AllXJ96 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I tried posting this in the lighting forum, but i got no response, I want to see if anyone really has any comments or suggestions that could make this project better Several Months Back I decided I wanted to upgrade to MH from the stock lighting in my 29g BioCube, so i decided to try a 70w, I ordered a $20 ebay bulb and a ballast, then i gutted my hood and slapped this sucker in there, it did not take me long to realize that this light had no where near enough power to keep much of anything in it... So I got 2 thinking, about a different lighting setup, I looked into the DIY LED setups, started pricing it out and it got too expensive to quick... and since I've been wanting to do alot of acro's, i knew that I was going to need more than 150w on my tank. One of my LFS who is one of the few that has a highly succesful acro tank that i believe is maybe a 190g bow front, they had 3x 400w mh on their tank and basically convinced me to go with a 250w for what i was looking into doing. So, here is the parts list 250w XM 15k mogul bulb $65.00 250w IceCap Elec Ballast $130.00 Mogul Socket $8.00 2x 70mm pcu fans $16.00 12v 1.2amp adapter $12.00 4xBlue LED w mounts $10.00 Misc Hardware $35.00 36watt coralife actinic, $0.00 From Stock Hood mount, and power supply LED Driver $0.00 From Stock Hood 40"of 2"x1/2" allum channel $0.00 Freebie 40" of 3" allum louver $0.00 Freebie 20" 3.5"od allum pipe $0.00 Freebie 9' 5/8" solid allum rod $0.00 Freebie 20"x8.75" 1/8" allum sheet $0.00 Left Over From Other Projects Glass ??????? Still need it cut Powder Coat ??????? Not Ready Yet Total Thus Far: $246.00 Picture Time This is the top of the reflector to show how it was built This is the inside of the reflector, i put almost 3.5hrs into polishing it to mirror finnish Here is the material that I cut for the housing, its just waiting for work the following day so i can weld it together And at the end of the "following day, I ground down the welds and made everything smooth, then mounted the reflector inside to test fit. The top of the Housing after it was cleaned up Light Housing On Tank Test This shows the mount for one of the 2 light poles The 2 Light poles and Yes they are height adjustable (and my girlie in the background working on wedding favors) Yes, The light is hung Another Angle One from this morning with the light on And a little Coral Shot Things that at this point still need to be done, Mount and wire LED moonlights Mount Switch for LEDs Wire Actinic (Dawn and Dusk Light Only) Mount and wire Both Fans Drill Holes for power supply wires Get Glass for bottom cut and drilled Take it all apart and get it powder coated flat black I might Decided to lower the hoops closer to the housing, what do you guys think? SO ANY THOUGHTS AND OR SUGGESTIONS Link to comment
AllXJ96 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 Ive got a chiller on the tank which keeps the temp at 78.5deg, ive got the 2 fans on the unit which when the glass is installed on the unit there should be very little heat transfer. Link to comment
Rome Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 That is freaking sick dude I love it! Did you use aluminum for the housing? I was thinking of getting a 150 watt MH/ actinic setup for my redsea max. Once you powder coat that thing black it will look professional and you could sell them lol. I want dibs on one of those if you decide to custom make and sell them haha. One thing I was thinking too is maybe putting some air slots on top of the unit to make it run cooler. Link to comment
plainrt Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 at first when saw title it was gonna be some pos wood build......Its nice work and well done.I would go bit higher though i think with light.Maybe change the hanging loops to a steal wire or something to look nicer. nice work and cant wait to see more. Link to comment
AllXJ96 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 There is no need for slots in the top because the housing is pretty much gonna be sealed, so the one fan is gonna pull air in and the other will pull air out, i got the highest CFM fans that i could find so they move plenty of air to even keep just the reflector cool to the touch. The overall height of the unit can be raised and lowered over the water, but if you pay attention in pic #9 i think the rods are too high above the light, so i shortened that distance and i should be getting it powder coated this week, so i will post more pictures of that and i will release the order forms, jk... Link to comment
AllXJ96 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Ok, sorry it took sooooo long, but here are the finished pics... so tell me what you think!!!!! Link to comment
Maeda Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 AWESOME. A true DIY to be proud of. Link to comment
AllXJ96 Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Now my light is begging for a sexy rimless tank!!! Or even better a zero edge!!! Ohh i wish i had the money Link to comment
The Propagator Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Secksehhhhhhh !!!! I like it a lot GOOD JOB !!!! Link to comment
evilc66 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Very nice. The hanging system is very clean. Link to comment
AllXJ96 Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Thanks guys, i put alot of time and money into this one, lol Link to comment
ef4life Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 that looks great man, very good use of the stuff you already had. and the aluminum work is top notch Link to comment
n0rk Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 One of the best DIY MH projects I've seen. Feel proud Link to comment
Alaska Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I tried posting this in the lighting forum, but i got no response, I want to see if anyone really has any comments or suggestions that could make this project better Several Months Back I decided I wanted to upgrade to MH from the stock lighting in my 29g BioCube, so i decided to try a 70w, I ordered a $20 ebay bulb and a ballast, then i gutted my hood and slapped this sucker in there, it did not take me long to realize that this light had no where near enough power to keep much of anything in it... So I got 2 thinking, about a different lighting setup, I looked into the DIY LED setups, started pricing it out and it got too expensive to quick... and since I've been wanting to do alot of acro's, i knew that I was going to need more than 150w on my tank. One of my LFS who is one of the few that has a highly succesful acro tank that i believe is maybe a 190g bow front, they had 3x 400w mh on their tank and basically convinced me to go with a 250w for what i was looking into doing. So, here is the parts list 250w XM 15k mogul bulb $65.00 250w IceCap Elec Ballast $130.00 Mogul Socket $8.00 2x 70mm pcu fans $16.00 12v 1.2amp adapter $12.00 4xBlue LED w mounts $10.00 Misc Hardware $35.00 36watt coralife actinic, $0.00 From Stock Hood mount, and power supply LED Driver $0.00 From Stock Hood 40"of 2"x1/2" allum channel $0.00 Freebie 40" of 3" allum louver $0.00 Freebie 20" 3.5"od allum pipe $0.00 Freebie 9' 5/8" solid allum rod $0.00 Freebie 20"x8.75" 1/8" allum sheet $0.00 Left Over From Other Projects Glass ??????? Still need it cut Powder Coat ??????? Not Ready Yet Total Thus Far: $246.00 Picture Time This is the top of the reflector to show how it was built This is the inside of the reflector, i put almost 3.5hrs into polishing it to mirror finnish Here is the material that I cut for the housing, its just waiting for work the following day so i can weld it together And at the end of the "following day, I ground down the welds and made everything smooth, then mounted the reflector inside to test fit. The top of the Housing after it was cleaned up Light Housing On Tank Test This shows the mount for one of the 2 light poles The 2 Light poles and Yes they are height adjustable (and my girlie in the background working on wedding favors) Yes, The light is hung Another Angle One from this morning with the light on And a little Coral Shot Things that at this point still need to be done, Mount and wire LED moonlights Mount Switch for LEDs Wire Actinic (Dawn and Dusk Light Only) Mount and wire Both Fans Drill Holes for power supply wires Get Glass for bottom cut and drilled Take it all apart and get it powder coated flat black I might Decided to lower the hoops closer to the housing, what do you guys think? SO ANY THOUGHTS AND OR SUGGESTIONS I tried posting this in the lighting forum, but i got no response, I want to see if anyone really has any comments or suggestions that could make this project better Several Months Back I decided I wanted to upgrade to MH from the stock lighting in my 29g BioCube, so i decided to try a 70w, I ordered a $20 ebay bulb and a ballast, then i gutted my hood and slapped this sucker in there, it did not take me long to realize that this light had no where near enough power to keep much of anything in it... So I got 2 thinking, about a different lighting setup, I looked into the DIY LED setups, started pricing it out and it got too expensive to quick... and since I've been wanting to do alot of acro's, i knew that I was going to need more than 150w on my tank. One of my LFS who is one of the few that has a highly succesful acro tank that i believe is maybe a 190g bow front, they had 3x 400w mh on their tank and basically convinced me to go with a 250w for what i was looking into doing. So, here is the parts list 250w XM 15k mogul bulb $65.00 250w IceCap Elec Ballast $130.00 Mogul Socket $8.00 2x 70mm pcu fans $16.00 12v 1.2amp adapter $12.00 4xBlue LED w mounts $10.00 Misc Hardware $35.00 36watt coralife actinic, $0.00 From Stock Hood mount, and power supply LED Driver $0.00 From Stock Hood 40"of 2"x1/2" allum channel $0.00 Freebie 40" of 3" allum louver $0.00 Freebie 20" 3.5"od allum pipe $0.00 Freebie 9' 5/8" solid allum rod $0.00 Freebie 20"x8.75" 1/8" allum sheet $0.00 Left Over From Other Projects Glass ??????? Still need it cut Powder Coat ??????? Not Ready Yet Total Thus Far: $246.00 Picture Time This is the top of the reflector to show how it was built This is the inside of the reflector, i put almost 3.5hrs into polishing it to mirror finnish Here is the material that I cut for the housing, its just waiting for work the following day so i can weld it together And at the end of the "following day, I ground down the welds and made everything smooth, then mounted the reflector inside to test fit. The top of the Housing after it was cleaned up Light Housing On Tank Test This shows the mount for one of the 2 light poles The 2 Light poles and Yes they are height adjustable (and my girlie in the background working on wedding favors) Yes, The light is hung Another Angle One from this morning with the light on And a little Coral Shot Things that at this point still need to be done, Mount and wire LED moonlights Mount Switch for LEDs Wire Actinic (Dawn and Dusk Light Only) Mount and wire Both Fans Drill Holes for power supply wires Get Glass for bottom cut and drilled Take it all apart and get it powder coated flat black I might Decided to lower the hoops closer to the housing, what do you guys think? SO ANY THOUGHTS AND OR SUGGESTIONS Link to comment
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