Blog Comments

Shouldn't they have a reflector to maximize the efficiency of the lights?

Correct, but the VHO's don't have a reflector. The lights in the front.

ok, I see what I am missing. That is a light fixture hanging form the hood?

Question, Do you not have any kind of reflector under the hood? Seems like I don't see one.

That's actually what I did in the stand wit the T-5's I bought for my old tank. I used wood strips to hang it. I have stainless L brackets, stainless wood screws and I know someone who owns the LFS who uses tie straps to hang his lights over the coral tank. But, I believe when I go to change a bulb I'll do the wood thing. I thought about it this time but thought tie straps would be easier to do maintenance on.

I'm concerned that your new light system is going to fall into the tank. Those angled L brackets will corrode over time and some stuff may flake off into the water, but that's minor in comparison to zip ties becoming brittle and snapping. The lighting itself will probably accelerate this.

Since safety comes first, and saving money comes second, I'd like to suggest an alternative that works well and won't cost you anything more than likely:

Install a wooden strip to each end of the canopy to rest the light fixture on. Wooden blocks won't go anywhere, and don't corrode. If you need to, you can slide the light out easily to work in the tank and then reinsert it when done.

Hey Tachorn, thanks for the compliment! The T-5's are ZooMeds 2-54watt, the assembly is 48" bulbs were a little shorter. You have to buy bulbs, did not come with them. If I were you check out hellolights.com because I was going to get some retro kits from them but it fell through. With retro kit you could fit more bulbs under the canopy. ;-)

Hat the tank looks good, can you give more information on your lights. I have a tank just like yours and want to switch from VHO to T5.

Yeah, I believe I'm going to remove it, really a pain to keep clean. I have some filter material that I put in the sump. I need to get some more pumps though. I took one of the loclines off of the return then put it right back on the next day. I needed that extra flow.

Yes, that looks much better. Be sure to clean the sponge on that pump on the right often. Or simply remove it, as the strainer will keep your livestock out of the pump's innards.

Thanks Marc, inside my stand looks very nice. Shoot, my wife painted the front half of the canopy last night. I bought the black paint for the return pipe like you told me. I raised the return pipe also. See how in the pic the return is faced down, wee this morning when I turned my lights on I could see glass at the bottom, it has been moved. Lol.

It is looking cleaner now with the little things you've done.

I wouldn't paint the canopy anywhere near the tank, as the fumes can affect the livestock and the water quality. You need to find a pal that can help you get that into another room or the garage for 24 hours, then let it cure for a day before putting it back. Don't dry it in direct sun, that isn't a good solution.

Tangy message deleted, spam.

Deleted!!!

Ahhh. Okay!

Just north of Austin, right off of I-35

Is that toward Austin or down hwy6 toward Houston?

I live in Georgetown, about 1.5 hours south of Waco.

Yeah, I'm hoping they will have some that lives in this area.

Thank ya Midnight, I'll have to see about that info on the heater. The only drawback I see with that is when power goes off or I turn return pump off for a feeding or maintenance, air will probably hit the heater and crack it.