The Javo Insignificant

[jmait769]

I would like to introduce my “Javo Insignificant” which I finished today.

OK my wife didn’t think that name was funny either!!

Of course I have a Nova Extreme T5HO 4X54 216 watts light which I think is an exceptional light for the price. I have it on an 80 gallon tank. Well after reading The Grim Reefer on the Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment forum I decided I probably should have 2 more 54 watt lights so I could keep more of a selection of corals in this tank.

I was able to purchase a 2 x 54W T5 Sunlight Supply Tek Retro System from a fellow reefer here on RC for $108 including the two bulbs. I’m going to build a canopy for my tank but I did not want to mount the lights in it. I wanted them close to the water so here is what I built. I used some aluminum sheet from Lowes. After building this I believe that these two bulbs with the supplied reflectors put out as much if not more light than the 4 bulbs on the Nova. I used .025 sheet aluminum which is easy to bend. Here are some pictures:

Finished product

Sheet Aluminum

Looks like a rain gutter. Basically I bent this between to long wood clamps that I have. Sorry but I got into the project and forgot some in-progress shots. Very easy to bend and I will go into more detail if anyone is interested. I painted the inside white to reflect as much light as possible.

Wiring in the ballast and the bulb mounts.

Complete with bulbs and reflectors.

The side pieces which took the most time to make. Just drilled two holes and then routed the metal out between them and then some filing to make the vent holes. I mounted a 12v fan to one end (Radio Shack) and left one side slightly shorter so that I could slide an acrylic cover which was 6"X48" as a splash guard.

I pop riveted them into place.

Left side with the fan. You can see the light this is putting out!! I did not put a switch on it as I just ordered an AC JR via the <a href="http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=919020" target="_blank">Group Buy</a> on the Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment forum and will let that control it.

Any questions or suggestions to improve this are more than welcome!

Thanks for looking.

Jay

 

[exoticaquatix]

nice job, what did you paint the hood with?
-nick

 

[jmait769]

Nick - Thanks. Good old Rust-oleum from Lowes. The inside is gloss white with a clear coat. After it dried I let this sit for a day in the sun. I painted the outside with same brand using their black fine textured finish. Then I turned the lights on and ran it for a day before putting it on the tank.

Jay

 

[hahnmeister]

thats why I tell people who are looking at a nova, but dont want the expense of a 4 bulb tek, to get a 2 bulb tek instead, and it will prolly give them just as much light... those reflectors are the real deal and skimping on them is just a waste of energy IMO.

Great DIY BTW... I was wondering how long until people started making their own T5 fixtures. Yours is a great example.

 

[jmait769]

hahnmeister - Thanks Hahn! I agree with you on the reflectors. Hind sight is always 20/20 as far as my first T5 purchase!! But I really enjoy the DIY part of this hobby also and I think this will take care of my lighting needs.

I got some info from the T5 guru, "The Grim Reefer", on the Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment thread for any one reading this who owns a Nova Extreme. He suggested I run the Aquablue with a UVL aquasun in the unit with reflectors and do 3 ATI blueplus and a Aquablue in the nova. When its time to change out the bulbs that is what I'm going to do.

Hey, on a different note, didn’t you have the avatar with the fro and glasses? If so change back as I liked that one!!:lol:

Jay

 

[hahnmeister]

yes, I was part of the afro coalition, but I like to change up my avatar every once and a while...

 

[sjm817]

People have also retrofitted fixtures like that. Scrap the stock reflector and add the individuals.

 

[jmait769]

sjm817 - I'm not sure four reflectors would fit but I will sure be doing some measuring this afternoon!!
Thanks!!

Jay

 

[Sohal11]

What clamp did you used to bend the sheet aluminum. Do you have any picture of it and how you do it so nice and neat. Thks

 

[Sohal11]

What clamp did you used to bend the sheet aluminum. Do you have any picture of it and how you do it so nice and neat? Thks

 

[jmait769]

Sohal11 â€"œ Sorry! I did not see your post.

What I used was two of these 50” clamps: http://www.justclamps.com/back2back.htm
This allowed the aluminum to fit between them where I wanted the bend. I clamped them in a vise and then used a piece of oak wood to press the aluminum into shape. You could also use 2 pieces of angle iron. The aluminum from Lowes is thin. You would have a hard time making the bends if you used a thicker piece of aluminum. Also, you must plan your bends as you want to do the smaller sections first so that after a bend you are not trying to place the bent piece into the clamp. If you need a different or more pictures let me know.

HTH

Jay

 

[Sohal11]

I really appreciated that you are getting back to me.

I have another question. Don't you need to put 2 pieces of wood to clamp the aluminum where the bend is?

 

[jmait769]

Sohal11 - here is a mock-up off how I bent mine. Yes, you could use two pieces of wood as a clamp also. I just used the wood you see in the picture to get a smooth bend the length of the aluminum.

HTH

Jay

 

[fufi5]

Nice work

 

[Sohal11]

Thanks Jay.... Picture is a thousand words. Now I understand what you are saying. All I need is any 2 pieces of metal or wood with a clamp and it will do the job. I did it the hard way and my hand got blistered...