spoilt FL lighting so decided to recycle/converted the useless object into a 2 x 39W T5 Lightning.

Fortunately for me, I have our DIY GURU (Dr Evil) just staying 2 blocks away, so after getting some advise and parts from him, I was on my way.

AS the FL light casing was pretty slim, I was unable to mount the eballast into the casing and mounted it on top instead by drilling 2 holes to secure the ballast.

Another 2 bigger holes were drilled for the main cable wire and the wirings to the lights.

(Pardon the resolution of the pics, did not use DC as not charged. Pic taken with PDA)

[Vinceire]

The previous 30WL FL ballast were removed together with the existing connectors and replaced with the T5 Connectors by following simple to understand diagram on the e-ballast.

As the lighting case has ready-made grooves for screws, no extra drilling were required to mount the connectors.

[Vinceire]

Another view of the voosloh T5 Eballast from Dr Evil.

Good quality, slim /lightweight and energy efficient (Not much heat generated)

[Vinceire]

2 x 39W Aquaz Actinic Pro fitted in

IMO, affordable and good quallity HO T5 tubes

[Vinceire]

Plug in socket and Viola!

POWER OF T5....

[dr evil]

WELL DONE.....another diy guru in the making... got potential

[yangster]

Hi Vinceire

Nice work there. I am new to DIYing lights so can tell me where can I get the ballast and how much would it cost me?

I have an old casing at home too.. thinking of making one T5 too

[Vinceire]

Thanks for the compliment.

It's really quite easy to DIY the lights.

With regards to the cost, it really depends on what quality of things you are going for.

Foy my case, I got the german made Eballast from Dr Evil for $42, although local makes will cost around $20. Reason for getting the Vossloh is due to it's preheating feature that helps to lengthen the lifespan of the T5 lamps but it is totally up to you.

Cost of the connectors is about $0.50 ea and the single core wire is about $2.

I got the Aquaz T5 39W Lamps at S$22ea and quite "value-for-money" IMO but there are more expensive lamps like ATI.

Total cost for my project is about $90 not including the 3-Core main and plug which I salvage from another spoilt electrical appliance

You can PM Dr Evil for the parts if you are interested.

Cheers

[iori_del]

hi bro is yr light a double tude one? or u convert it to a double T5???

[Vinceire]

Hi bro, the original lighting is a single FL tube.

As the T5 is much thinner and slimmer than FL, I was able to put 2 tubes in.

In actual fact, I could even squeeze in a 3rd tube as there is enough space for it. but did not do it as I will required additional ballast that will add weight to the overall light.

[iori_del]

Hi bro, the original lighting is a single FL tube.

As the T5 is much thinner and slimmer than FL, I was able to put 2 tubes in.

In actual fact, I could even squeeze in a 3rd tube as there is enough space for it. but did not do it as I will required additional ballast that will add weight to the overall light.

i see as i got a spare 4 ft light and was thinking to mod it... so u drill 2 hole on the top casing rite? how do u do tat or u got special equipment?

[Vinceire]

If the height of your 4ft light is big enough, you can try to put/hide the eballast in the light case rather than mount it on top on the light. If there is insufficent space, just use a drilling tool (For my case, I use a Dremel tool) to drill small holes so that you can mount the ebllast on top.

And for safety and also nicer outlook, you can drill 2 bigger holes using those normal power hand drill for walls so that the wires can be run inside of the case rather than outside.

[jack27]

If the height of your 4ft light is big enough, you can try to put/hide the eballast in the light case rather than mount it on top on the light. If there is insufficent space, just use a drilling tool (For my case, I use a Dremel tool) to drill small holes so that you can mount the ebllast on top.

And for safety and also nicer outlook, you can drill 2 bigger holes using those normal power hand drill for walls so that the wires can be run inside of the case rather than outside.

Hi Vinceire, wah... can you teach me how to do it?

[OceanReef]

This is what i call neat and clean..

Bro Vi,

Solid finishing man..

So yours is a dual eballast??

[Vinceire]

Yes, it's a 2 x 39W Eballast.

Good stuff too

[Vinceire]

Yo bro jack27,

Just let me know what I can do to help.

If you need the parts or how to wire the lights, just PM me or Dr Evil (Parts provider).

Cheers

[OceanReef]

Yes, it's a 2 x 39W Eballast.

Good stuff too

Cool..

I may be doing 4 x 39W for my new 3ft Tank, do you thk it enough??

So can engage yr helps and advices on wiring??

Thks

[Vinceire]

4 tubes should be enough but it really depends on what you are intending to keep.

IMO, it should be sufficient for Clams and SPS (Ie. if they are place at the top of the tank). However, if you are planning to go SPS, I think 6 tubes would be the best option with 4 x 39W 10K and 2X 39W actinic blue pro.

BTW, are you intending to recycle some FL hoods or do you plan to DIY with other

materials?

Let me know your idea and I will see how I can help.

Cheers

[OceanReef]

I dun thk i will go into SPS at the moment but will eventually

I am not sure whether to use the existing FL hood but be sure that I may be coming up with new hood to house aleast 4 to 5 T5s with the eballast intergrated inside..

I like the idea by Dr Evil but maybe should come out with new ideas to keep the DIY T5s more interesting.....

[jack27]

Yo bro jack27,

Just let me know what I can do to help.

If you need the parts or how to wire the lights, just PM me or Dr Evil (Parts provider).

Cheers

Hi Vinceire, PM u liao.. thx