my DIY t5 system

[jski711]

well i think that some of these lighting systems are way overpriced and i wanted some t5's for my nano so i decided to make it myself. i ordered the ballast, standoffs and endcaps from specialtylights.com. got a 4ft slr from fragapalooza and cut it in half and bought the rest of the material at home depot. lmk what ya think. the fts is cloudy i just scraped of the coraline, i could barely see through the front glass.

thanks for looking.

jake :strooper:

 

[jski711]

they only thing i didn't get yet is a fan that will be blowing over the bulbs.

 

[little_squid]

every penny counts right and when the tank stretches to a 55 gallon the hood will still fit heheheh j/k

 

[skunkmere]

nice job.

 

[jski711]

ya i know its a little big but they don't make 18" bulbs.

 

[-=Efrain=-]

I guess we just need to know how much for a store bought unit compared to your DIY cost?

 

[jski711]

well a 4 bulb fixture is $280 plus shipping. i made mine for a little over a $100. i only have two bulbs instead of four but i think i saved a bit of money.

 

[Steverino]

If you want to make it a 4-bulber,...The local Reefcentral and CMAS sponsor Aquacave.com has the 2-bulb retro kits for a 24" for $99. We have a CMAS discount too that would offset the shipping. That includes bulbs.

http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=1144

 

[Sullyman]

Jake, how are you going to protect the bulbs and hardware?

 

[jski711]

well there really is not much splashing at the top but i was thinking about plexi glass. i want something thats not going to degrade the lighting though. any thoughts.......

 

[Sullyman]

Salt creep will still occur. Plexi sounds good, something easy to clean.

 

[Steverino]

or that mesh netting

 

[m.jumbo]

nice job!!!