# niko's inspired t5 retro light Setup Journal



## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

OK i was going to do it anyway, but niko's hood he made for Tex gal sold me, that being said i *am not * out to copy his design it just inspired me because i was looking for a light system for a big tank without going to MH.
my current lighting consists of two 160w 72" VHO's and one 96w pc and a shelf that holds every thing for the lights.








my new system will be on a "yo-yo" light lift witch will pose a problem with my duct work as you can see it comes out over my tank and i will need to put a eye bolt in the joist 








so i cut the main duct back and extended the two 6" round duct coming out, and will run the line between them prying for center of mass. The tape is just to seal it it's not holding it together (note to self, i love my wife's sarcasm)









i started to make the frame by notching out the aluminum channel to make the corners i am going to have the two joints on the ends









after that i just bent the ends and then put them up on the tank to mark the overlap 

















then i needed to wait for the kits to go any further, then i got the kit's but no bulbs as a mistake in shipping thy were rerouted back to the shipper, but the mistake was the four rolls of reflective film that came with the light kits so after a lot of time on the phone i now have the light kits yahoo









and as of yesterday the package that had my lights in it made it back to me well 4 of 6 lights *made* it back to me, i started putting it together last night, but don't have the pic's yet, and being Saturday i am not sure when i will get my new broken lights replaced. but this my monday and am at work for the next four days so not much will change untill Wednesday any way.


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

OK i got some pic's after getting home tonight, and if you look hard you can see two of the new light's broke, but i used them to hold the reflectors for mounting the unbroken ones.









another angle








good night.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Looking good! Hope the staggered light work for you. Just make sure when you do the circuits that you have to correct one to each circuit so that you get full tank coverage. It looks so good so far!


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

haha ya that would be bad, the two in the center will be midday bulbs so i hope that will keep me stright.


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

well i have made some progress i finished mounting the end caps and am ready to wire them i pulled the lights out just to be safe.









next i put the ballast up in the joist's, i could have mounted them right to the joist but with spanners air can get to all sides to help keep them cool. and then started to run the wire









i did find some coiled power cord after a day of running around but its heavier duty than i sat out to purchases but it will work.









after a good nights sleep i decided i need more clearance so out came the sawsall and i opened the front of the tank some more so the frame had more room.









then wired all the light's and set up the timers, i only set up two of the three until i get my replacement bulbs, hopefully tomorrow! but the timers are set and the wiring is cleaned up and in looms, as you can see the lights come right down on the tank or stay up in the clear and i have more room for maintenance than ever, i will have to wait and see after i add the two more lights but i still might put a skirt on the frame, but the light spill is a lot less than my VHO's were so a little fine tuning and i will get a final set of photos.


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

ok i now have all the lights up and running, and i will have to say i love the how thy look, the yo-yo lift's work grate. and the light spill is not near as bad as i expected, but there is some on the ends from the glass top , i do like the staggered effect on the tank, the ends are more lit up than ever, even with the 72" bulbs that were on their before but now i can start to concentrate on scapeing the tank, who is me. 

hear are the end shot's, now that i am done with the light, i will consider a skirt later. but for now its all about the plant's.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

You are gonna love these lights! The plants will grow so well. You will have to be consistent with your ferts and and not keep them on too long.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Hmmmm....

I DO NOT like that!

It looks like you have avoided what Drinda and I are trying to fix after the fact - the darker corners due to the bulbs being 12" shorter than the tank. It appears that mounting the bulbs the way you did takes care of that issue. In an elegant and simple way.

Have you no shame!



Jokes aside, Drinda is right - what you got have made is a tanning bed. The light is so strong that you must stay on top of the tank maintenance. You are about to experience plant growth, health, and colors you have probably never seen before.

Please keep us posted on the tank development!

--Nikolay


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

niko said:


> Hmmmm.... I DO NOT like that!


what don't you like? i konw its not as clean as yours but i wasn't going for that, or did i not get it, i am slow that way in text lol.



niko said:


> Have you no shame!


tex gal and my self had talked about the staggering of the light's, and its only three light's over each end, but i think it will work out, and ah hell no lol.



Tex Gal said:


> not keep them on too long.


i am trying a bit of a cycle, with the first set in the 
front coming on 6am- 8pm 
then the back set coming on 8am - 9pm 
and the midday's in the middle running 9am-4pm 
this might bee to much but i will adjust as needed


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

c4cache said:


> what don't you like? i konw its not as clean as yours but i wasn't going for that, or did i not get it, i am slow that way in text lol.


I joke like that. What I meant was that you have done what I should have done for Tex Gal. But I doubted it will work. From what it looks from your pictures it works beautifully - I see no dark corners in your tank. So I feel tricked because soon I will be adding additional T5HO bulbs to Tex Gal's fixture to take care of an issue that you took care of in the simplest possible way.

--Nikolay


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

c4cache said:


> i am trying a bit of a cycle, with the first set in the
> front coming on 6am- 8pm
> then the back set coming on 8am - 9pm
> and the midday's in the middle running 9am-4pm
> this might bee to much but i will adjust as needed


Oh no, that's not gonna be too much light! It's going to be WAY too much light. Plants will love you forever. Have you seen the pictures of plants that Tex Gal grows? Healthy beyond recognition, haha. That's what will be happening to you too. Just make sure you are ready to collect plants by the pound every few days 
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/60799-rarities-plants-more-plants.html

You have the light equivalent of an afterburner now! Except instead of consuming extra power it does it's job very efficiently:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterburner

--Nikolay


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

niko said:


> Oh no, that's not gonna be too much light! It's going to be WAY too much light.
> 
> You have the light equivalent of an afterburner now!


roflmao that's funny i don't care who you are.
i sent tex gal a order for plants, just not sure if she will ship them or not, either way the tank is ready for plants, so if my afterburner stays lit i have a weed whacker lol!

I owe this setup to you, you had the design, i was just coping you for the plan, like i said in the other post i was looking for a light setup, yours just looked like it would be the best for my tank and the space i had to work with, i am very happy with the out come and will always give you the credit for the design, the only reason i staggered the lights was tex gal gave me a heads up on the ends, the only thing i don't like was the channel the end cap's are mounted to are like a 1/16" away from the reflectors thy go over, i got lucky there and if i was doing it again i would use flat stock instead of channel for those two parts, as thy make bulb replacement interesting. 
so thank you for posting yours first


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

sorry it has been so long for a update but i have been a bit busy, the lights have been grate i think it was all worth it as you can see, all the plants were from tekgal and starrystarstarr thanks again to both, and of corse niko.


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## kimcadmus (Nov 23, 2008)

Wow, looks like they are working great! I will be constructing my Niko inspired fixture this summer. His "sense of humor" often catches me off guard - always having to read between the lines.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Sure looks like you are reaping the benefits of your labors. You'll be sending your plants out to people soon!


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## PRJCT92EH2 (Mar 7, 2008)

what retrofit kit did yall use? Looks good!


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## apm (Jul 1, 2009)

great job on the fixture, I dont know if i missed it, but where are the ballasts /retrofits from? and how much?


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## c4cache (Jan 21, 2009)

i bought my system from sunlight supply you will need to go to the horticulture side of the first page for the parts, but you need to locate one of there dealers near you to order, the DEALER SEARCH is under the fish side of the first page, this link is the retro kit i used 3 on my system, the bulbs were 2 midday and 4 Aqua Flora  and  the lift system


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