The Nomad Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Very large thread about this fixture- http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=178487 My mod thread on my local reef cub LARC- http://www.lareefclub.com/forum/viewtopic....&highlight= Here we go First step was to take out the bulbs reflectors and endcaps- Then disconnect the black, white and green/yellow wires of one ballast from the wire nuts where they meet up. For the black, disconnect from after the switch. Next up, legs. Flat aluminium that I had, you can find this at HD- after paint- Plexiglass shield Had the plexi already You can get that at HD too. Neodyne magnets from the wally world craft section, super glue and a wooden dowel rod= Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 ok...whats the point of disconnecting the ballast and using the extension cord? Link to comment
Bluesman1 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 ok...whats the point of disconnecting the ballast and using the extension cord? It only has one cord I believe. Adding another lets you do dusk/dawn cycles. Link to comment
The Nomad Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Finished product - It works! I also made an eggcrate cover, to keep in the critters, out of this- Thanks for looking and I'm happy to answer questions It only has one cord I believe. Adding another lets you do dusk/dawn cycles. Yep, now I have independent control over each 4 bulb combo so I can dusk/dawn with timers. Each ballast has it's own power cord now. Link to comment
jamesnmandy Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 is this a sumpless setup with a hob coralife skimmer..?? haha, i have the same skimmer, it sucks as a hob, much better in a sump, i cant believe you dont have a sump.....drill that tank man! Link to comment
disaster999 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 i wouldnt use egg crate, it limits the amount of light penetrating the water. you will notice the tank get brighter when you take it away. i would do the screen mesh mod with the moldings for frame. Link to comment
The Nomad Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 is this a sumpless setup with a hob coralife skimmer..?? haha, i have the same skimmer, it sucks as a hob, much better in a sump, i cant believe you dont have a sump.....drill that tank man! Haha, yep. No nothing! HOB filter and HOS skimmer only. Ghetto. Running about 2 years. Hopefully to be upgrading to 125, that's sitting in the garage, soon. Link to comment
05XRunner Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 i wouldnt use egg crate, it limits the amount of light penetrating the water. you will notice the tank get brighter when you take it away. i would do the screen mesh mod with the moldings for frame. I put egg crate on my tank when I am sleeping or not home to keep fish in..when I put it on or off I see NO difference in the amount of light in the tank Link to comment
The Nomad Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 i wouldnt use egg crate, it limits the amount of light penetrating the water. you will notice the tank get brighter when you take it away. I would think so too but, research on RC seems to indicate that it doesn't block as much as you'd think. IDK.i would do the screen mesh mod with the moldings for frame. Yes I went for the quick, cheap and easy as hopefully it won't be needed long. Got to have something because if my leopard wrasse jumped I'd cry Link to comment
disaster999 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 weird, when i put eggcrate over my tank i notice it got dimmer. :shurgs: Link to comment
Kraylen Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 weird, when i put eggcrate over my tank i notice it got dimmer. :shurgs: Light diffuser will do that Link to comment
John7429 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Thanks for sharing your project Link to comment
Azfishguy Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I just bought the 48in fixture and was very disappointed when it only had one switch. Does the 8 bulb fixture have two ballasts? Ill hafto check mine, this would be cool if i could have a dusk/dawn cycles. Link to comment
The Nomad Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 I just bought the 48in fixture and was very disappointed when it only had one switch. Does the 8 bulb fixture have two ballasts? Ill hafto check mine, this would be cool if i could have a dusk/dawn cycles. Yes the 8 bulb fixture has 2 ballast, 2 switches and 1 cord. I would guess that the 4 bulb only has 1 ballast, so only 1 switch. Link to comment
The Nomad Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 Thanks for sharing your project Your welcome Link to comment
odie Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 anyone think of way to stagger the lights on a 4 ulb 48''? Link to comment
The Nomad Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 One thought I had was to add a second ballast. They have workhorse 7 ballast in them, but any ballast that fits and can run 2 bulbs would work. I guess you could add a relay or the like but, I'm not sure of the specifics. Sorry. Link to comment
Ryan_H Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 anyone think of way to stagger the lights on a 4 ulb 48''? why not just look at the wiring diagram on the ballast, then switch around the wire connections to the endcaps so that each ballast powers every other bulb? i think i'm going to be turning my 48" 8x54 into a 36" 8x39w. a little dremel action on the housing and reflector, change the wiring to the endcaps to alternate the bulbs, and add that second power cord. i'll probably put a couple of 3-4" cooling fans in the top as well. EDIT: sorry, just realized you were talking about the 4-bulb with only one ballast. best thing i can think of is order another ballast, or even two smaller ballasts that are designed for 2 bulbs each, and wire it into the housing by switching up the endcap wires as i said and then using the OP's second cord mod. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.