DIY lighting upgrade

[gomezladdams]

Ive been using these small t5 shoplight units in my fishroom for a few years.A few of my flourecent hoods needed ballasts so I figured rather than replace the old magnetic ballasts with electronic ones to eliminate the starter and upgrade from t-12 to t-8 bulbs,why not go a step further and see if I can upgrade to t-5 lighting?Time to get some tools out.
As you can see the unit is small enough to fit in the existing hood

A few screws and the old workings are out.Test fit confirms that the bulbs dont extend below the bottom of the hood,so the light will still be able to sit on the tank cover.

 

[gomezladdams]

Now to fasten one of the new lights mounting holes is lined up with the plastic screw boss in the hood.A hole had to be drilled in the housing of the light unit for the second screw.I used the screws that held the old plastic reflector in to hold the new light in.You can see here the screw to mount the light to the hood and the wires are run through the not used mounting hole.

Wires connected.On this one I bypassed the switch as its going on a timer in the fishroom.

Plugged in and sitting flat on the counter,it works and is ready for use.

Uploading photos of the 48" light build now.

 

[gomezladdams]

For the 4' unit Im replacing the single t-12 light with a double t5 fixture.Here you can see how small the t-5 setup is and will easily fit in the old hood.

After unscrewing the old reflector and ballast a test fit and the light wont sit flat.A quick look and there are 4 fins inside the hood for some reason.Easily dealt with using a plier.

 

[gomezladdams]

The existing reflector on this one was a nice polished metal so I decided to put it to use.Using tin snips I cut the reflector down to size.I retained the bend in the metal with the intention of having the reflector angle behind the lights,rather than jus a flat reflector behind the bulbs.Not as effective as a designed parabolic reflector,but it should be better than a flat surface.

out comes the pop rivet gun again to fasten the reflector to the wiring cover.

A little neatening up with the pliers and the reflector is in.

Ill load up a before and after photo of the tank.The increase in light is very evident.

 

[cypher1024]

Very cool!
Now all we need are the all-important before and after photos of the tank!

 

[gomezladdams]

Heres the tank with the single t-12

And after.

 

[sieu004]

Could you tell where I can those t-5 light units?

 

[gomezladdams]

Home depot.
the 4' was about $30 with bulbs.Dont remember how much the 20" unit was but it was pretty cheap.

 

[bob965]

Very resourceful, but from the pics it looks kinda yellowish now. What kind of lamps are you using?

 

[gomezladdams]

The lamps that come with it are a daylight lamp.Certainly looks like a bright sunny day in there.For a non planted tank Id use a single bulb,maybe even a single 3' strip as these are really freaking bright!
I havent shopped around to see what other bulbs are available for them yet.