John Bloch Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Ok, so at petsmart, those cute little 2.5s come with a glass lid and are like 10 bucks... that and I have $5 petsmart bucks from shopping for freshwater fish stuff... But my question was... how in the world do I make a coral sustaining light source? I'm going to make a hood, out of wood, if i could, is that understood? good... sorry for the rhyming... i'm a big looser... but yeah, how do I make a light setup for a 2.5? thanks! Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 you can make a canopy like i did(link in thread), or you can buy a fixture that comes with mounting legs like the Current USA 1x18 or 2x18 satelite. Link to comment
travisurfer Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 i would do just the 1x18w satellite or a 20w screw in 50/50 bulb. Link to comment
John Bloch Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 you can make a canopy like i did(link in thread), or you can buy a fixture that comes with mounting legs like the Current USA 1x18 or 2x18 satelite. so did you use the components from the USA 1x18 or 2x18 satilite to make you canopy? I dont mean either or... I mean at all... where on the internet can i purchase such a device? I want to make a canopy... and maybe a base as well, so it can sit higher on the desk I'll put it on... but yeah... I need to know where I can buy that satelite kit or make one up myself... Link to comment
rleon3003 Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 i got my lights from an old aquapod i was no longer using. i was gonna use the 27w bulbs it came with but i decided to buy 2x18w because 54w for a 2.5g is too much. but i dont have 2x18w in my tank. im not sure if you can take the ballasts out of the satelite to put them in a canopy but it may be possible. as for the canopy, you can practically get it where ever they sell aquariums lights. You can try marinedepot.com (LINK) or drsfostersmith.com (LINK) both those sites are great. i get all my online supplies from both of those sites. im sure theres other sites that you can find this fixture on, too. Link to comment
John Bloch Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 i got my lights from an old aquapod i was no longer using. i was gonna use the 27w bulbs it came with but i decided to buy 2x18w because 54w for a 2.5g is too much. but i dont have 2x18w in my tank. im not sure if you can take the ballasts out of the satelite to put them in a canopy but it may be possible. as for the canopy, you can practically get it where ever they sell aquariums lights. You can try marinedepot.com (LINK) or drsfostersmith.com (LINK) both those sites are great. i get all my online supplies from both of those sites. im sure theres other sites that you can find this fixture on, too. Was your way cheaper than those? I hate to say it, but If I'm going to spend that kind of money on a pico, I might as well just go for a 20... cause At my shop I can get a 30 inch light for like $90... Link to comment
tinyreef Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 you can get some of the mini-light fixtures and attach them to a custom hood (checkout hogswinslow in the classified forum, he makes 2.5g canopies and stands). the lighting can be anything but the mini-lights are a cheap entry. liquid probably was the first guy to put a 70W mh over his reef. it's a shame all his pictures never survived the various forum upgrades though. his was probably the best/earliest 2.5g reef imho. but it's not necessary to use mh for such a smallish tank. the 2.5g pico contest (see special events forum) showed a lot of pc fixturing and other possible setups. hth Link to comment
Hekim Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 The cheapest and easiest way to light a diy hood for a 2.5 is the 20w Coralife 50/50 screw in bulb. Link to comment
John Bloch Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 The cheapest and easiest way to light a diy hood for a 2.5 is the 20w Coralife 50/50 screw in bulb. So what do I get to screw it into? Thats what I'm really confused about... where do you guys get the lighting fixture? how much does it cost? sorry I'm such a noob... I'm thinking about putting some soft corals and stuff in this pico, maybe a super small fish, snails and probably hermits... Would I be able to fit a domino damsel in there? Its a shame they're so agressive... because I really like how they look... If not a domino, could I fit a blue or green chromis? EDIT: holy crap... Ive got an aquarium encyclopedia at home, and it says that the domino only grows to 2.5 inches long... Fosters and smith say they get 6" long... so I guess that idea is scrapped... its cool if I cant fit fish in a 2.5 gal, but it would be awesome if i could... anyway... I'm thinking about keeping all that^ in here... would the 20w coralife 50/50 work well for that kind of tank? just want to make sure... Like i said, what I really need to know is where to buy the components to power the light and how much they cost... Link to comment
travisurfer Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 NO FISH!!!!!! a single 20w coralife would be fine. build your canopy, wire up a medium-size(the standard) house socket to a power cord and install in canopy, get some kind of reflector, screw in the bulb, and your done! Link to comment
John Bloch Posted December 15, 2006 Author Share Posted December 15, 2006 NO FISH!!!!!! a single 20w coralife would be fine. build your canopy, wire up a medium-size(the standard) house socket to a power cord and install in canopy, get some kind of reflector, screw in the bulb, and your done! or buy something like this? http://www.innovativelights.com/ret-pc-diy-224.html Ive decided a 5.5 will be a smarter move than a 2.5... because A. I allready own one, B. I could fit in a fish, and C.... yeah... you get the picture... thanks for all your help guys... If I have more questions i'll ask... I'm wondering what I should do about a refugium... Ive got a 10L top fin filter... and Its got alot of room in it... but I'm not sure if it's enough... I probably would almost prefer to have an "in tank" one... but that could get tricky... thoughts? Link to comment
Hekim Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 Take a look at this thread: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...amp;hl=soapdish Link to comment
travisurfer Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 You could get a whisper internal filter, place a small heater in it, and then maybe even some chaeto at the top. There may be enough light for the chaeto to grow a bit too. Link to comment
John Bloch Posted December 15, 2006 Author Share Posted December 15, 2006 You could get a whisper internal filter, place a small heater in it, and then maybe even some chaeto at the top. There may be enough light for the chaeto to grow a bit too. about the small heater... what are the options? I want one with variable heat... but I cant seem to find any haters lower than 25 watts around here... and theyre all huge... should I just put extra LR in my filter and cheato in a basket? will that be good enough? I mean, the filter holds 5 lieters of water... does it have to be clear? Ive seen alot of people with clear ones... is that so light can get in for the cheato? Link to comment
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