# A H Supply Gutter Light



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

*AH Supply 1X55 Watt Gutter Light
By Roy*​









Does a planted aquarium mean that I have to purchase an expensive lighting system?

When I started in the planted aquarium aspect of our hobby 3 years ago, I did not want to spend a bundle of money. I did some research before starting putting my first aquarium together. I checked out The Krib, ADA, Aquatic Plant Central, and The Planted Tank as well as other more obscure websites.

From my readings I learned that light, fertilizers, and good filtration were major factors for success with planted aquariums. Further readings provided insight on the problems with some commercial fixtures on the market such as cheap ballasts, noisy fans, and poor quality reflectors that were made of inferior materials with poor reflective qualities. In addition, some fixtures had reflectors that were too small, too tightly spaced, and some even two bulbs with only one reflector!

Several of the more experienced members on these sites talked about AH Supply and the excellent kits and reflectors that they offered. I have a little experience with wiring however my skills as a carpenter are marginal at best, but I wanted a quality light that was quiet. So I built my first light almost three years ago using the plans for a wooden enclosure provided with the AH Supply kit. The completed product definitely did not have a "professional" finish, and did not look as good as the enclosure shown below, but it worked well, provided excellent light, and it was quiet. It wasn't as "skinny" as I would have liked either with a 6" front to back dimension and it interfered with the opening of the All Glass (Aqueon) Versa-Top glass covers. The enclosure materials (I wanted oak to match furniture in the room) were not inexpensive either with a cost of about $50.00.



About 3 months later I acquired my second aquarium and built my second kit, also in a wood enclosure. It was a little better looking, and did the same a great job lighting my tank. I was able to shave ¼" off of the front to back dimension but it was still a little too large and boxy. Material costs was basically identical so I was putting together good lights that provided good results with a total cost of about $120 per fixture including the bulb(s). This made the fixtures comparable in cost with commercial fixtures which looked cosmetically better but were technically deficient.

Fast forward two years and I find myself with two aquariums that a fellow GSAS member posted on our club chat. I wanted to give them to my nephews (they spend hours in front of my aquariums when they come to visit) but other than the aquariums and one "full incandescent hood" the rest of the equipment needed to be replaced. By the time I bought filters ( oversized Aquaclear HOB so they had good circulation and could feed DIY CO2 into the intakes), heaters, and a stand for one of them, my budget was just about gone&#8230;.what was I going to do for a quality light for the second aquarium? I wanted to do the AH Supply kits but I didn't want to have to spend $50 per enclosure so I did a little more research online and put together the prototype for what you see pictured below. My AH Supply Gutter Light!

Roy's Prototype AH Supply 1X55 Watt Gutter Light (Front)









My 24" light measures 24.25" X 5" X 3.25" high and it is much more compact and professional looking than the wooden enclosures I put together. It is "skinny" enough that I don't have any issues with my glass canopies. The light is air-cooled so it is quiet and has no fans to breakdown or become noisier over time. I put 1" diameter vents in each end of the enclosure and mounted the ballast "outboard" on the back of the enclosure to further reduce the heat on the inside.


Roy's Prototype AH Supply 1X55 Watt Gutter Light (Back)









Roy's Prototype AH Supply 1X55 Watt Gutter Light (End w/ Vent)









Lastly is utilizes the excellently engineered, high quality MIRO 4 reflector that AH Supply is best known for. It is documented that the AH Supply provides significantly more light to greater depths than standard Power Compact fixtures. Here is an excellent thread with a graph that shows the performance difference of different bulb designs including the Power Compact AH Supply kits.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html

I tested the my fixture and got a PAR meter reading in my 30 gallon of 125 (slightly above High Light) at the substrate level bottom of the aquarium 13" from the fixture through the Versa-Top glass cover..

Roy's Prototype AH Supply 1X55 Watt Gutter Light (Interior)









Some people may say, 'Roy; Power Compact lights are "old technology".' Plants do not care if the light they receive comes from a T12, T8, T5, T5HO, or Power Compact (which is basically a T5HO bulb bent back onto itself) bulbs as long as there is sufficient light in a useable spectrum for photosynthesis. Here is an excerpt from an excellent thread on the differences of various bulb types.

"*T5 HO Lighting*
bulb: FP39/841/HO (PENTRON T5 HO)
power: 39W
length: 34"
life: 20000 hrs.
avg. lumens: 2803
lumens/watt: 71.9

For this T5 bulb, the difference compared with T12 is that it uses 9 more watts (30% more energy) and produces 50-70% more light. As above, the bulb diameter is 60% smaller and the bulb has a longer rated life.

*Compact Fluorescent - Twin Bulb - Similar Wattage*
bulb: FT36DL/835 (Dulux L) (uses T5 bulb diameter for a total width slightly wider than T12)
power: 36W
length: 16.6"
life: 12000 hrs.
avg. lumens: 2494
lumens/watt: 69.3

For this CF bulb, the difference compared with T12 is that it uses 6 more watts (20% more energy) and produces 33% more light. The bulb diameter is slightly wider than a T12 (+.5") and the bulb has a shorter rated life. However, in this case, the overall bulb length is less than 1/2 as long."

In addition, Power Compact / Compact Fluorescent bulbs have very good 'lumen maintenance' with a 10-15% loss total loss over the entire 12000 hour life.

So what did my AH Supply 1X55 Watt Gutter Light cost to assemble?

2' Brown Vinyl "U" Gutter @ $2.00 total cost ($10 for 10')
2 each Vinyl "U" Gutter end caps @ $7.50 total cost
1 AHS 1X55 watt SL Kit @ $44.99
1 55 watt 6700K bulb @ $17.99
Krylon Spray Paint (Black) $6.00
AHS Shipping @ $10.00

Total Cost $89.00

So, what do you think? Do you have to spend a small fortune for an expensive lighting system for a planted aquarium&#8230;..I think not!

-Roy


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## NeonFlux (May 15, 2008)

Hi Roy, now that is what I call great low DIY budgeting. Very inspirational and money-saving. I have purchased Coralife power compact lights for my plants all my life, I wished I had the patience to look for a cheaper way like this and spent cheaper.. Oh well lol. I am currently upgraded from CFL to T5's that were made from Catalina.

Nice thread!

-William


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Roy,

You wrote a very comprehensive post and my hat is off to you for that. It's seldom that we see posts like that. Thank you!

Because of the content of your post I'm not going to use my usual sarcasm to express my disdain for Power Compact bulbs. Here's what I'd say:


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1. We put 36 watts of PC + 39 watts of T5HO side by side. Each bulb has it's own special reflector.

1a. We point both bulbs to a wall 35' away. 

1b. PC loses the race badly.


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2. We mount 6x36 (216) watts of PC bulbs under an enclosed wooden canopy of tank 1. 

2a. We mount 3x39 (117) watts of T5HO unde the enclosed wooden canopy of tank 2 (identical size to tank 1)

2b. Heat with PC is unbearable.

2c. Light intensity in the tank is a visibly higher with the T5HO.

2d. A year later the PC have severely reduced light output. T5HO are fine.


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3. I have a tank that is 22" long. 

3a. Shortest T5HO bulb is 24". 

3b. 36 watts PC is 17".



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4. Plants do not care how we supply the light.



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5. T5HO reflector makes a much narrower beam of light. 

5b. To evenly light the tank you mount more T5HO bulbs.

5c. You reach a point of having too much light. Light period needs management as ADA suggests - midday "burst" and lower light before and after. It's as if you have Metal Halide bulbs, but without the heat, large size and underwater shimmer.


--Nikolay


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Hi,
I built two A&H fixtures, both identical 
4 X 55w for a 55 gal and a 75 gal. I have carpentry skills /tools 
I made mine based on the directions but did a few things to make it better.
I mounted an alum channel on the front & rear edge of the fixture, this allowsme to insert 1/4 glas. Yes it is heavier but because of its width, I like to pick it up and place it as far back as I can ( to the wall). This means my fixture sits on filter tubes during maintencce.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi niko,

Thank you for the compliment; coming from a great DIY'er such as yourself it means a lot.

I agree with you, given equal quality reflectors, that PC is not as effective at directing light into our aquariums as T5HO. I also believe that while the #1 and #2 experiments you performed were certainly informative, quantitative light measurements could make them even more meaningful. During one of Tom Barr's two presentations at GSAS last fall he suggested using a PAR meter to take quantitative light readings in our aquariums. Based upon Tom's recommendation, GSAS purchased a Apogee MQ-200 PAR meter and makes it available to all of our members. 

As for bulb life expectancy I can add my experience with my 96 watt PC on a 45 gallon (36"X12"X24") aquarium. Last December I checked out the club PAR meter and measured all the light intensities of my tanks at the substrate level. On my 45 gallon, with a one year old 6700K bulb, the PAR reading was 65 at the substrate level. I installed a new bulb and the PAR value was 106.....63% brighter!


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

@NeonFlux - Thanks William! Building the light served two purposes; first I have a quality light with good light intensity and dispersion and no noisy fan and I accomplished that without spending a lot of money. Side bonus, I know how to repair it if I have problems with it in the future.

@Aquaticz I like the idea of protecting the bulb from water spray. I will have to see if I can slide a thin piece of clear acrylic in the fixture between the gutter lip and reflector. My only concern will be heat retention and the effect on bulb life.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

As of late, as you probably know, I've started to despise DIY projects for the planted tank hobby. It's mostly ugly little project that save $1 or $2 and make the hobby look cheap, low-value, promote a bad view of it, and definitely hinder its progress. Just look at the title of this thread - "gutter" doesn't sound very elegant, does it? But DIY is an indelible part of this hobby. I don't know if we will ever see that changing.

To me measuring the special characteristics of the light with an expensive piece of equipment makes little sense given the "nice" variety of PC bulbs we have access to. It would not be too bold to say that all PC available on the market are crap. Manufacturers label their Kelvins as they feel. You can compare 10K bulbs side by side and see at least 5 different colors! Which makes me wonder about the other published specs of these bulbs. IF you can find these specs that is.

I don't know where AHSupply gets his bulbs. I'd not buy a PC from anybody else though.

PC bulbs visibly change the color of the tube within a few months. Look at yours and see if the white looks somewhat grey. If your bulb is a few months old I know it's grey, especially close to the base. In a year the tube is definitely on the grey side on all brands. Does it make sense to check that bulb with a PAR meter? Maybe. Could it be that color + intensity deterioration means very little as far as PAR performance is concerned? Meaning that the bulb could be dimmer but still provide all the special energy that the plants need? That doesn't sound right.

When I'm saying "T5HO" I mean only Giesemann Midday 6000K T5HO. T5HO bulbs also go grey and dim as PCs especially if you get a bargain, no-name bulb off Ebay or something. But I guess because they run cooler than PCs the discoloration happens slower.

Bottom line is - we are talking savings of about $10 per bulb if you pick PC over a German T5HO. I think that' sums it all up. Unless you have to use PC because of size considerations.

--Nikolay


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## Blackstar65 (Sep 16, 2008)

Thank you for the idea! I have had a brand new 2x55 watt kit siting in my basement for two years because I suck at building canopies. But I can tackle this! I have new project for tomorrow.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Blackstar65,

I am glad you like the idea. I would suggest the addition of 4 or more additional vents along the back side of the fixture; it will help to reduce the heat and increase your bulb life.


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## Dragonfish (Jul 27, 2011)

niko said:


> Roy,
> 
> 3a. Shortest T5HO bulb is 24".
> 
> ...


Just to clear this up, UVL makes a 12" 20w T5 VHO with an internal reflector. They also make 18" T5 VHO bulbs.


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