Old desk to new cabinet

if your plants are growing well, i'd assume the lighting is quite adequate

 

They are not staggered Dude. I fit them in the middle. 6500K tubes are bright hey! But yes @hviviers75, two T5 6500K tubes will look good in your setup.

 

Which tubes are you running @SloMo.00? I was always happy with the 6500k tubes. I hope I'm not going to get algae outbreaks with the 8000k and 10000k tubes.

 

I use 6500K tubes. But I'm also going to swap 2 of them for 8800K tubes.

 

Yes I also think 2 x t5 6500k tubes will be sweeet for my setup

 

Sorry dude, I meant what brand of tubes? The 8800k tubes will make a huge difference. Your plants are going to love you for it :blink1:

 

Ha ha, Sorry man. They are Sylvania tubes. And the company where i get them only get OSRAM in the 8800K. Not sure why.

 

My Radiums are only 8000k if I remember correctly. I am also finding one of the tubes takes longer to switch on and warm up (not sure which one - still need to check). And talking about warming up, damn these tubes are hot! They are currently lying on my back brace and the brace glass is seriously warm.

Also a side note but has anyone ever noticed heat rising off their heaters. I saw noticeable heat rising last night which I have never seen before?

 

also see heat rise from my heaters but usually on cold days. i also use 5x8800k and 3x6500k works way better for me than just 6500and water doesnt look yellow

 

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I even checked the temperature gauge (need a new one or two - The digital Boyu's seem like rubbish!)

The higher K's are definitely more white. I no longer have dead spots and that is only with 2 tubes right at the back of the tank!

 

So I had a busy weekend but I did manage to get my canopy wood fillered and the first coat of paint (internal - high gloss enamel and external - matt acrylic) done. I also collected my Alanod so I need to manufacture my reflectors. I will make them like this \_/\_/\_/\_/ (obviously upside down). Just need to find the ideal angle to bend them to. I have also been thinking about how I am going to fit the fans. Still a long way to go but certainly getting there...

 

hey dude glad to see you finally finding a bit of time to get stuck into this

i think you only gonna find the right angle by trial and error, but it shouldnt be a major schlep

 

Well done dude,

remember to pics post as the canopy comes closer to the end of the build.

Any changes on your temp setup for your lights dude

 

As you say @mydummyname - it will be a bit of trial and error with the space allowed due to ballast compartment and lid. I will setup the canopy to take all 4 tubes but was advised against putting 4no 54w T5's over this tank without CO2. Apparantly I'm asking for algae.

@hviviers75 - No changes on the temp lighting at the moment. Need to sort it out soon as I'm losing a lot of light due to the fact that I'm covering them to prevent myself from going blind! The canaopy is going to need quite a lot of time to air once I've put the final paint and silicone on.

 

Cool dude enjoy the project!!!!

 

All in all a good fish DIY weekend. I have cut and bent my Alanod deflectors and have painted 2 more coats on the hood. I also cut the back open to allow more air and drilled the wiring holes.

 

hey dude looking good man, remember to share your proper connections for the lighting unit.

Enjoy.

 

Thanks @hviviers75. I will certainly post when I get to that point. I think this is still going to take another two weekends to complete. By that stage I should be able to buy the other 2 bulbs so I can run all 4 lights if needed.


Anyone planning to work with Alanod, remember that this stuff is seriously sharp. To bend it where I wanted, I scored it with a stanley knife. Don't bend it back and forth or it will snap! And lastly, don't forget to take off the protective plastic or it will melt onto the Alanod.

 

Coming along nicely!

Did you consider clamping the alonod between 2 long pieces of wood to assist with the bending? I would also look into rolling it and then cutting half pipes to use as reflectors.

 

@woerman - Thanks very much. I did try an individual piece of wood on the fold line but it kind of rolled the corner instead of a hard crease. I went for the \_/ shape from some suggestions from the guys on APSA. If you see the example they posted it shows how this shape forms 3 distinct bulbs (tube and LHS & RHS reflection) from one tube. Also, most manufactured units have these hard angles rather than rounded like a half gutter. Basically, I don't know what I'm doing so went with others suggestions. I will see how it works when I can hook everything togetherI think I also made my life more difficult initially by trying to keep the 4 deflectors attached to each other but that became such a mission that I split them...