OttoVon's T5 Adventures!

[Otto_VonBacon]

I said i would make a thread about this when i did it so here it is:

I just got my T5 Tek light from MarineDepot.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...y~FILTFIT58U~category~48in_Units~vendor~.html

My mission is to bolt that to my canopy, so it comes up every time i open it like a Retrofit system does. Shouldn't be very hard at all now that i see how the original holes for the leg brackets are. I was dreading all week thinking it may be different than i thought, and not be able to do what i wanted with it. I'm pretty confident i can do whatever tot his things and it won't be a problem.

What i will need:
'bout 6 bolts.
Some washers.
Some Nuts.
Drill.
Bit.
6 46" T5 lights.

i love the light, but first thing i did was measure it...

They posted false dimensions on the site,
they said: 48"L x 15"W x 2.5"H
Turned out to be 47"L x 16"W x 2.5H

I was really counting on it being 15"W because that was pretty much all the width i had to mess with... Now I'm going to have to router my canopy down a bit, not to much to where it destroys the integrity of the canopy, but enough to make it a minor annoyance .

I like that it's only 47 inches, now i might be able to use some sort of stand so i don't have to hold my lid up every time i feed them.

On to the lights...
Are the Hagen ones they sell at PetSmart good? i don't really want to order lights online because i need them now. i should have gotten some when i bought the thing.

3 actinics, 2 10K, 1,20-25K should be good right?

I go to HomeDepot tomorrow to start!
Pics will be posted.

 

[sweeTang21]

i dont like the hagens at all. i think there colors are just pure crap. Geisemann and UVL are the only brand of bulbs that i use. marinedepot is usally pretty quick with the orders as i usually get mine in 3 days after order, and im in wisconsin. you wont be disappointed with either brand, but one word of caution, stay away from the actinic UVL bulbs, there blue is well, not really blue lol.

my setup is 2 UVL pure actinic, 1 geisemann midday, 1 UVL 75/25, 1 UVL 10K and 2 Geisemann aquablue+

the midday and 75/25 are actually almost the exact same color. I was slightly disappointed.

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Well I didn't start it today. went to a bonfire

So how would this work out:

two of these: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~category~UVL_T5_V_HO_75.25_Bulb_14000K_V_HO~vendor~UV_Lighting_Company_(URI)~SearchStr~~action~view~idProduct~UF5227~idCategory~FILTBUT5VH.html

three of these: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...twater_Aquarium_Supplies&vendor=&child=GL2145

one of these: http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...twater_Aquarium_Supplies&vendor=&child=GL2125

Or could i just go with 3 of the actinics and 3 75/25's
Or 3 acts and 3 midday's?

Do you do the 3 day shipping option or do you just get them in 3 days from luck?

When i ordered my computer parts it took a week for them to get here from cali

Hmm, if i ordered today it still wouldn't get here till Monday. That is unless i request Saturday delivery...

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Going with 3 Giesemann pure actinics, 1 UVL 10K, and 2 UVL, 75/25.

What y'all think?

 

[sweeTang21]

your last option sounds good. that should give you a 50/50 color.

I just get them by luck usually. Ive only made 3 orders with them so idk lol. it may have something to do with route and location, as UPS has a large warehouse in st paul MN.

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

The actinics were out of stock so i'm only getting the 10K and 75/25

They be here on tuesday.

God knows when the acts will be back in stock

 

[sweeTang21]

could have purchased current brand bulbs for actinics. ive heard they have a nice blue color.

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Well we went out shopping today. (got some B@#$%in' shades and new clothes) and ran over to home depot and got some screws and a chunk of wood. the wood is for extra bracing because the top of the canopy is only about 1/4" piece of wood, I'll sleep easy now with extra support.

Here's what i got done so far: (pardon the mess )

Still need to attach it to the canopy and router out the bottom.

Note those bolts will actually be going through the top of the canopy, i just did this to see how my holes were.

could have purchased current brand bulbs for actinics. ive heard they have a nice blue color.

Yeah... I'll probably do that if they don't come in stock anytime soon.

 

[sweeTang21]

looks good. do you have your bulbs yet??

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

nope not yet.

Spring break is over now so i got to get back to school, which may cause some delays in construction.