DIY T5HO lighting set

[valice]

That's because you bought each item individually and each item's damage don't look as great as a single major purchase...

Your costs is a good example of there is such a disparity of pricing of lightsets in the market.

[stephen chung]

uklau,

DIY is the joy of DIYing something that you want. Not so much about cost saving..

[hii]

DIY is fun and also wasting time... but you happy cause you can make something base on what you like and can't buy it from anyway else.

[uklau]

Hi,

I would like to seek for fellow forumers' opinions/feedbacks on the following lighting control:

______ Tube 1
______ Tube 2
______ Tube 3
______ Tube 4
______ Tube 5
______ Tube 6

Tubes of the same color are connected to a the same ballast. All 3 ballasts are in the middle trunking, the one housing tube 3 & 4. Each tube is 39W.

Read somewhere that it's good to simulate natural sunlight cycle, where the intensity is the highest during noon (as oppose to Dennerle's siesta concept). Since I have more lighting & better control of it, I would like to try this out. Please comment on the following options I thought of:

Option 1:
Tube 2-5 (4 tubes) are turned on (for 10 hours?).
5 hours later, tube 1 & 6 (2 tubes) are turned on for 2 hours. All together 6 tubes in action for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, back to 4 tubes until turned off.

Option 2:
Tube 1,2,5, & 6 are turned on (for 10 hours?)
5 hours later, tube 3 & 4 (2 tubes) are turned on for 2 hours. All together 6 tubes in action for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, back to 4 tubes turned off.

I have never used T5HO before. Therefore, I would like to seek for advices on the followings:

1) Is 10 hours of lighting too much? I'm getting GSA on my 2 footer (on 2x18W FL) when lighting period is more than 8 hours. I noticed in one of the thread that there are quite a number of forumers have photoperiod of 12 hours without algae problem. How can I achieve longer photoperiod duration without much algae problem?

2) Will CO2 become limiting if I suddently increase the intensity (during the full blast mode) for 2 hours before reducing it back?

As for the type of plants, I have not decided yet. I would very much want to have Echinodorus, Cryptocoryne & plants that requires high lighting to do well, not forgetting some foreground/carpet plants (Glosso?).

Please feel free to comment & share your experience. Your advices/comments are very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[techikhan]

Hi Lau,

Neat DIY.
I am in a similar situation having 120 cms RS 120B aquarium with insufficient lighting. I am also planning for a similar DIY. I need your help to know if there are any online stores which can ship me T5 waterproof endcaps to India.

Thanks
TK

[jeffteo]

Try http://freshnmarine.com.sg/estore/in...p?cPath=55_447.

The last post was in 2007 and lighting technology had advanced a lot since then and it will be much cheaper to get the whole lighting fixture instead of DIY.
In the same site you will also find a lot of 4 feet lights fixtures. The ILLUMMAX Pro 4 ft with 4 x 54w should be more than enough for a 4 feet tank.

[techikhan]

Try http://freshnmarine.com.sg/estore/in...p?cPath=55_447.

The last post was in 2007 and lighting technology had advanced a lot since then and it will be much cheaper to get the whole lighting fixture instead of DIY.
In the same site you will also find a lot of 4 feet lights fixtures. The ILLUMMAX Pro 4 ft with 4 x 54w should be more than enough for a 4 feet tank.

Thanks for reply Jeffrey, I agree with you but the problem is i have to modify the existing canopy so i have no other choice. however i am looking for Giesemann or Ice Cap T5 waterproof endcap. could you please let me know if there is any online store which can ship it to my location that is Bangalore, India.

Thanks
Tk

[jeffteo]

Check out http://freshnmarine.com.sg which is the link i provided. They ships overseas at a charge.