tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 As posted in another thread, like TragicMagic I am doing a AGA 2.5g mini-bow. I'm doubling the lighting to 4x13w in the hopes of keeping a clam and softies/LPS/SPS though. I didn't post pics before because I have a film camera, but I finally got the roll developed (and I ordered a digicam while I was at it ). So, following are pics of what I've done so far... if I can figure out the attachment thing. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 The 2.5g mini-bow comes with a 15w incandescent. First thing I did was remove the fixture and dremel out the mounting. This was to open up the airflow so my fan could keep the 4x13w CF from melting it into a pool of blue goo. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 Here's the mess I made. Mental note, do this outside next time. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 The 2.5 mini-bow hood is made of translucent plastic. If I just stuck 4x13w in there, you would need sunglasses for all the light leaking out. So it was off the hobby store for some black model paint and a little brush to make it opaque. I could have used spraypaint but didn't want to mask everything off. The black paint has the side effect of making the hood look black from the other side, with nary a hint of blue showing. Which is why I did a coat of black before I did the white, otherwise you'd get a sickly white/blue hood. :x Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 As I was still trying to find white marine paint, I drilled a hole for my 40x40x20mm fan. I used a 38mm holesaw, which turned out perfect. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 Now for the screw holes to hold the fan on. My wife suggested the ingenious method of doing a rubbing. I never would of thought of that, but it worked great! Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 After taping the rubbing on I drilled two holes in opposite corners. I didn't think 4 screws would be necessary. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 I finally gave up on the marine paint idea and decided to just use an oil-based enamel. Hope it holds up. This looks really crappy but all it's supposed to do is reflect the light so it's good enough for me. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 I knew from past posts that an unsealed rim will make for some nasty salt creep. So I removed the rim (easier if you start unsnapping it at the bow) and squirted 100% silicone into the rim. I filled it 1/3 full and was worried it might overflow, but it turned out perfect when I snapped the rim back on. Oh yeah, I also painted the front lip of the rim black (on the inside, so you can't see my amateur brush-strokes). I think the translucent blue is kind of cheesy. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 The magnetic ballasts from AHSupply would easily fit in the base, all four of them in fact. However I feared they would heat the tank (or overheat themselves), and if I ever spilled water there's 6000v waiting to give me a real buzz... so I'll be placing them in an external box. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 Ah, the finished (heh, well, cosmetically) product! I decided to go with a two-tone look, so I left the rim of the hood blue as well as a stripe on the base (again, I painted the inside of the base). I also left the food door blue. If too much light leaks out I will paint it black on the inside, too. You can see two blue dots on the hood. There are from the screw posts on the inside. I left them intact and unpainted in case I wanted to use them for something. Once I'm done and I decide not to use them, I'll dab some more black paint in them so they don't show. Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 Here's my electrical setup. Two timers so I can stage gradual sunrise/sunset cycles ($5 for the pair of timers at Home Depot, excellent deal); one with a triple tap so the hood fan will come on the same time as the first set of lights. Enough plugs left for powerhead, heater, and future expansion (moonlights? : ). The black blob below is an inline switch so I can turn the powerhead off to feed the tank without plugging/unplugging things with wet hands. I'll place the switch above the waterline with a drip loop, and seal the ends with silicone. Not up to electrical code I'm sure... oh well. Only thing left is to find an inline GFCI (not the wall-mount variety). Anybody seen such a beast? Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 23, 2003 Author Share Posted August 23, 2003 I've just purchased a "Project Enclosure" from Radio Shack for the ballasts, and cut some acrylic for the light splash shield. But, pics will have to wait for the digicam's arrival... Thanks for looking! Link to comment
bertz_maru Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 do you have the lights yet? Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 24, 2003 Author Share Posted August 24, 2003 do you have the lights yet?Yes, I got them from AHSupply. They are short enough, but too wide to place horizonal. So I will have to stand them on end. This means that a lot of light is going up into the hood rather than down into the tank, but it should still be considerably brighter than 2x13w. Link to comment
OxInYourBox Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 I generally plug all of my electrical gear into a GFCI that is then plugged into the wall so that if anything happens everything turns off. Would rather lose the tank than the apt, house, cardboard box etc. that I live in. Lowes and Home Depot carry them and I have seen small versions at Petsmart however I'd rather go for the heavy duty ones myself. Looking good btw and let's see some picks of the lights in the hood. What spectrums did you go for? Link to comment
tylernt Posted August 24, 2003 Author Share Posted August 24, 2003 let's see some picks of the lights in the hood. What spectrums did you go for?I have one 10,000, one 03 Actinic, plus two smartlamps. I did it that way because I wasn't sure I could fit all 4 in the hood, and could drop one of the smartlamps and keep a 50/50 mixture if I had to just use 3. All 4 will fit though (barely), so as the bulbs wear out I'll replace the smartlamps with another 10K and actinic. I'll post pics when I get my new camera (c'mon UPS man!). Link to comment
ELGORDOINAVW Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 good job, keep us posted i really have been thinking about do this for a tank i want to setup for my wife. Link to comment
Chupacabras Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 My, what a big Ryobi you have there... Link to comment
tylernt Posted September 5, 2003 Author Share Posted September 5, 2003 Originally posted by ELGORDOINAVW keep us posted Ask and ye shall receive! Link to comment
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