# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories > DIY Projects >  DIY T5HO lighting set

## uklau

Hi, just want to share will everyone on the above mentioned.

Parts required:

1) 4"X2" (2mm) uPVC trunking - hardware shops around my area only sell 3"x2" (used for aircon installation). I found this at the hardware shops around Jalan Besar. This is the only item purchased recently. The rest listed were purchased a year ago... :Grin:  These trunkings come with 2 meter & 2.5 meter length. The 2 meter one cost SGD8.00 each.

Where to get: Hardware shops



2) T5 endcaps - Take note that there are 2 types, moisture proof & water proof. Each type comes with either clip on & screw on model. (I'm using clip on model). The one on the left of the photo is called stand off. I don't use it in my installation. Perhaps someone can update where we can buy the endcaps in SG. I bought it from Qian Hu a year ago & it was quite expensive (could be cheaper now). The one in the photo is IceCap endcap (kept as spare), which is of a better quality compared to the one I purchased (& being used in this project) locally.

I noticed that delightings.com is selling dual head endcaps. You'll save a lot of time cutting the holes (especially if you plan to use aluminium trunking) to hold the endcaps if you can get hold of this. Not too sure if they sell this as T5 accessories.

Where to get: I came across the endcap at Qian Hu, Petmart (moisture proof) & Reef Depot (IceCap). As for the stand off, I don't see anyone selling it, except delightings (metal type).




3) Electronic Ballast - I bought my ballast from www.specialty-lights.com because of it's small footprint. Couldn't find anything with this size in SG a year ago (I may not have searched hard enough). Unfortunately, I couldn't make full use of this advantage due to change in design. It would be great if someone would update on the availability of slim eballasts locally.

Where to get: Almost all the lighting stuff can be purchased from Sinter at Sim Lim Towers - input from Valice (Vincent).



4) T5HO tubes - I'm using Arcadia T5 Plant Pro.

Where to get: Most LFS will have this now.

5) Individual reflector with metal clip - Arcadia reflectors. I think the reflectors sold by delightings (M shape reflector) is better in the way that it occupies less space compared to Arcadia. Do take not that these reflectors come with plastic clip.

Where to get: I don't see many LFS keeping stock for this. I got it from Qian Hu. Also available @ Horizon Ventures & Aquamarin - input by Hii

Will continue later with the making of the lighting set.

----------


## stephen chung

Uklau,

I notice that your 4 ballast are being place side by side. Don't you think is alittle too hot??

I try to contact Horizon Venturer but to no avail. Anyone has their contact number?

----------


## bossteck

Hi Lau, 

Would the PVC trunking be able to withstand the heat generated from the ballast? Would you consider getting metal trunking instead? 

And oh yar... we want more pics!!  :Smile:

----------


## hii

Osram, tridonic also come with slim eballast. Price expensive than normal eballast. 

I saw you pic with 3 eballasts in the casing, are you intend to use 6 T5 tube?? I guess each ballast can support 2 tubes.

----------


## taygu

Have not use any T5 before but form the forum, it seems to be hotter than other tubes, can the PVC trunking take the heat? Especially you have at least 3 tubes.

----------


## valice

Almost all the lighting stuff can be purchased from Sinter at Sim Lim Towers. But for the waterproof endcaps, I am not sure already.

Osram eBallast seems to be thinner than what you have.

----------


## uklau

> Uklau,
> 
> I notice that your 4 ballast are being place side by side. Don't you think is alittle too hot??
> 
> I try to contact Horizon Venturer but to no avail. Anyone has their contact number?


Only 3 ballasts. Left the ballast turned on with 2 tubes for an hour (with ballast resting on wooden table in an open air with no obvious moving air) & measured that the hottest part is around 47C. More updates to come....

----------


## uklau

> Hi Lau, 
> 
> Would the PVC trunking be able to withstand the heat generated from the ballast? Would you consider getting metal trunking instead? 
> 
> And oh yar... we want more pics!!


Hi Eric, wanted to get aluminium trunking with the size of 4"x2" but couldn't find any (maybe what my wife always say is true. I didn't try hard enough). I'm aware of the heat & will update on what I have in place to (hopefully works well) reduce the heat in the trunking. The advantage of using uPVC instead of aluminium is that it is much lighter compare to aluminium of the same thickness & it is much more easy to work with. I just need a drill & penknife.

If anyone came across 4"x2" aluminium trunking, please let me know. Thanks.

----------


## uklau

> Have not use any T5 before but form the forum, it seems to be hotter than other tubes, can the PVC trunking take the heat? Especially you have at least 3 tubes.


When being left running for an hour, temperature at both end is about 66C (I believe it would go higher. Will measure & update when my tank is up & running).

I'm not too worry about this as these tubes will not be in an enclosed area/case. The hood has plenty of ventilation vent at both end & at the back.

----------


## uklau

> Almost all the lighting stuff can be purchased from Sinter at Sim Lim Towers. But for the waterproof endcaps, I am not sure already.
> 
> Osram eBallast seems to be thinner than what you have.


Thanks for the lead, Vincent. I just get to know that Reef Depot is selling IceCap T5 waterproof endcaps.

Strange enough that when I search around LSF for T5HO eballast last year, they were not 100% sure that their eballast are HO & all of them have "giant" size ballast.

Lesson learnt. Don't delay your DIY project. Otherwise, you will end up  :Exasperated:  as technology is improving everyday.

----------


## berlinjs

is ti true the higher the watts more electric comsumption thus pay more electric bill? usually t5ho high watts.

----------


## hii

you can install 2 mini fan like those used in computer casing..it will help to cool down a lot.

----------


## uklau

1) Using the stand off, make a clear marking on the uPVC trunking.

 

2) Next, using a drill, drill small holes as close to each other along the inner side of the marking. Use a penknife to cut out the unwanted area. Since the clip on the endcap was design to mount on a 1mm thickness surface, I have to make the hole slightly smaller than the actual size so that endcap is able hold on tight to the hole. I'm installating 2 tubes per trunking. So, I'm going to have 3 trunkings sitting on top of my tank.

 


Being sceptic that the endcap will hold on well on the trunking, I search for something to secure it & suddently  :Idea:  came across my mind. My wife's properties - Hairclips  :Grin:  . You won't know how good it is until you use it.

 
After installing the tubes & individual reflectors, it looks like this:

 

3) Coming to the most controversial part - installation of the ballast. Due to my concern (& mostly everyone who reads this thread), I have all the 3 ballasts installed elevated by having only both end resting on the PVC (made from the cover of the trunking), as shown below. None of the ballast is touching against each other or any part of the trunking.



Since each ballast can support up to 2 tubes, I'm going to have 6 tubes connected to the ballasts I have. I see there are 2 options available for me:

1) to install a ballast in each trunking (each with 2 tubes).
2) to have all ballasts installed in 1 trunking (still having 3 trunkings with 2 tubes each).

Approach 1: 
Pro - design is neat as there will not be any wires intercrossing trunkings
Con - control & coverage of lighting may not be as good as approach 2. I only have control to turn on either the front 2 tubes, middle 2 tubes or the back 2 tubes. I don't think I need all 6 tubes to be turned on during the photoperiod. So good lighting control is an important criteria to me. A cooling fan is also needed on each trunking.

Approach 2:
Pro - better control on which tube to be turn on & also have better lighting coverage. 
Con - there are wires intercrossing between trunkings since all ballasts are in the middle trunking.

I'm planning to go for Approach 2 with the following control of lightings:

*______* 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 trunking housing tube 3 & 4. 



Would appreciate if you guys can give me some input for improvement.

Since Approach 2 has wires intercrossing between trunkings, I'm looking for some sort of connectors which I can easily disconnect (& yet safe to use) the wires linking the 3 trunkings together. When cleaning the tank, I only need tube 3 & 4. Tried searching at Sim Lim Tower but to no avail. May be I should try Sinter.

Lastly, for the ventilation in the trunking with ballasts, I installed an AC fan directly on top of the hottest part of the ballasts. Air will be sucked in from both open ends of the trunking & blown straight up. The fan will be turned on whenever there is a ballast on duty.

 

Now, the only thing left is the wiring.

Please give me your feeback. Thanks for viewing & hope you have enjoyed reading.

----------


## hii

wow .. fantastic DIY. You job could have easier if you get the other type of T5 water resistant end cap.. just need to drill 2 holes and screw it ..

I support you have a chiller for this tank setup, cause after putting all 3 DIY light, properly the surface tank fully covered by the trunking.

 :Well done:

----------


## David Moses Heng

sweet!! Can share the cost?

----------


## bossteck

Hi, 

Nice work, look very neat and sleek. 

I guess one of the benefits of using the PVC trunking is that the process of making the holes on it would be much easier.

----------


## uklau

> wow .. fantastic DIY. You job could have easier if you get the other type of T5 water resistant end cap.. just need to drill 2 holes and screw it ..
> 
> I support you have a chiller for this tank setup, cause after putting all 3 DIY light, properly the surface tank fully covered by the trunking.


You are absolutely right, Hii. I was cursing "up & down" while working on the holes..... :Grin:  I couldn't managed to find the screw on model at that moment. Screw on model doesn't seem to be as popular as the clip on ones. I only get to know delightings.com much later & found out that they have the screw on model. That was after I bought my ballasts.... :Exasperated:   :Exasperated:   :Exasperated:

----------


## uklau

> sweet!! Can share the cost?


Will need to check my bills. I don't think it is much cheaper than the DE Lightings T5HO fixture. Too much change in design causes unnecessary spending.... on top of those expensive ballasts. :Crying:   :Crying:   :Crying:

----------


## valice

Plus the reflectors.  :Grin: 
Some more you are using PVC,cheaper than aluminium I supposed, else price might be more.

----------


## uklau

> sweet!! Can share the cost?


 :Surprised:  When I added up everything, it is about SGD650  :Opps: . The eballasts alone cost USD45 each, not inclusive shipping cost. Arcadia T5HO tubes with individual reflector cost more than SGD300  :Exasperated: . 

I'm wondering how did I manage to slip through my finance minister with this huge amount  :Grin: . Should get myself a MH instead of going through all this hassle  :Exasperated: .

Next project..... DIY MH  :Grin:

----------


## 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.. :Smile:

----------


## hii

DIY is fun and also wasting time... :Grin:  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.

----------

