crumbletop
New member
I mentioned in the PAR meter thread that I have been experimenting with smaller reflectors on my T5s. I got a 6x54W Tek retrofit with IceCap SLS reflectors back in March. My bulbs sit about 4" off of the water, and after using that setup for a while and experimenting with different spectrum bulbs, I thought it was globally too bright across my tank. I first tried lighting with all the reflectors removed and actually liked that much better than with reflectors on. My acros seemed to like that just fine, but I thought I needed more intensity in some spots. During the time I was using the reflectors, I had some problems with the initial plastic clips they came with and had received some metal replacement clips. Those gripped the bulbs well and held the reflectors very steady. The idea occured to me that I could try smaller reflectors by cutting up a couple of my larger ones, and attach the reflectors using the metal clips. So far I'm really liking this mod. The idea is to provide more "point-source-like" intensity over a narrower spread of the aquarium, rather than blanketing the entire aquarium with the same intensity. If the club gets a PAR meter, I think it would be cool to measure the relative change in PAR as the distance from the reflectors increases.
Anyway -- here is how I did the mod
First, I took an IceCap reflector and measured out 7" sections. There are 42" between the slots for mounting the original clips, and I have 6 lights, so 6 x 7" = 42":
Next, I put a metal cutting wheel on my rotozip, fired it up and cut through the reflector at each mark:
The cut reflectors looked like this:
Next, I drilled a hole in the center of each new reflector big enough for the clip mounting screw:
I mounted the clips:
And mounted the reflectors
I have a row on each side of my tank. So far the tank seems to really like the light. Not too much, not too little. IMO, this cuts back on one of the drawbacks of T5s which is that typically T5 setups blanket the entire aquarium with a uniform intensity.
Anyway, I thought some of you who are running T5s would be interested in what I'm up to with mine
Anyway -- here is how I did the mod
First, I took an IceCap reflector and measured out 7" sections. There are 42" between the slots for mounting the original clips, and I have 6 lights, so 6 x 7" = 42":
Next, I put a metal cutting wheel on my rotozip, fired it up and cut through the reflector at each mark:
The cut reflectors looked like this:
Next, I drilled a hole in the center of each new reflector big enough for the clip mounting screw:
I mounted the clips:
And mounted the reflectors
I have a row on each side of my tank. So far the tank seems to really like the light. Not too much, not too little. IMO, this cuts back on one of the drawbacks of T5s which is that typically T5 setups blanket the entire aquarium with a uniform intensity.
Anyway, I thought some of you who are running T5s would be interested in what I'm up to with mine
